Government PR Flacks: Focus on the long-term relationships

Public relations is an evolving industry and it is interesting, especially in government, where there isn’t always an obvious sell to be made and rarely a profit to be earned. Steve Radick, Vice President at Cramer-Krasselt, joined Chris Dorobek on the DorobekINSIDER to talk about where the industry is headed.

Social media has, in some ways, made public relations a more difficult industry. People are expecting actual
relationships with brands, which can be like having a long-distance significant-other. There has to be authenticity and trust there – the consumer doesn’t want to be always thinking about the agencies alterior motive. The public industry has changed because of technology, and even the Public Relations Society of America is reconsidering their definition of public relations.
STEVE RADICK CLIP 1 by cdorobek

There is also a lot of focus on which social media platforms to use in campaigns, which can shift the focus from what matters, which is building long-term relationships. Rather than being interested in the platforms, PR flacks should focus on who they’re targeting and what is the best way to reach them, and judge platforms based on that. Also, it’s great to create some short-term buzz, but that isn’t sustainable and shouldn’t be the focus of campaigns. The focus should be on reliable, long-term relationships.
Steve Radick Clip 2 by cdorobek

It’s also important to keep in mind that PR in government is different than PR for selling a product. There isn’t the profit incentive in government which can make it easy to ignore the importance of PR campaigns. However, government does provide services, and it’s important that citizens are aware of what government is doing. Action should be seen as the return on investment in PR. It may be great for an agency or company to have millions of Facebook fans, but if they aren’t actively supporting your goals what use are they?
Radick Clip 3 by cdorobek

To listen to Steve’s full interview you can catch the full radio show at GovLoop Insights or your can subscribe to our itunes channel.