Is All Publicity Good Publicity?
April 9, 2012
A Wall Street Journal front-page headline recently grabbed my attention. It read, “Is All Publicity Good Publicity?”
The answer to that in my mind is emphatically “No.” This is especially the case for All Points Public Relations’ clients. Our clients are businesses and entrepreneurs that are putting an incredible amount of energy, resources, time and emotions into their businesses. An erroneous or damaging story could have a significantly negative impact on their business.
How do companies that want good press ensure positive publicity locally and nationally? And, what happens when the unexpected occurs? How does a company mitigate or avoid damaging coverage?
Let’s start with the first point made. When working with a PR firm such as All Points PR, a Chicago PR Agency] working primarily in the franchise industry, it is important that you make the team working on your account a full-fledged member of your inner circle, entrusting them with information and insights about your company. The good and the bad, the pretty and the ugly, all the information that the team needs to accurately develop media strategies that drive positive results. Good **PR firms** can weave your good news into compelling media pitches, and can develop messaging needed to overcome any damaging information that may come to light through the press. Likewise, PR representatives worth their weight in gold can control the direction of coverage, managing the conversation about your brand so that only the news you want in the press gets to the press, whether through direct media pitches, press releases, social media, etc.
This leads us nicely into the second point discussed above unexpected occurrences that could lead to negative press. Here, your PR team moves into crisis communications mode. But, prior to that, a seasoned PR team will have already set down a foundation to make this work of managing a crisis as easy as possible. They should be able to call on media contacts to dispel any rumors, to squelch negativity brewing and to issue a media statement if needed. Secondly, a plan will be in place to overcome negative online fodder and to re-direct the overall discussion about the brand towards something more positive.
So, is any publicity good publicity? NO. Can you avoid damaging press by making sure your PR agency is “in the know” and is equipped to share accurate information? YES.
This is a 50,000 foot overview of a much more in-depth topic that we can discuss for hours, or for just a few minutes if you prefer. Give us a buzz and we can talk about designing a public relations strategy that fits your goals and gets you the good publicity you want for your business.
