What is Public Relations? The Definition Uncovers Its Potential

What is public relations? And what is it not

It’s a joke amongst public relations professionals that a common question at home is, “Explain to me again what you do for a living?” However, at the core of this question is a powerful answer that uncovers the often untapped potential of the profession.

A common understanding oversimplifies public relations as positioning (or spin), with earned or potential earned as the primary tactical metric. However, while earned is the critical validator, the definition of public relations, the foundation of corporate communications or what is often called “modern communications,” shows a far more powerful discipline.

I’ve posted a range of official definitions at the bottom of this article, all of which are variations of the following:

“Public relations is the practice of influencing behaviors through managing relationships and appropriately communicating information to achieve objectives.”

Or, here’s a more fact-based one for that dinner table conversation:

“We figure out how to build relationships with and communicate information to groups of people important to the company – such as customers, employees, or experts on our products or services. The purpose of the relationships is to show people the benefit of buying our products, investing in our business, and supporting our causes (and policies). We do this using an extensive range of types of communication - from getting articles placed to the information you might see in place of an ad to holding events to working with the people on social media that you might be following.”

Finally, as an alternative explanation, an education analogy:

“Like a good teacher, we don’t stick to one approach but use a range to get students to want to learn. PR has the classroom equivalent of fun educational programs like interesting reading, trips or events, contests, and fun videos, all of which get students to learn during the activity and want to learn even more when the activity has ended.”

I favor the classroom analogy as the most effective PR campaigns start by spurring audience interest in a topic, leading them to want to learn and do more around it – from learning about a company to buying products to living a different lifestyle (or, in 2024, to voting a certain way).

What’s so powerful about the discipline is its focus on building informative, two-way relationships with stakeholders without an over-reliance on any specific outreach tactic. Public relations leverages sponsored articles, social content, events, influencers – both social and news, and owned content, all of which may be amplified via paid media.?

A simple way of understanding how the definition comes to life is by breaking it down into several simple questions to ask when determining how public relations can best support a business objective:

1.???? What information are we providing to audiences that will shift perception and behavior in favor of our objective?

2.???? What is the most efficient (from a cost and impact perspective) way to deliver that information in wording, format (e.g., articles vs. events), and channel?

3.???? Is a direct or in-direct two-way relationship being built with the audience that will inspire them to seek more information as they shift perception and behavior??

In other words, like the classroom, what are we teaching/communicating, and how are we teaching/communicating so that the audience wants to learn in a way that shifts thinking and behaviors? By the way, if this sounds like a form of integrated communication, it is. The definition of the craft directly implies that an integrated approach is natural to what we do – coordinating different communications channels that best work together to achieve the objective.

So, the next time you’re at dinner and are asked, “Tell me again what you do?” Try one of the definitions above (or below) and see if others at the table start asking more questions. If they do, at the end of dinner, ask them if they understand your job better. If the answer is yes, you can point out that you just concluded a successful mini-PR campaign – you engaged them, provided them with information that led them to want to learn more, and shifted their understanding, perception of, and relationship with you. ??

——-DEFINITIONS OF PUBLIC RELATIONS——-

A list of public relations definitions below from third-party organizations and experts (as of August 2023):?

“The management of communication between an organization and its publics.”Grunig and Hunt (1984)

“Public relations is the management function which evaluates public attitudes, identifies the policies and procedures of an individual or an organization with the public interest, and plans and executes a program of action to earn public understanding and patience.” PR News

“Public relations is the management function that identifies, establishes, and maintains mutually beneficial relationships between an organization and the various publics on [whose] success or failure depends.” Scott Cutlip and Allen Center, Effective Public Relations (textbook)

?“Public relations is influencing behavior to achieve objectives through the effective management of relationships and communications.” British Institute of Public Relations

“Public relations practice is the art and social science of analyzing trends, predicting their consequences, counseling organization leaders, and implementing planned programs of action which serve both the organization’s and the public’s interest.” 1978 World Assembly of Public Relations in Mexico City, endorsed by 34 national public relations organizations.

“A communication function of management through which organizations adapt to, alter, or maintain their environment for the purpose of achieving organizational goals.” Professors Lawrence W. Long and Vincent Hazelton

“Strategic management of competition and conflict for the benefit of one’s own organization—and when possible—also for the mutual benefit of the organization and its various stakeholders or publics.” Professor Glen Cameron, at the University of Missouri School of Journalism,

“The art of developing, understanding and communicating character, both corporate and individual.” Arthur Page (Page Society)

And finally, ChatGPT, which is essentially seen as an analysis of numerous definitions:

Prompt: What is the definition of public relations

Public relations (PR) can be defined as:

The professional maintenance of a favorable public image by a company, organization, or individual, or the practice of managing communication between an organization and its publics.

Public relations involves a variety of programs designed to promote and protect a company or organization's image and its individual products. This can involve press releases, events, media relations, crisis management, social media engagement, and more. The goal is often to build a positive rapport with consumers, investors, employees, and the general public, though sometimes the work is defensive - to counteract negative publicity.

Authors note: Articles are written with minimal editing and may be revised for style and grammar. Alternatively, any errors may be seen as having figurative hairy arms in them for your feedback satisfaction.