What is the Nature of Challenge in Public Relations?

The PR industry in India is mushrooming. The rampant growth is the result of the impact different forms of media have had on decision-making. The people are accepting the need for it, but no one really understands the challenges faced by the PR people.

A quick look at PR: PR is an essential ingredient in the marketing mix. Working together with digital marketing, PR takes the campaign to new heights. Many talks have been going on about tech integration in PR, but we have missed out on discussing the challenges.

As the leading Digital PR Agency, we feel it is our responsibility to discuss the challenges we face as part of this industry.

Talking from years of personal experience in the Digital PR, this is what we have to say –

• Are we ready to address the lack of proper understanding of the PR industry?

In the Indian market, the understanding of corporate communication or PR is fairly limited. The advertising or marketing industry is understood, but PR – not as much.

It’s about time we address that a lot needs to be done to raise awareness about the Indian PR industry, so the client understands what to expect and where to look for it.

Budding entrepreneurs and forthcoming brands have good stories to tell, but insufficient knowledge on how to spread the word limits them. The same is with SMEs.  A large audience is on the lookout for promotions to improve their media presence with the help of SMO, SEO, and even print ads. But the results fall flat on the face of expectation when PR is not in the marketing mix.

• We mix earned and paid forms of media!

We have encountered a ton of people who genuinely mixed up earned and paid media. They get overwhelmed by the options at their disposal and end up messing with their strategy.

Earned and paid media are polar opposite, and it should be evident to one and all.

Paid media – No, there is nothing to do with yellow journalism here. Paid media is the kind of media where you pay for reach and visitors with the help of display, affiliate marketing, TV ads, direct mail, and many more.

Earned media – When publicity is produced through PR, targeting the effective influencers to boost the brand awareness, it is earned media. It includes viral social media content, blogs, and other forms of publishers.

• Return of investment and Budget

This is not a new challenge. It has been a long-running challenge for marketers since the inception of this industry. Because the ROI can’t be objectively calculated, clients do not allocate the appropriate budget.

There has been a lot of talk about the importance of PR as time has gone by, but the understanding is still not complete. PR has never been ROI driven, it instead is used to build a brand at the visionary level.

Media presence does not have a provable turnaround in sales and a spike in churn outs. It is about time we address the talks around ROI in the industry.

• Senior management engagement

Despite being the leading Digital PR agency in Delhi, we face this challenge from time to time. As a PR consultant, the involvement of senior management in the everyday brief and activity is highly crucial.

PR agencies are hired to improve the brand value and to build a brand image. To get the desired result in these plans, senior management has a significant role to play.  Managers do an exceptional job at their given level, but there is no shying away from the fact that the results always turn out to be better when the senior management gets involved. But presently, it seems to be lacking.

Great PR work requires abundant involvement with the main members of the team. The people who have been a part of the journey, who have lived the journey of the brand, will be able to tell the better. It is as simple as that.

• A little Patience, just a little…

PR is a long process. It is essential to understand the process, as well as the fact that it doesn’t happen overnight. The difference between quantity and quality must be acknowledged. To be present at the right place at the right time is highly crucial, and that is what PR is all about.

PR is growing fast, we wish that PR is understood and the challenges are overcome.

You May Also Read: How Public Relations Can Benefit Your Business

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