What is Public Relations Today? The Growing Importance of Ethics in PR.
- marybutler161
- Apr 23, 2023
- 8 min read
Abstract
The concept of public relations is a powerful field that shapes public opinion and develops a brand's desired image. Often referred to as PR, this secret weapon is defined as a strategic communication process that builds mutually beneficial relationships between organizations and their publics. Dating back to the early 20th century, PR was once referred to as propaganda and flourished into the strategic craft it is today as changing roles and advances in technology have evolved. The research below will explain the business of public relations at its core incorporating the importance of engagement, relationship building, credibility, as well as diving into the specific services done to build a brand's image and shape the perception of consumers. There are many services and duties that make up the entirety of PR. With that, there are certainly specific characteristics and tactics that a PR professional must possess in order to successfully pay close attention to and perform the needs of their clients, while fulfilling all of their duties. It was found that maintaining ethical considerations is vital in the process of strategizing to maximize their clients’ appeal while minimizing the effects of any negative press. With strategy also comes intense research, which is essential in the performance of any PR. Professionals must always be up to date with their clients and their audiences, constantly researching to always understand what the company needs next. Research also ensures that any campaigns will be ethically motivated, maintain complete transparency, and never put the company under the impression of being tone deaf. The research proves the growing importance of ethics in PR. There is a necessity of always understanding your audience to not only build brand credibility but to develop the main requirement of these mutually beneficial relationships, trust.
Introduction
Public relations has evolved significantly over the years now, acquiring many dimensions and roles that make up an organization. It has come to be the key area for forming and maintaining mutually beneficial relationships between organizations and their publics. The field has been misinterpreted and thought of as merely publicity and an instant process. But it goes way beyond that and involves in-depth research, intricate strategic planning, ethical considerations, and communication efforts in order to build and maintain a desired image of a company. The purpose of this research paper is to explore and provide insight on the concept of PR, learning its definition, the formulation of a brand's identity, and the necessary characteristics that make up a PR professional. The paper will provide core elements of PR highlighting the importance of understanding a company's audience to maintain trust in the relationship. Additionally, the paper will dive into the ethical considerations involving being transparent, taking accountability, and becoming a practitioner with extensive knowledge of the field they are serving. With the examination of heavy research, this paper aims to provide a deeper understanding of the nature of public relations and the ways practitioners can successfully conduct their work.
The Business of Public Relations and Its Core
As defined by the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA), Public Relations at its core is, “a strategic communication process that builds mutually beneficial relationships between organizations and their public.” (PRSA, 2023, para.4) With time, the definition of PR has evolved with changing roles and advances in technology. PR dates back to the early 20th century with its definitions emphasizing press agentry and publicity which has since become modernized with the incorporation of concepts such as engagement and relationship building. Public Relations, often referred to as PR, plays a vital role in the management of a client's image and reputation with their main focus being to maintain a positive relationship between the organization and the public. They work as an undercover face of the company that anticipates, analyzes, and interprets public opinion in order to influence their desired public perception. Every company needs PR whether it is in the form of media relations, the creation of a brand identity, maintaining corporate relationships, or any of the other tasks that make up the process of Public Relations.
Necessary Performance Tactics and Characteristics of a PR Professional
It is undeniable that knowledge, skill, and determination are required in this craft in order for PR professionals to successfully meet the needs of their clients and fulfill all of their duties. PR is propaganda meaning it is a strategically placed form of communication whether it be publicity or advertising with the goal of gaining public support for any issue, program, or policy. The intricate process calls for navigating and understanding all ethical considerations and perspectives of their target audience whether it be consumers, the general public, shareholders, media organizations, government agencies, etc. A PR professional is a thinker, looking at every client and situation through a creative and innovative lens. They listen, they observe, and they translate their findings through intricate, communicative storytelling skills. There is a psychological aspect of PR as professionals are examining their audience, learning to understand human behavior and attitudes. Along with strong written and oral communication skills and creative, critical thinking, PR professionals must have a knowledge of sales, advertising, and marketing. They must have technological literacy, must be service and solutions oriented, and have complex and strategic critical thinking skills.
The Commission on Public Relations Education describes a PR individual:
The successful public relations practitioner is highly intelligent, literate, and well read, an educated global citizen with an extensive knowledge of both the history of civilization and of global current events. The practitioner possesses excellent professional communication skills and has both exceptional depth and breadth in public relations theory. (The Commission on Public Relations Education, 2019, para.4)
PR and its process is a multidimensional field where professionals engage in many services using a number of different tactics to complete the objective of maintaining an organization's image. Services can include communication, public affairs, publicity, community relations, crisis management, media relations, social networking, and a multitude of other duties. With each different duty comes various tactics and methods depending on the clients’ needs, and their objectives. However, a main goal of each role is the attempt to “maximize their client’s appeal while minimizing the impact of any negative press.” (Maryville University, 2023, para.6) If each role is done properly and thought out ethically, the culmination of these services make for much success for an organization.
Importance of Research to Build Credibility
PR moves must be thorough, thought-out tactics in order to gain the understanding of the informed public, which is crucial to achieving the aims of the organization. This requires meticulous, continuous research and evaluation of all ways of action and communicating the client’s message. With the reputation of an organization on the line, PR professionals conduct both primary research which involves an original study, and secondary research that examines data that is already available.
