Avoiding PR Mistakes: Five Crucial Tips for Success in Public Relations

What are the most common PR mistakes?

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Mila Weeteling
March 26, 2024

PR increases the value of companies. It contributes to the trust and credibility of your company. Unfortunately, a lot of PR mistakes are made. With the tips below, you can avoid these common mistakes when it comes to PR.

many people immediately think of advertising when they hear the word PR, even though this is not the same thing

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1. confusing PR with advertising

The first of the series of common PR mistakes is confusing PR with advertising. Many people immediately think of advertising when they hear the word PR, even though it's not the same thing. After all, advertising is always paid and the goal is to promote a product/service. PR, on the other hand, focuses on the reputation of a company or brand and builds trust with the target group.

Important aspects of public relations are the concepts owned and earned media. Advertising is associated with paid media, and this can lead to confusion with PR. Owned media refers to the channels and platforms that are owned by your organization, literally your own media. This includes the socials, website and blogs. Earned media is earned through positive attention and publicity that you don't pay directly as an organization. Earned media includes news reports, reviews and word of mouth, for example.

2. straying from the core message

The core message is the most important message you want to convey to the target group or customer. By telling more than necessary, confusion occurs. In this way, the message becomes less strong. By sharing the core message, you ensure that the target group understands you and the message better.

3. the idea that everything is newsworthy

Another common PR mistake is thinking that everything is newsworthy. You may find something interesting for your company, but this does not mean that the target group and journalists agree. To prevent this, it's important to know when something is newsworthy.

A story is according to OWL Purdue newsworthy if it has one or more of the following features:

Relevance: is the news relevant to the target group or journalist?

Actuality: how recent is the event?

Predictability: as events such as the elections or sporting events get closer, their newsworthiness increases, as they take place on a schedule.

Impact: how many people are affected by the event? Is it about something big or small?

Unexpectedness: was the event unexpected, such as a natural disaster?

Conflict: editors find stories with conflict interesting.

Elite people: politicians, athletes and entertainers are seen as newsworthy because this often appeals to more people.

Continuity: certain events will remain in the news for a long time, such as wars or elections.

4. lack of consistency

By consistently By being, you build credibility and trust with the target group and avoid making a PR mistake. After all, if you send opposing messages on different media, you are only causing ambiguity.

5. not being present on social media

There are more PR errors, such as not using social media. Social media ensures interaction with your target group and brand awareness. By not taking advantage of this, you run the risk of lagging behind the competition. Therefore, make sure you can be found on social media and post content that suits the target group.

Do your best not to fall into these pitfalls. If you want help with this, nxt agency is here for you.

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