Social Marketing

Marketing Mix
Public Relations
Public relations (PR) can be viewed many ways. Some see it as an aspect of promotion with a
goal of fostering goodwill between companies and their audiences. Others see it as a question
of creating favorable images. For our purposes, we will consider public relations to be a tactic
used in social marketing, one that focuses on generating attention in the media, creating
publicity events and helping to build coalitions.
Or, to put it more simply, social marketers use PR just like advertising – to persuade an audience
to perceive a behavior differently. The key difference is that PR harnesses the power of earned
media, as opposed to paid.
Usually, public relations is about getting the media to cover the issue at hand and do it from a
certain perspective. The shorthand for this kind of attention is “earned media” (as opposed to
“media buys” performed by advertising agencies.) But public relations can also mean generating
publicity in other ways, such as building coalitions and other partnerships to ensure that
your issue is included in other efforts.
Next, we will discuss various activities that PR firms perform for their clients. Remember, even
if you cannot afford to hire a PR agency, you may still be able to use many of these same tactics
in your campaign.
Hiring a PR firm
Overall, public relations is much like advertising. When hiring a public relations contractor, you
should consider many of the same issues you would examine for an advertising agency. (See
Hiring an advertising agency above). These disciplines create specific creative products designed
to gain the attention of your target audience. They provide you with ways to reach your
audience, so that you can affect the factors that determine behavior.
When it comes to public relations, a contractor can:
Help you design your overall strategy. Though you always maintain the final word on strategy,
firms with social marketing expertise can help you look at your entire strategy and determine
where public relations activities fit.
Provide advice and counsel. Firms that are familiar with the media can help you manage reporters
and editors. They may know when media outlets are most likely to be open to your story,
what type of angle will win attention and what other issues are competing for the same media
attention.
Track journalists and create press lists. A key tool for media relations is an up-to-date press list.
A press list contains the names of and key information for all the journalists you would like to
reach. Most large PR agencies have many of these lists, as well as continuing relationships with
journalists. A contractor can also research who has written about your issue in the past.