Public Relations

In essence, public relations is about opening the channels of communication between your organization and its various stakeholders, whether they are investors, the community, employees, government or users.

Public relations involves:

1. Evaluation of public attitudes and opinions.
2. Formulation and implementation of an organization's procedures and policy regarding communication with its public.
3. Coordination of communication programs.
4. Developing rapport and goodwill through a two way communication process.
5. Fostering a positive relationship between an organization and its public constituents.

The above definition of what public relations is, is not what you would get if you asked most people what public relations was. We don’t have the greatest image, which is funny, as it’s our job to shape an image or idea for what a company is more then anything.

If you can achieve the above on a day-to-day bases, you are doing better then one could hope for, because public relations is as much of an art as it is a science. The times are changing and as public relations moves online, these definitions become more of a reality.

Online Public Relations

Online public relations is providing greater tools and opportunities that are equal to, or even eclipse, what is currently available today. You can now reach anyone in the world with an Internet connection in an instance. You can build communities around your product and increase your goodwill.

However, the public now has the same power if they feel you are not telling the truth. A message, good or bad, spreads fast on the Internet, and you don’t have the luxury to ignore or pretend it doesn’t exist anymore. For example, Sony’s fake PSP blog from late last year, which we will get into in our next column.