If you are a new business you probably haven’t had too much exposure to the world of PR yet. Let me tell you a little about it.

A PR firm manages the flow of information between an organization and the public. Thats it. That is the main purpose of a PR firm. Sounds simple, right?

Well, it is and it isn’t. The great thing about PR is that it can be managed directly by the business if done correctly. The bad thing about PR is that it cannot be managed directly by the business if not done correctly. That might sound like a stupid redundancy, but it is hitting home on the point I will be making – if from business inception (or business youth at least) you handle your own PR effectively then you are on the right road. Big companies often rely on PR firms to manage their public affairs because they didn’t start right from the beginning.

Here are three simple ways you can keep on top of your companies PR, now and forever:

1. Be Honest and Forthright. Nothing can sink a ship faster than lying to the world and themselves that there are no icebergs in the water. A look at the Enron situation illustrates this point. Enron’s CEO, Kenneth Lay, had built a workplace culture of enthusiasm and business strength. In the background, however, things began to slip and the business was going to see cutbacks. To bolster his business up, he opened off shore accounts, opened the business to shady internet trading and did a lot of dishonest things to make it seem like their assets were larger than they really were. Just like the little white lie we’ve all told, Mr. Lay tried to hide his first lie with a second lie, his second lie with at third, and so on. Before long, Lay was embroiled in one of the largest accounting/business scandals the US has ever seen. The best PR a company can build for itself is the appearance and reality of 100% honesty. Because you and your employees are human situations may occur (dishonesty) for which you will need to set the record straight. It is imperative that you set the record straight and not just try to sweep it under the rug. As long as these situations are far and few between the public will respect you for coming out with the truth, especially when it is hard to do so. This is the best policy you can implement to maintain a successful PR campaign far into the future; if you never get caught up in a scandal you will never need a cleanup crew. Continue Reading »