Public Relations Research and Practice

Before doing anything else as a public relations practitioner, one must first do some research, because it is only through knowledge that one can gain understanding.

Before taking on a project, a PR practitioner must first find out if it is something that he/she can and wants to take on. It may be of interest to research the company or individual requesting PR services. After all, that company or individual may operate or have practices that he/she as a person (or as a PR practitioner) may not be comfortable with. Or the job that is required might be too much to handle.

After taking on a project, research also comes into play because one must first find out more about the situation before being able to come up with an appropriate PR strategy.

And after implementing a plan, research is still required to find out how well that plan is being carried out. Are the goals being met? How can it be improved? How are people reacting to the strategy? Answering all those questions requires research.

But after researching and gathering all the information, what is one to do with it? McElreath (1993: 79), describes that step using the Heirarchy of Effects model. It provides tiers of goals that need to take place before another tier can be reached.

6: Changing reinforcing behaviours
5: Changing/reinforcing attitudes/opinions
4: Comprehending the message/campign/program
3: Receiving the message/campign/program
2: Disseminating the message/campign/program
1: Formulating the message/campign/program

The PR practitioner begins at the bottom (stage 1) and must complete that objective before being able to move on to the next objective.

Each objective has issues that must be addressed. For example, to promote a healthy eating programme to phase out the consumption of instant noodles because prolonged consumption causes cancers in the digestive tract, one must first address the fact that not everyone may know that information. If the public does not understand the reason behind a message/campaign/programme, it will not be as effective.

There are also different methods of carrying out research that is specific to the problem to be investigated. For example, if a bakery wanted to find out how many people liked their new bun, it would be more useful to use a method that quantifies. But if they wanted to find out why customers liked or disliked the new bun, a method that qualifies might be more useful. A combination of methods can also be useful. If the bakery wanted to know how popular the new bun was and why, a method that both quantifies and qualifies data would be more useful than a single method.

But another question would be why is Public Relations even important?

Public relations helps to bring people together as a group, to provide better understanding of things that are hapening around us, so that everyone can work together to a greater outcome.

The job of a PR practitioner is to help their clients communicate better with their target audience, communities within the public in general, and investors. They help create better working relationships btween these groups of people. This is also why public relations is needed in most fields of business.

After all, everyone could do with a good public image. ;D