Public Relations Objectives

Establishing and maintaining relationships through communications.

Cover photo: @jerrysilfwer

Advertisment

What are some typ­ic­al pub­lic rela­tions objectives?

PR pro­fes­sion­als craft com­pel­ling nar­rat­ives and crit­ic­al mes­sages that res­on­ate with stake­hold­ers, influ­en­cers, and pub­lics, and they dis­sem­in­ate these through vari­ous chan­nels, includ­ing tra­di­tion­al media, social media, and dir­ect communications. 

Here we go:

Public Relations Objectives

Spin Academy | Online PR Courses

Public Relations Objectives

Public rela­tions (PR) plays a cru­cial role in shap­ing pub­lic opin­ion by stra­tegic­ally man­aging the spread of inform­a­tion between an organ­isa­tion and stake­hold­ers, influ­en­cers, and pub­lics.

PR pro­fes­sion­als con­trol the nar­rat­ive, mit­ig­ate dam­age, and restore pub­lic con­fid­ence dur­ing a crisis. Through con­sist­ent and effect­ive com­mu­nic­a­tion, PR can sway pub­lic opin­ion in favour of the organ­isa­tion, enhan­cing its repu­ta­tion and stand­ing in the community.

Building trust and cred­ib­il­ity is anoth­er cru­cial object­ive of pub­lic rela­tions. In an era where con­sumers are increas­ingly scep­tic­al of advert­ising and cor­por­ate speak, PR offers a more authen­t­ic and cred­ible way to com­mu­nic­ate with the public. 

PR pro­fes­sion­als strive to build and main­tain a pos­it­ive image for their organ­isa­tions by pro­mot­ing trans­par­ency, demon­strat­ing social respons­ib­il­ity, and enga­ging in open dia­logue with stake­hold­ers. They also work to high­light the organisation’s suc­cesses and achieve­ments, fur­ther enhan­cing its credibility. 

By fos­ter­ing sol­id rela­tion­ships with the media, PR can ensure that the organisation’s story is told fairly and accur­ately. Over time, these efforts can build a strong found­a­tion of trust and cred­ib­il­ity, which is invalu­able in today’s com­pet­it­ive busi­ness environment.

Public rela­tions is a young aca­dem­ic field with poten­tial to inform vari­ous areas of com­mu­nic­a­tion and offer tools like issues man­age­ment for vari­ous applied com­mu­nic­a­tion fields.“
Source: Journal of Communication 1Botan, C., & Taylor, M. (2004). Public rela­tions: State of the field. Journal of Communication, 54, 645 – 661. https://​doi​.org/​1​0​.​1​1​1​1​/​J​.​1​460 – 2466.2004.TB02649.X

Examples of Public Relations Objectives

Here are a few examples of pub­lic rela­tions objectives:

  • Increase aware­ness via earned, shared and owned channels.
  • Educate the mar­ket and modi­fy perceptions.
  • Increase word-of-mouth by cre­at­ing social objects.
  • Increase pos­it­ive pub­li­city and decrease neg­at­ive publicity.
  • Coach and pre­pare cor­por­ate spokespeople.
  • Manage insider threats.
  • Introduce new products or services.
  • Manage inquir­ies from journ­al­ists and analysts.
  • Keep stake­hold­ers well-informed.
  • Strategic work (pos­i­tion­ing, per­cep­tion man­age­ment etc.)
  • Establish and devel­op mutu­al rela­tion­ships with key publics.
  • Monitor word-of-mouth and press coverage.
  • Improve intern­al communications.
  • Prevent and man­age crises.
  • Manage issues before they escal­ate and become real problems.
  • Influence pub­lic opin­ion and legis­lat­ive processes.
  • Develop the PR strategy and keep the PR plan updated.
  • Gather action­able insights from data ana­lys­is and focus groups.
  • Produce and pub­lish inform­a­tion­al and edu­ca­tion­al content.

Learn more: Public Relations Objectives

Logo - Spin Academy - Online PR Courses

What Public Relations Does

The Stakeholder Model - Doctor Spin - The PR Blog
The stake­hold­er mod­el in pub­lic relations.
Spin Academy | Online PR Courses

What Public Relations Does

Public rela­tions and mar­ket­ing both use rela­tion­ship-build­ing tech­niques, but their mis­sions and philo­sophies are fun­da­ment­ally dif­fer­ent.”
Source: Public Relations Review 2Broom, G., Lauzen, M., & Tucker, K. (1991). Public rela­tions and mar­ket­ing: Dividing the con­cep­tu­al domain and oper­a­tion­al turf. Public Relations Review, 17, 219 – 225. … Continue read­ing

Suppose you’re run­ning a busi­ness and wish to be top-of-mind and sell more products and ser­vices. The go-to option is to double down on mar­ket­ing to run ad cam­paigns, invest in SEM, or get into paid col­lab­or­a­tions with influencers.

