Public Relations Belongs at the Grown-Up Table

If you’ve invited public relations to the party, don’t put it at the kiddie table. PR belongs with the grownups. It doesn’t need the seat of honor, but it should be at the strategy table.

Public relations is the voice to your public. It understands exactly what you want to say as well as why you want to say it in the first place. There’s a good chance your PR team can find a better way to say what you want to say in order to ensure your audience actually understands what the heck you are talking about.

Including public relations at your strategy table ensures that the messaging—the voice to your outside audience—is actually in sync with the goals, tenets and successes of your organization.

The better your audience connects with your message, the better it can communicate your message to its communities of interest, and this is where it gets good. Ultimately, including public relations at your strategy table helps shape and sharpen your strategy from a brand-messaging standpoint.

The point is simply this: “They” say is always better than “we” say.

Letting your audience say it is the best thing you can do to promote yourself, your product or service. Make certain what they are saying comes directly from your strategy. Anything less is merely child’s play.