public relations and digital communications

Why Public Relations Matters

Case studies and examples of the value a well thought out public relations plan can deliver.

taking business to market

Public relations is more than a press release that begins with, “Acme Widgets is thrilled to announce.” Professional public relations measures and modifies public perception about events, goods, and services, using principles and guidelines first set forth by professional rivals Edward Bernays and Ivy Lee early in the 20th century.

Bernays is credited for the media campaign that introduced serving bacon alongside eggs, a coup for his pork processing clients who at the time were desperate for new markets, that is now ingrained in our culture.

Ivy Lee’s handling of the Pennsylvania Railroad disaster is widely recognized at the first use of the press release as we know it today.

Prior to their breakthrough work in identifying and describing the process and effect of public relations, there wasn’t any formal method short of blunt force for changing behavior.

As a result of their intuitive research and subsequent descriptions of how to influence behavior by modifying perception, the urban industrial corporate culture that replaced the rural agricultural family farm was able to exploit the power of a managed message delivered to a receptive audience, changing society in the process.

Today that messaging is more powerful than ever due to the evolution of social media in a digital environment. It is by far the dominant information channel used by news consumers, eclipsing traditional print, broadcast, and cable.

Applying public relations through social media is perfectly suited to a digital environment and a technical skill set. Create Once Publish Everywhere (COPE) is a strategy that optimizes original content for maximum impact and then distributes that content to the most influential outlets.

I offer the following marketing and communication services for social and traditional channels:

1. brand development
2. concept and FULLFILLMENT
3. press releases
4. corporate communications
5. media relations
6. social media management
7. interactive newsletters
8. product promotion
9. case studies

Public relations at its most basic is designed to run in the background of daily life. Those most affected are typically incapable of identifying the source of their opinions on everything from religion to food to sports to fashion and especially politics.

Optimized press releases share common links, looks, content, and resources.

Digital public relations strategies aren’t limited to a one-and-done press release, which are seldom effective to begin with.

A well rounded collection of assets includes artwork, messaging, and distributed content that is easily repurposed over time and accessible from a dedicated, site-hosted up-to-date online newsroom.

Digital newsrooms are the hub for managing and distributing HTML content, creative eBlasts, images, optimized PDFs, and other rich media assets that can be linked rather than exporting individually.

Digital media is the key to making all the pieces work efficiently. Site design, customized imaging, and high value content blend together to build a successful and progressive brand that is adaptive and responsive to the publics appetite for information.