By Mary Beth West, APR

This past month, our team has talked about some common misperceptions about public relations. 

I’ll wrap up that theme by poking holes into three long-held myths that most public relations professionals encounter with some regularity, regardless of where they work.

 MYTH:  Relationships aren’t measurable. 

 REALITY:  There are few excuses companies use more not to invest in public relations, and it’s flat-out wrong.  If measurement is what you want – and, logically, most organizations do – the profession is burgeoning with tools to gauge audience awareness, attitudes, opinions and behaviors that result directly from public relations initiatives and take a company from Point A to Point B.

The key is to invest in the tools that actually provide the measurement components, and that’s where so many companies and organizations fall short.  Yes, they want it, but they don’t want to pay for it — a common conundrum.  Getting to the real value proposition of what measurement offers — not only as a way of knowing what works but also understanding how to improve — is what can sell it best.

Another point: public relations efforts are more marathon than sprint.  Genuine trust-building and reputation development don’t simply happen in a six-week blitz campaign.  Whether short-term or multi-phased, however, public relations programs worth their salt integrate some level of results tracking.

MYTH:  The message is all that matters.

REALITY:  Behavior and intent matter more.  “Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain!” doesn’t cut it anymore in our uber-transparent society, where every veil is so easily lifted by the power of social media.  And in truth, I’ve long advocated that any company lacking the guts to have the true intent of its decision-making laid bare to public scrutiny wasn’t a company I wanted to work with – and I still feel that way.  It helps me sleep at night.

Messages are indeed critical, and in public relations, we are certainly in the business of advocating for our clients with clear, effective messages that resonate with audiences.  However, if those messages aren’t firmly rooted in truth and good-faith intent, then your company’s problems are only just beginning. 

MYTH:  Control equals success.

REALITY:  It’s an intoxicating idea – the whole notion of interacting with any group of people where all the powers of persuasion and its rewards rest with you.  But come on. 

I once saw a t-shirt worn by John McVie of Fleetwood Mac, “Rock and Roll Ain’t Pretty, Baby,” and in a similar vein as someone who knows a particular line of work quite well, I can say that public relations efforts never unfold in a neat, tidy, 100-percent controlled fashion.  That’s simply not the reality of working symbiotically with other people – and often myriad groups of people who hold their own ideas, opinions, biases, experiences and desires. 

Where many companies make their mistake here is to hold their hand too close to the vest – “if I can’t completely control all the processes and all the outcomes, then I just won’t play in that sandbox at all.”  And it’s those companies sitting on the sidelines right now, saying nothing, not interacting – and of course, not getting noticed or advancing their brands in what is a very loud and competitive space.   They also have little basis upon which to understand how they can improve and stay relevant.

Absolute control is an illusion, and it dooms companies to failure in a marketplace where brands can only thrive if they’re down in the mosh pit of knowing, understanding and responding to their customers.