According to GitHub Pages:
Public relations managers often use qualitative research to support quantitative findings. Qualitative research can be designed to understand the views of specific publics and to have them elaborate on beliefs or values that stood out in quantitative analyses. (Saylor Academy, 2012, p42)
If the results show a strong opinion on a particular side or statement, they can then perform a focus group to get opinions from others and their reasoning behind it. Without thorough research into all human behavior and the opinions of a client's target audience, the company may not resonate well with the consumers which limits their building of trust, which without there is no credibility. This has proven to be true as historically, it has been difficult to understand why PR campaigns bring success or failure. The need to understand the reasons behind the positive or negative response to campaigns lead to research becoming a vital, key strategy in the “forecasting of PR.” With the research, PR professionals are able to identify a potential focus of a campaign message.
A study cited by the text, Media and Culture Mass Communication in a Digital Age found the following:
For example, after years of declining smoking rates, the FDA was alarmed to discover an increase in youth smoking. The FDA conducted research with at-risk youths to determine what messages would be most effective among young people who were open to smoking or already experimenting with cigarettes. As a result, the Real Cost campaign launched nationwide in 2014 across a number of media platforms. The FDA even hired independent researchers to assess the effectiveness of the campaign among its target group. Over time, the campaign has evolved to keep up with tobacco-use trends. Most recently, The Real Cost campaign aims to communicate the dangers of vaping to the more than ten million young people ages twelve to seventeen "who have ever used e-cigarettes or are open to trying them."(Campbell, 2022, p352)
An example of the campaign they put out is shown below:
Maintaining Relationships by Being Ethically Conscious
While a high-quality product or service is essential to produce sales, the first job of a PR specialist is to lay a foundation of trust by selling the image of a company. When there is trust in a company, a loyal customer base is built and not only do repeat customers buy more product, but they also have a higher average order value than first time consumers. This loyalty to the company derives from a full commitment to ethical practice as no Public Relations practice should exist in a contemporary society without. If earned trust is lost, the public will simply move onto the next company proving that if a company slips up, it is crucial to address and inform the public to prove there is respect held for their clients.
5WPR describes the necessity of having communicative, social values:
Consumers are becoming increasingly conscious of the values of brands that they shop from. Employing a diverse workforce, women’s rights, and sustainability are just a few of the many values that consumers say will make them more likely to purchase from a brand. (5WPR, 2023, para.16)
Honesty is a huge factor of ethical consideration and customers should never feel deceived or left in the dark about the decisions of a company. An individual in the PR field must constantly be asking themselves questions as they pertain to how things will affect a client's reputation, their personal reputation, and how the public relations field as a whole will be affected by a decision. Going hand and hand with honesty is integrity and transparency. When people build relationships in everyday life they search for these qualities in others and the same goes for the decision making of what company to buy from. Consumers want to be ensured that the advertisements they are seeing do not contain skewed facts. This ethical conduct is quintessential as one of the greatest challenges for public relations professionals is to exhibit and prove that new practices and unique ways of thinking are in fact established on the base of ethical principles.
The Importance of PR in Shaping the Marketing World
Public relations shapes all public opinions, and the ways consumers think about a company. It is one of the most effective ways of creating a solid, credible reputation to ensure consumers can put their full trust in a business. Whether it be through thought leadership pieces, networking tactics, or influencer connections, the marketing of a company will see more success and avoid leaving potential sales on the table with driven, well communicative individuals behind it.
The purpose of a company is amplified with the use of PR giving them an edge to monetize and thrive. It is important for organizations to release press releases and communicate any information to give potential customers more options to connect with the company. In the event that a company may receive a bad reputation, PR can effectively counter the bad press with campaigns that increase awareness of the brand in order to maintain their desired image. It gives a way to mitigate damage from any crisis that may arise or use unexpected opportunities to the company's advantage. The use of public relations is an undeniably vital strategy to understand how to manage the complex relationship between the public and a company which modern organizations cannot ignore.
References
Campbell, R., Martin, C. R., Fabos, B., & Lee, I. (2022). Chapter 12: Public Relations and Framing the Message. In Media & Culture: An Introduction to Mass Communication (13th ed., pp. 343–363). essay, Bedford/St. Martin's.
Duford, H. (2022, March 17). The Importance of Ethics in Public Relations - UF PRSSA: Est. 1968. UF PRSSA | Est. 1968. Retrieved April 15, 2023, from http://www.alphaprssa.org/blog/2022/3/17/the-importance-of-ethics-in-public-relations
PRSSA. (2023). About Public Relations. Public Relations Society of America. Retrieved April 15, 2023, from https://www.prsa.org/about/all-about-pr
PRSAWeb, T. C. on P. R. E. (2019). Ethics. Commission on Public Relations Education. Retrieved April 15, 2023, from http://www.commissionpred.org/commission-reports/the-professional-bond/ethics/
University, M. (2021, January 11). What is Public Relations? The Meaning of PR. Maryville Online. Retrieved April 15, 2023, from https://online.maryville.edu/blog/what-is-pr-a-guide-to-understanding-public-relations/
5WPR. (2023, March 5). What is Public Relations and Why is PR Important? 5WPR. Public Relations Blog | 5W PR Agency | PR Firm. Retrieved April 15, 2023, from https://www.5wpr.com/new/what-is-public-relations-and-why-is-it-important/
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