PR Lessons Learned

As a franchise public relations firm heavily immersed in all things PR, we recently talked about some of the lessons we have learned while working in the franchise public relations field.  No matter what field you find yourself working in you can expect to learn lots of lessons as you continue on in your career.  You never begin any career knowing all there is to know right away.  You have to expect yourself to make some mistakes in order to learn.  If your new to the public relations field or looking to implement PR strategies or PR tactics with your own business or franchise, take some of the following lessons into account as you continue on your public relations journey:  

Lesson #1 Establish trust with those around you

One major lesson we have learned working in the franchise public relations field is how important it is to earn trust.  Relationships built with the media or a client need to be based on honesty and a trusted, partner type relationship must develop.  What creates a trusting relationship?  When it comes to building a relationship with a client, a PR agency or team needs to keep the client informed as to what their role is and making sure that they understand what their strengths, weaknesses and goals are.  A trusting relationship includes respect, privacy, and keeping clients constantly in the loop.  We regard building a trusting relationship as one of the most important parts of the PR job. 

Lesson #2 Always remain calm, even under pressure

Lets face it, working in the franchise public relations industry, or really just the PR industry in general, can have its tough moments, but as PR experts it’s our job to remain calm even under pressure. When a situation isn’t going as planned your reaction can alter the way your client feels about you and working with you in general, so do your best to stay calm and handle tough situations with grace.    

Lesson #3 Set realistic goals

Promising your client the world could be setting the bar a bit too high, so keep the goals you set as realistic as possible.  Be extra careful promising clients things you are not sure you can get them.  Promising them you could have every major media outlet at their event isn’t a great idea if you have doubts about sealing the deal.  Set realistic goals for yourself and your client and make the goals you set attainable. 

Lesson #4 Be willing to go the extra mile

Always be willing to go the extra mile for your clients.  Coming up with a great PR strategy and the PR tactics to back up the strategy is all in important in being successful at your job, but so is being willing to go the extra mile.  Making that extra phone call, sending an extra email or attempting to follow up once again can do wonders for you and your client. 

Lesson #5 Enjoy what you do

One thing we certainly have all learned is that one of the most important parts of working in franchise public relations, or really just public relations in general, is that you really need to enjoy what you do.  While that is probably true of any job you ultimately pursue it is one lesson that is important to learn as early on in your career as possible.  Enjoying what you do will make you better at it, there’s no doubt about that.  Love what you do and your work will surely reflect that.

Have your own PR lessons that you'd like to share with us?  Feel free to leave us a comment below or contact us.