Public relations and managing reputation

One of the most interesting, thought provoking and humorous Australian public relations blogs is justanotherpr, the product of the wild, fearless and intelligent Karalee Evans. I say one of the best Australian PR blogs, but really it’s one of my fave blogs on a global level.

Along with eye-rolling, can-you-believe-it dumb marketing and/or PR moments in 2009 (think loser marketers, the GFC and social media) there have, thankfully, been plenty of inspirational examples of best practice professional communication too. Most importantly, what have we learnt during the year and how will it make us better communicators?

Blogging about public relations is motivating because of the discipline’s inherent drama, aptitude for telling interesting stories and constant shape-shifting. A major motivating factor behind the blog’s inception was (and is) to raise awareness of the strategic importance of public relations to business and how its best practice application leads to a more equitable society.

An organisation should customise stakeholder communication in respect of, and in response to, stakeholders’ core values. This means aligning an organisation with societal and stakeholder expectations. This is often driven by CSR and thought leadership which, when strategically applied, will lessen the impact of a crisis and lead to a faster ‘reputational’ recovery post-crisis. All of which will be enhanced by the involvement of a best practice public relations professional.