Definition of PR

Public relations is about reputation – the result of what you do, what you say and what others say about you.

Public relations is the discipline which looks after reputation, with the aim of earning understanding and support and influencing opinion and behaviour. It is the planned and sustained effort to establish and maintain goodwill and mutual understanding between an organisation and its publics.

Public relations involves the cultivation of favorable relations for organizations and products with its key publics through the use of a variety of communications channels and tools. Traditionally, this meant public relations professionals would work with members of the news media to build a favorable image by publicizing the organization or product through stories in print and broadcast media.

But today the role of public relations is much broader and includes:

building awareness and a favorable image for a company or client within stories and articles found in relevant media outlets, including social media
defining the messaging and red-thread for the organization in all facets of communication – collaterals, presentations, web etc
building awareness and the profile of the company with third parties such as industry analysts
closely monitoring numerous media channels for public comment about a company and its products
managing crises that threaten company or product image
building goodwill among an organization’s target market