7 types of Public Relations

Public relations is used to assist brands in cultivating a positive relationship with their publics, as maintaining a strong relationship with stakeholders is critical to any organization’s success. People will search elsewhere and avoid using a company’s products or services if the public perception of it is poor.

Public relations experts have extensive expertise speaking with a wide range of people on behalf of businesses in a variety of industries. Given this breadth, there are numerous forms of public relations and areas of concentration.

There are 7 different types of PR:

Strategic communications

All communication managed by a public relations expert should be classified as strategic communication. This essentially means that a brand’s public relations efforts are coordinated to help it achieve its business goals. Understanding a brand’s priorities from the start is essential, with communications goals and activities developed to support these goals.

Media relations

In order to get crucial messages out to the target audience, you’ll need a good working connection with the media. PR experts can place their clients in the spotlight by distributing press releases and pitching interviews to the media sources that allow these enterprises to reach their intended, most important audiences. Journalists want a steady stream of news to keep their pages and airwaves filled, so collaborating with brands seeking media exposure to create engaging news stories is a win-win situation for all parties.

Community relations

While the media is an important channel for PR professionals, direct contact with the community or audience through owned channels, such as creating a company blog, can sometimes be a more successful way of communication. The relationship between a brand and the community in which it operates should be reciprocal. When a company builds a new facility, for example, gaining feedback from the local community is just as crucial as emphasising the economic benefits. This requires excellent listening skills as well as the ability to manage events.

Internal communications

Internal communications is quickly becoming a major area of focus in PR. Employees can be a company’s most ardent supporters or fiercest critics, so keeping them happy, engaged, and loyal is critical to the company’s overall success. Internal communications professionals are now playing a critical role in supporting firms in developing continuing programs to keep employees engaged and informed while also recognizing their needs and concerns.

Crisis communications

Contrary to popular belief, the communications team should not be called in after a crisis has occurred; it is too late at that point. Organizations should approach crisis management in a systematic and consistent manner, with a clear crisis communications plan in place and solid connections with stakeholders and the media built up through time that they can rely on in such situations. This makes crisis communications as rewarding and valuable as it is challenging.

Public affairs

Those who work in public affairs – or lobbying – are responsible for establishing and maintaining relationships between an organization and politicians, governments, and other decision-makers. It’s a different subgroup of public relations, and individuals who work in it are fascinated by the political system and the process of implementing legislative change. They can also bring tremendous value to organizations by assisting them with regulatory compliance, corporate communication, and trade associations.

Online and social media communications

In today’s instant world of communications, it is essential that businesses possess a strong online presence to stand out from their competitors. Customers are increasingly using the internet to conduct their own research before making a purchase choice, therefore online public relations has become critical for generating leads, creating brand relationships through blogs and social media, and attracting new talent. Both organisations and PR pros today must be adept in choosing the best social media platforms and other digital channels to achieve their communication objectives.

CF Communications strategically conceptualise and manage public relations campaigns to influence, engage, and build relationships with key stakeholders across a host of platforms to shape and frame the public perception of your brand. We also offer media training.

Book a free consultation today! There is no obligation, we want to understand a bit about your goals and your marketing vision. During the call, we will best be able to advise you and direct you to the best services for you and your company.

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Cathlen Fourie, CF Communications