To get star­ted, you devel­op a cre­at­ive concept and a mar­ket­ing strategy, which you pair up with copy­writ­ing and art dir­ec­tion to cre­ate your assets. After care­ful plan­ning, you place your media budget with third-party pub­lish­ers who can expose your mes­saging to poten­tial customers.

That’s mar­ket­ing!

However, there are lots of instances where the mar­ket­ing tool­box falls short:

Media Relations

(Sometimes referred to as “Press Office.”)

Organizations’ media rela­tions activ­it­ies can influ­ence media con­tent and opin­ions, but suc­cess depends on more than just dis­trib­ut­ing news releases.”
Source: Public Relations Review 3Turk, J. (1985). Information sub­sidies and influ­ence. Public Relations Review, 11, 10 – 25. https://​doi​.org/​1​0​.​1​0​1​6​/​S​0​3​6​3​-​8​1​1​1​(​8​5​)​8​0​078 – 3

Some third-party pub­lish­ers don’t accept pay­ment because their live­li­hood depends on objectiv­ity. Journalists (and influ­en­cers with journ­al­ist­ic ambi­tions) fall into this cat­egory. Their unbiased approach makes them highly influential.

Obviously, you can­not send your mar­ket­ing assets to a journ­al­ist. They will refer you to their mar­ket­ing depart­ment and ask you to pay for an ad!

However, a PR pro­fes­sion­al under­stands how to cre­ate mater­i­al that a journ­al­ist (or an ambi­tious influ­en­cer) will want to fea­ture to their audience.

Learn more: Media Relations

Corporate Communications

(Sometimes used inter­change­ably with “Communications” and “Inhouse PR” as a gen­er­al term.)

Corporate com­mu­nic­a­tion is a new [editor’s note: pub­lished in 1996] and grow­ing dis­cip­line that focuses on com­mu­nic­a­tion with­in organ­iz­a­tions, relat­ing to man­age­ment, busi­ness, and organ­iz­a­tion­al aspects.”
Source: Management Communication Quarterly 4Argenti, P. (1996). Corporate Communication as a Discipline. Management Communication Quarterly, 10, 73 — 97. https://​doi​.org/​1​0​.​1​1​7​7​/​0​8​9​3​3​1​8​9​9​6​0​1​0​0​0​1​005

What if an organ­isa­tion depends not just on wheth­er people buy its products or ser­vices but also on what people think of your organ­isa­tion and how it con­ducts its busi­ness? What if people want to dis­cuss crit­ic­al top­ics with the organisation?

Unfortunately, pro­mot­ing your products and ser­vices to these people won’t cut it. However, pub­lic rela­tions has pro­fes­sion­al know-how in this area.

Learn more: Corporate Communications

Investor Relations (IR)

Investor rela­tions officers sig­ni­fic­antly influ­ence cor­por­ate dis­clos­ures and play a cru­cial role in private com­mu­nic­a­tion between IROs, ana­lysts, and investors.”
Source: Journal of Accounting and Economics 5Brown, L., Call, A., Clement, M., & Sharp, N. (2019). Managing the nar­rat­ive: Investor rela­tions officers and cor­por­ate dis­clos­ure✰. Journal of Accounting and Economics. … Continue read­ing

In some organ­isa­tions, espe­cially large ones, there are vari­ous fin­an­cial stake­hold­ers. Shareholders, investors, fin­an­cial insti­tu­tions, etc. You can­not “do mar­ket­ing” towards these groups; their inform­a­tion­al needs dif­fer from those of poten­tial consumers. 

But with­in pub­lic rela­tions, we under­stand how to engage in two-way communication.

Learn more: Investor Relations (IR)

Digital PR

(Sometimes referred to as “Digital Communications,” “Online PR,” or “Online Communications.”)

Online pub­lic rela­tions can enhance vis­ib­il­ity and build rela­tion­ships with the pub­lic, pro­mot­ing organ­iz­a­tions and products through dia­lo­gic com­mu­nic­a­tion.”
Source: Procedia — Social and Behavioral Sciences 6Petrovici, M. (2014). E‑Public Relations: Impact and Efficiency. A Case Study. Procedia — Social and Behavioral Sciences, 141, 79 – 84. https://​doi​.org/​1​0​.​1​0​1​6​/​J​.​S​B​S​P​R​O​.​2​0​1​4​.​0​5​.​015

Not all online traffic is paid for by ads. People search organ­ic­ally for inform­a­tion, know­ledge, inspir­a­tion, enter­tain­ment, etc. Some people even wish to be more than just cus­tom­ers — they want to be fans, fol­low­ers, and subscribers! 

