Yes, the title ‘Basics of Public Relations’ sounds very cliché and yes there is nothing fancy about it, but that’s intentional. Being Communication professionals, we are expected, to a large extent, to be using fancy jargon. However, my 20 plus years of experience has taught me that it helps to use simple and relatable language while explaining a certain thing.

What are the basics of Public Relations?

There is no rocket science behind the fact that Public Relations is one of the most important elements of marketing and communication. The basic of Public Relations, as we see it, is to put forth a positive message or create positive image about a product, a brand, an organization, an individual, by using varied mediums of communication through media.

Public Relations is all about storytelling, about creating/shaping up an image. It is a very exciting profession bustling with action, as well as extremely challenging with so much to do all the time.

We must understand that basics of public relations is not only limited to writing press releases and pitching for stories. There is a clear alignment of PR and Marketing, which makes it imperative to write worthy content which indirectly leads to business enhancement, thereby contributing in revenue making. Content must be developed with a clear focus on the target audience. It is vital for PR professionals to pitch a story in such a way that the focus becomes what the target segment is hoping to read.

These are exciting times for Public Relations because of the amalgamation of traditional and modern methods. There is an exceptional focus on content for social media -Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin as well on visual content. This is the future of PR.

It will not be incorrect to say that the future of PR will have more and more dependence on analytics and there are a number of reliable analytics tools available to choose from. It is easier to measure ROI for anything published online than in print, as there are many sophisticated tracking tools available for online material.

The bottom line is that Public Relations is ever evolving with times and has become savvier with the growing need of the hour. Storytelling and image-building will still continue to remain at the core of what PR is all about.

– Ritu Bararia

Ritu is the Senior Director at SCoRe and heads special projects, including the PR Club. She also serves as a counsellor to the students of our Post Graduate Programme.

Ritu is a passionate Public Relations and Communications professional with more than two decades of progressive experience, Ritu is an expert in the realm of Travel, Hospitality and Aviation. She is a published author and her book The Little Joys of Communication discusses traditional PR and communications practices for several brands and corporate houses.