At the End of the Day, It's All About Public Relationships

There's been a lot of talk recently about how PR is more crucial to companies in tough economic times and the strategies PR companies can undertake to make sure they don't get the ax by their clients - see a white paper on the topic posted by @sallyfalkow here. The one thing I'm not seeing though is at the heart of PR and that's "relations."

In an industry that is now being driven so much by social media, the art of actual relationships is going by the wayside. Companies want to see their names in print at all costs, and agencies for years have been selling the magic Kool-Aid that they have the tools to get the clients there. Tools like Twitter, Friend Feed and even Instant Messenger are the "secret ingredients" we use to connect with the media on behalf of our clients, but where does that get us? At the end of the day, it still comes down to relationships.

Using Twitter will only do so much with a reporter if you lack the skills to build a relationship with the person. I can honestly say that some of my best relationships with reporters started when I called them for the first time and found a connection with them before even jumping into my pitch. Oftentimes it was something so simple like they were based in Texas, and having just moved out of Texas where I spent my entire life, we chatted for 10 minutes about our favorite BBQ joints.

It's these relationships that drive what we do as PR practitioners. We have to remember that the "tools" are just that - a device to help get us in the door; it's up to us as individuals to cultivate and grow the relationship. Only then can we say we're truly good at what we do.