The Face of the Company: Why Your Company Needs a Competent Public Relations Expert

In the age of social media, a company’s public face is more critical than ever before. People use online information to make decisions about the services they want to use and what companies they want to do business with.

While smaller companies can get by with managing social media profiles with little or no help, larger companies and organizations are constantly being targeted on social media.

With their online reputations always under the microscope, larger companies and organizations need public relations professionals to help them navigate the constant barrage of public opinion assaults that could prove disastrous if not handled with expert finesse.

From mid-level to senior-level, public relations professionals are there to help you manage your company’s interests in the media and public forums.

Establish a Media Presence

Getting exposure for your company’s products and services has never been easier—or more complex. There used to be only four media outlets: television, radio, print and outdoor. As print and terrestrial broadcast channels have become relics, new media has become more personal and personalized. The arena has expanded with both mainstream media channels and thousands of special-interest platforms allowing communicators to target messages based on textual content and audience.

Today, PR professionals have to monitor trends and conversations in social media because these platforms are fueling the tightest news cycle in our history. Brands can enjoy valuable positive buzz overnight simply by posting an authentic tweet that both entertains and informs. At the same time, brands can pay a dear price for being tone-deaf to the concerns and fluid sensitivities of the online public.

Public relations professionals are responsible for staying plugged in to the culture and creating relevant messages that authentically engage a brand’s audience.

Reinforcing Authentic Core Values

Creating an authentic reputation is important to forging true relationships with stakeholders from customers to employees and shareholders. Professional PR and marketing executives understand that people want the values of the company they do business with to align with their own. Being socially neutral may work for a while, but it’s possible that your company may reluctantly get drawn into a conversation and you will need to take a stand as it relates to your core values.

The right public relations team can leverage community involvement, nonprofit partnerships and social media marketing to find common values with your audience. But you must be authentic. Some unsophisticated companies have taken stances on issues in public but later have been found not to hold those values internally. This disconnect leaves them trying to explain their hypocrisy, leading to further embarrassment and lasting damage to their brands.

Potential Employees Look at Your Public Face

Both customers and employees—current and potential—are keeping an eye on your corporate social presence in the media. You can bet that any potential hires will look up your company to make sure that your values align with theirs. For instance, potential candidates who are concerned about the environment will look favorably on companies that show efforts in environmental causes.

The right public relations team can utilize communications strategies to reinforce a company’s values with both internal and external stakeholders. This expertise bridges the potential internal-external gap that exists in some companies that struggle to communicate what the organizational values are and how the company actually lives them.

Skillful public relations can’t make a bad company look good. It may temporarily make the organization look better than it would without good PR, but in the end, a company has to understand its core values and authentically know how to communicate how it’s living up to them. A good PR team is the mouthpiece of an authentic heart.

If you’re looking for a public relations professional who’s a perfect fit for your organization, contact one of our top executive recruiters at Brookwoods Group in San Antonio and Houston, Texas.

We’ve helped place marketing and management professionals in numerous companies where they’ve added tremendous value to the firm. Ask about our six-step recruitment process by calling us at (800) 426-3900.