And yes, pub­lic rela­tions is equipped to cater to the inform­a­tion­al needs of fin­an­cial stakeholders.

Learn more: Digital PR

Public Affairs (PA)

Integrating cor­por­ate plan­ning and pub­lic affairs per­spect­ives is cru­cial for organ­iz­a­tions to effect­ively respond to envir­on­ment­al change and adapt to social and polit­ic­al tur­bu­lence.”
Source: Long Range Planning 7Post, J., Murray, E., Dickie, R., & Mahon, J. (1982). The pub­lic affairs func­tion in American cor­por­a­tions: Development and rela­tions with cor­por­ate plan­ning. Long Range Planning, 15, 12 – 21. … Continue read­ing

For some organ­isa­tions, it mat­ters what the gen­er­al pub­lic thinks about cer­tain issues. For an elec­tric car man­u­fac­turer, it mat­ters what people think of the elec­tri­fic­a­tion of soci­ety. Because in a demo­cracy, pub­lic opin­ion will ulti­mately shape pub­lic policy.

In pub­lic rela­tions, we have the skill set to nav­ig­ate and man­age pub­lic per­cep­tions and shape opin­ions long-term. While advert­ising can sup­port such endeav­ours, the driv­ing force is usu­ally pub­lic relations.

Learn more: Public Affairs (PA)

Lobbying

Lobbying can be viewed as a form of legis­lat­ive sub­sidy, provid­ing policy inform­a­tion, polit­ic­al intel­li­gence, and legis­lat­ive labor to stra­tegic­ally selec­ted legis­lat­ors, assist­ing nat­ur­al allies in achiev­ing their object­ives.”
Source: American Political Science Review 8Hall, R., & Deardorff, A. (2006). Lobbying as Legislative Subsidy. American Political Science Review, 100, 69 — 84. https://​doi​.org/​1​0​.​1​0​1​7​/​S​0​0​0​3​0​5​5​4​0​6​0​6​2​010

At times, it’s a good idea to present your organ­isa­tion’s ideas dir­ectly to those in charge of mak­ing the decisions, like politi­cians, legis­lat­ors, ana­lysts, top­ic experts, etc. And these groups are rarely con­vinced by mar­ket­ing messages.

Learn more: Lobbying

Internal Communications (IC)

Strengthening intern­al com­mu­nic­a­tion through vari­ous meth­ods, includ­ing face-to-face com­mu­nic­a­tion, can improve employ­ee engage­ment and build trust between man­age­ment and employ­ees.”
Source: International Journal of Business Communication 9Mishra, K., Boynton, L., & Mishra, A. (2014). Driving Employee Engagement. International Journal of Business Communication, 51, 183 — 202. https://​doi​.org/​1​0​.​1​1​7​7​/​2​3​2​9​4​8​8​4​1​4​5​2​5​399

Most organ­isa­tions have employ­ees. Their opin­ions and atti­tudes towards the employ­er often decide wheth­er the organ­isa­tion will rise or fall. Aiming mar­ket­ing cam­paigns at them rarely resolves any issues. 

In pub­lic rela­tions, we have a long and proud tra­di­tion of improv­ing all types of com­mu­nic­a­tion with­in an organ­isa­tion. (It’s also a major field of aca­dem­ic research!)

Learn more: Internal Communications (IC)

Crisis Communications

(Sometimes referred to as “Crisis Management.”)

Effective crisis com­mu­nic­a­tion strategies, tim­ing, and situ­ation­al factors can guide man­agers in achiev­ing desired out­comes and enhan­cing cor­por­ate repu­ta­tion dur­ing crises.”
Source: Business Horizons 10Coombs, W. (2015). The value of com­mu­nic­a­tion dur­ing a crisis: Insights from stra­tegic com­mu­nic­a­tion research. Business Horizons, 58, 141 – 148. https://​doi​.org/​1​0​.​1​0​1​6​/​J​.​B​U​S​H​O​R​.​2​0​1​4​.​1​0​.​003

Sometimes, things go wrong. In such situ­ations, paus­ing all mar­ket­ing cam­paigns is often a good idea. No one wants to see an ad for your busi­ness when people suf­fer or have got­ten hurt. 

We have developed a tried-and-tested tool­box in pub­lic rela­tions to assist organ­isa­tions in deal­ing with extremely chal­len­ging scenarios.

