Why PR Doesn’t Work (And How I Intend To Change That)

Isn't everything in life smoke and mirrors? It's not like you picked out that shirt because it's comfortable.

Rob,

I did pick it out because it fit, was comfortable, and was the right price.

PR done well does work. This "PR stinks all the time" etc. is a cause du jour for some, I'm not even going to try and figure out why. There are plenty of examples of really great public relations campaigns out there.

If you are only focusing on new media, you are going to miss large chunks of intended audience. Blogs still get the vast majority of their information from mainstream sources. Granted, there is a lot of crappy PR out there, but there's also quite a bit of good. Like anything else, people are more content to complain about the bad than focus on the good.

For a rundown of the good, check out: http://blog.holtz.com/index.php/weblog/the_spotlight_shines_of_the_kind_...

@JRandon42 - they're off doing their jobs and don't have time to surf the web and network the way we do.

@Sydney, this is a really awesome post and I like your list of reasons above. As a journalist who has worked in PR, I think one of the biggest problems with PR is that often clients have unreasonable expectations for information they want promoted. Basically, they want non-newsworthy things to get news coverage. Very few PR professionals just refuse these sorts of requests and they "try things" even if they know that what they're promoting isn't newsworthy. I think we can find a way to prevent this, everyone involved could be a lot happier in the long term.

Here's the think: How do you expect the industry to react to the statement made by this title?

@katenonymous - The title reflects the list that Brian Solis created in his book. I'm re-stating the points in the list that stood out the most to me and then giving my reaction to the concern at hand.

If the title of the post is the issue, what would you suggest the title be? If the content is the problem, then, well, I don't know what to tell you. :)

I'd suggest a title that's a little less bombastic. Frankly, it's off-putting. I can't imagine anyone in any industry reacting well to a statement that says, essentially, "You're all doing it wrong, and I know better." That's not going to get people to listen.

The content is fine, although I do think that you're discarding more traditional channels too cavalierly--what we should all be going for is a mix of methods that includes old and new, based on what works for our particular audiences and needs.

What this is, really, is a post about how you want to approach PR. That's fine. But your title says "I know better," and the odds are that you don't. At least not yet. As you yourself say, these aren't really your observations. They're your thoughts on someone else's observations. A title that indicated that would be more accurate and less alienating.

RE: #4--fair enough.

RE: your title--how am I misreading "This doesn't work and I'm going to change it"? Being a success in PR means understanding how things sound to the other person. In this case, I'm your reader. If I say your post title turns me off, that's a problem for you if you want me to read it.

JRandom42 - I'm 23 and working as an engineer. I'm not really an official member of this site, but I'm a frequent reader and occasional commenter. Brazen Careerist doesn't seem to bill itself strictly as a community for people in marketing, PR, etc., but it does mainly attract folks working in those types of careers. I like this site and I would love to see more (or even one) members in engineering and science careers sharing their thoughts. It's interesting to read the posts on this site because it makes me realize how different the concerns and priorities of people in non-technical careers are from my own, but there is also a lot of overlap, especially with regard to general personal development strategies and techniques.

I know there are plenty of forums for technically oriented people, but I don't know of many that focus specifically on the careers of young professionals. I wish there were some, though if it were really that important to me I suppose I would start my own blog and maybe join the Brazen community officially.

Does anyone know if this site is intended only for people in marketing, PR, social media, etc., or if it just sort of spntaneously grew into a community of people mainly in those types of careers?

Thanks, Sydney. I wish there were a few engineers sharing their experiences through blogs, but I guess we aren't as attracted to that form of expression as people in other careers are.

JRandom - Do you have a blog, by any chance?