Why P.R. Doesn’t Work and How to Fix It

Posted June 11, 2007 by Margie Zable Fisher

I am pretty amazed by the continued comments regarding the information I gave to Guy Kawasaki that he posted in his blog on May 24, 2007, blog.guykawasaki.com - The Top 10 Reasons Why P.R. Doesn’t Work.

Several folks wrote their own lists, and I was impressed with one by Brian Solis, www.briansolis.com, on why P.R. doesn’t work and how to fix it. There’s so much great information there. Here are some of my favorites for company owners and executives:

- PR is not a switch. It doesn’t go off and on whenever you have the time or budget to throw at it. The market moves too quickly, and if you’re not actively participating in it, you’ll quickly find that company sales and site traffic will begin a downward spiral that may or may not recover.

-In most cases, coverage doesn’t just happen. PR is like farming. The more seeds you plant, along with the time you spend watering, caring for, and feeding them, your crops will grow in the form of coverage over time. While some things such as news, etc., force information out quickly, other stories take time. And when they appear, they help raise brand visibility, drive some people to buy, and they also spark others to consider writing about it - which in turn also influences the cycle to replicate. Don’t assume all of this coverage happens simply because you are a popular company.

- If you find a PR person that truly lives and breathes the company and the product, never let them go. They are a rare breed and deserve support and promotion.