Learn more: Crisis Communications

Marketing PR

(Sometimes referred to as “Marketing Communications.”)

Integrating mar­ket­ing com­mu­nic­a­tions across tra­di­tion­al and new media can improve the effect­ive­ness and effi­ciency of mar­ket­ing pro­grams.”
Source: Journal of Marketing 11Batra, R., & Keller, K. (2016). Integrating Marketing Communications: New Findings, New Lessons, and New Ideas. Journal of Marketing, 80, 122 — 145. https://​doi​.org/​1​0​.​1​5​0​9​/​j​m​.​1​5​.​0​419

Journalists and influ­en­cers are some­times inter­ested in con­sumer offer­ings, too. Not only are poten­tial cus­tom­ers inter­ested in learn­ing about new products or ser­vices — journ­al­ists might be curi­ous, too. This often hap­pens when there are big launches or sig­ni­fic­ant tech­no­lo­gic­al advancements. 

This is where mar­ket­ing and pub­lic rela­tions “cross swords.” While mar­ket­ing will use paid cam­paigns to push products or ser­vices, pub­lic rela­tions will pitch those products or ser­vices to journ­al­ists (and influ­en­cers with journ­al­ist­ic ambitions).

Learn more: Marketing PR

Industry PR (B2B)

(Sometimes referred to as “B2B PR,” “B2B Communications,” or with more spe­cificity, like “Tech PR,” “Telecom PR”, “Medical PR,” etc.) 

Contemporary pub­lic rela­tions for B2B involves 7 dis­tinct types of fram­ing: situ­ations, attrib­utes, choices, actions, issues, respons­ib­il­ity, and news.”
Source: Journal of Public Relations Research 12Hallahan, K. (1999). Seven Models of Framing: Implications for Public Relations. Journal of Public Relations Research, 11, 205 – 242. https://​doi​.org/​1​0​.​1​2​0​7​/​S​1​5​3​2​7​5​4​X​J​P​R​R​1​1​0​3​_02

In many indus­tries, organ­isa­tions sell products and ser­vices to oth­er com­pan­ies. Marketing can be import­ant, espe­cially if there are thou­sands of poten­tial cus­tom­ers. However, many niches are small and depend­ent on per­son­al relationships.

Also, many organ­isa­tions depend on func­tion­al rela­tion­ships with vendors, dis­trib­ut­ors, part­ners, sup­pli­ers, etc. Public rela­tions is the way to com­mu­nic­ate with these organisations.

Learn more: Industry PR (B2B)


All of the above types of pub­lic rela­tions can be found in the stake­hold­er mod­el.

As you can see, a lot of com­mu­nic­a­tion has to occur for most organ­isa­tions — besides mar­ket­ing. Marketing is a great tool, but pub­lic rela­tions is some­times the only way.

And, finally:

Why do most people know what mar­ket­ing does — when the same thing can­not be said for pub­lic relations?

Marketing is big money. Marketing gen­er­ates sales dir­ectly, which makes it a pri­or­ity for many organ­isa­tions. While media place­ments are expens­ive and require budgets expo­nen­tially lar­ger than any budgets spent on com­mu­nic­a­tions, advert­ising expos­ure is also guaranteed.

Public rela­tions budgets and resources are often less well-defined and less accep­ted than mar­ket­ing budgets and resources, but both dis­cip­lines con­trib­ute to the bot­tom line.”
Source: Public Relations for Marketing Professionals 13Haywood, R. (1998). Public rela­tions budget and resources. Public Relations for Marketing Professionals, 83 – 96. https://​doi​.org/​1​0​.​1​0​0​7​/​978 – 1‑349 – 14365-8_5

Learn more: What Public Relations Does

Logo - Spin Academy - Online PR Courses
Signature - Jerry Silfwer - Doctor Spin

Thanks for read­ing. Please sup­port my blog by shar­ing art­icles with oth­er com­mu­nic­a­tions and mar­ket­ing pro­fes­sion­als. You might also con­sider my PR ser­vices or speak­ing engage­ments.

