“What is it you do, exactly?” When I tell people I work in public relations, this is without a doubt the number one question I get asked. I have even had clients ask me this after they’ve hired my services! Everyone has heard of public relations, but most of the time they have no idea what it is beyond some way to help their business or organization.
The Public Relations Society of America (the PR trade association in the US) currently defines public relations as, “…a strategic communication process that builds mutually beneficial relationships between organizations and their publics.” What is important to understand in this definition is that “publics” does not mean “the general public,” but could more colloquially be referred to as “audiences.” The general public is one public, but a public could also be an organization’s own employees (internal communications), company investors (investor relations), event attendees, or political constituents (public affairs) to name a few examples of different publics.
Many communications professionals refer to themselves as “storytellers.” They tell a company or non-profit’s story to its intended public, and try to get it out through the right channels. I prefer to see our work as “bridge builders.” Bridgetown Public Relations’ specialty is media relations. We connect clients with outlets whose readers, viewers, or listeners would be interested in their product or organization. In smaller companies and non-profits, the founder is often the person who still does a lot of the work. They know their story better than anyone, and their passion for their work shines through and inspires people. Take for example our previous client Warfighter Outfitters, a veteran-operated non-profit that brings together disabled veterans on fishing, hunting, and public works trips. Of course I could tell their story, but who would you rather hear it from? “The PR guy,” or the founder who himself overcame injury and adversity and in turn dedicated his life to helping others? So we work to build that bridge between the organization and the TV shows, newspapers, websites, podcasts, and magazines whose audiences (publics) would be interested in their story, and in turn, connect those publics to our client.
If your company is product or service based, the same bridge-building principle applies: we span the gap between you and the outlets and publics that would be interested in your product or service.
The next time you turn on the TV, or flip open a newspaper, or bring up a website and see a story about an organization or company, there’s a good chance a PR shop like ours was behind it, and it may even have been us!