Public Relations is All Around Us — GVSU PRSSA – Grand Valley State University Chapter of the Public Relations Society of America

What is PR, and How Do We See It?

Public relations is a communication style that focuses on building relationships between a company and their publics. Yes, you are a part of the public, so you play a fundamental role in PR functions. The main reason for this form of communication is to bring the public closer to a company to promote a service or product; therefore, we experience different forms of PR in our everyday lives. Some we might notice, and some strategies might be so simple that they go over our heads.

How We See PR in Everyday Life

Take a second to picture your morning routine. For many of us, scrolling through social media has become the norm as one of the first things to do in the morning. While going through your Instagram feed, you notice that your favorite brunch spot was mentioned in a news segment and you click on that article. That would be an example of news and press in PR. After that, you might go grab a cold brew from the fridge. While sipping, you notice that on the bottle, the company has a Twitter profile. You then open up the app to go follow and share your favorite flavor with your followers. This is an example of PR on a social media platform. As you can see, simply by doing these activities, you can stumble upon many different kinds of PR communications. In your regular daily routine, you almost always come in contact with PR techniques.

You are Part of Various Target Audiences

Remember, everyone is a part of the public, and therefore you can also be a part of a company’s specific target audience. For example, say if you are a dedicated hiker and enjoy being outdoors, you might be included in the target audience of a company like Patagonia that is further looking to supply more knowledge about their hiking equipment. They might have a hiking event to showcase this gear, and it might open your eyes to learn more about the company. Attending that event would make you a part of the target audience of that promotional event.

Does that make you a special “chosen one” for these brands? The concept may sound silly, but you might be. No seriously. If you have hobbies and likes or dislikes, you become part of particular target audiences. For example, are you in an exercise group on Facebook? Do you root for a specific sports team? These interests can help group people into one larger mass and help PR pros understand what the public might be interested in seeing and how to communicate with them. So, yes, you might be the chosen one that brands are trying to reach.

Let’s Embrace It

Let’s face it, PR is everywhere. When you’re watching the news, when you scroll through social media, and even at local events, sometimes it can seem hard to escape. If we can’t escape it, why not embrace it? I feel pretty honored when I look at a campaign, certain brand messaging, or media releases that I know are tailored to me and my interests. PR can mutually benefit both the public and the company it serves for. It allows for the company to communicate in a way that is able to spread information in unique ways. So why not? Embrace getting to learn about the companies and why they might target you.

About Damaiya

Damaiya Harper is a senior studying Advertising and Public Relations at Grand Valley State University. This is her second semester with GrandPR and she is excited to work with a wonderful group of people. Currently, Damaiya works at the GVSU's Development Office as a student communications assistant. After graduation Damaiya hopes to spread her wings and continue to keep learning new skills about PR.