PR Resource: Free Corporate PR Course

ANNOTATIONS
ANNOTATIONS
1 Botan, C., & Taylor, M. (2004). Public rela­tions: State of the field. Journal of Communication, 54, 645 – 661. https://​doi​.org/​1​0​.​1​1​1​1​/​J​.​1​460 – 2466.2004.TB02649.X
2 Broom, G., Lauzen, M., & Tucker, K. (1991). Public rela­tions and mar­ket­ing: Dividing the con­cep­tu­al domain and oper­a­tion­al turf. Public Relations Review, 17, 219 – 225. https://​doi​.org/​1​0​.​1​0​1​6​/​0​363 – 8111(91)90018‑G
3 Turk, J. (1985). Information sub­sidies and influ­ence. Public Relations Review, 11, 10 – 25. https://​doi​.org/​1​0​.​1​0​1​6​/​S​0​3​6​3​-​8​1​1​1​(​8​5​)​8​0​078 – 3
4 Argenti, P. (1996). Corporate Communication as a Discipline. Management Communication Quarterly, 10, 73 — 97. https://​doi​.org/​1​0​.​1​1​7​7​/​0​8​9​3​3​1​8​9​9​6​0​1​0​0​0​1​005
5 Brown, L., Call, A., Clement, M., & Sharp, N. (2019). Managing the nar­rat­ive: Investor rela­tions officers and cor­por­ate dis­clos­ure✰. Journal of Accounting and Economics. https://​doi​.org/​1​0​.​1​0​1​6​/​J​.​J​A​C​C​E​C​O​.​2​0​1​8​.​0​8​.​014
6 Petrovici, M. (2014). E‑Public Relations: Impact and Efficiency. A Case Study. Procedia — Social and Behavioral Sciences, 141, 79 – 84. https://​doi​.org/​1​0​.​1​0​1​6​/​J​.​S​B​S​P​R​O​.​2​0​1​4​.​0​5​.​015
7 Post, J., Murray, E., Dickie, R., & Mahon, J. (1982). The pub­lic affairs func­tion in American cor­por­a­tions: Development and rela­tions with cor­por­ate plan­ning. Long Range Planning, 15, 12 – 21. https://​doi​.org/​1​0​.​1​0​1​6​/​0​024 – 6301(82)90115 – 7
8 Hall, R., & Deardorff, A. (2006). Lobbying as Legislative Subsidy. American Political Science Review, 100, 69 — 84. https://​doi​.org/​1​0​.​1​0​1​7​/​S​0​0​0​3​0​5​5​4​0​6​0​6​2​010
9 Mishra, K., Boynton, L., & Mishra, A. (2014). Driving Employee Engagement. International Journal of Business Communication, 51, 183 — 202. https://​doi​.org/​1​0​.​1​1​7​7​/​2​3​2​9​4​8​8​4​1​4​5​2​5​399
10 Coombs, W. (2015). The value of com­mu­nic­a­tion dur­ing a crisis: Insights from stra­tegic com­mu­nic­a­tion research. Business Horizons, 58, 141 – 148. https://​doi​.org/​1​0​.​1​0​1​6​/​J​.​B​U​S​H​O​R​.​2​0​1​4​.​1​0​.​003
11 Batra, R., & Keller, K. (2016). Integrating Marketing Communications: New Findings, New Lessons, and New Ideas. Journal of Marketing, 80, 122 — 145. https://​doi​.org/​1​0​.​1​5​0​9​/​j​m​.​1​5​.​0​419
12 Hallahan, K. (1999). Seven Models of Framing: Implications for Public Relations. Journal of Public Relations Research, 11, 205 – 242. https://​doi​.org/​1​0​.​1​2​0​7​/​S​1​5​3​2​7​5​4​X​J​P​R​R​1​1​0​3​_02
13 Haywood, R. (1998). Public rela­tions budget and resources. Public Relations for Marketing Professionals, 83 – 96. https://​doi​.org/​1​0​.​1​0​0​7​/​978 – 1‑349 – 14365-8_5
Jerry Silfwer
Jerry Silfwerhttps://doctorspin.net/
Jerry Silfwer, alias Doctor Spin, is an awarded senior adviser specialising in public relations and digital strategy. Currently CEO at Spin Factory and KIX Communication Index. Before that, he worked at Kaufmann, Whispr Group, Springtime PR, and Spotlight PR. Based in Stockholm, Sweden.
Advertisment

The Cover Photo

The cover photo isn't related to public relations obviously; it's just a photo of mine. Think of it as a 'decorative diversion', a subtle reminder that it's good to have hobbies outside work.

The cover photo has

Advertisment

.

Subscribe to SpinCTRL—it’s 100% free!

Join 2,550+ fellow PR lovers and subscribe to Jerry’s free newsletter on communication and psychology.
What will you get?

> PR commentary on current events.
> Subscriber-only VIP content.
> My personal PR slides for .key and .ppt.
> Discounts on upcoming PR courses.
> Ebook on getting better PR ideas.
Subscribe to SpinCTRL today by clicking SUBSCRIBE and get your first free send-out instantly.

Latest Posts
Similar Posts
Most Popular
Advertisment