Public relations (PR) is the art of presenting a brand in the most favorable light. When done correctly, your brand will undoubtedly gain trust and authority. However, due to the incorrect actions of a PR specialist, communication can become ineffective, and any mistake can be costly to the owner and detrimental to the reputation of their brainchild, leading to the loss of audience, clients, and market positions. Conversely, proper PR helps to harmonize relationships with stakeholders and build trust in the brand. Here are typical mistakes to avoid if you want to pursue a career in PR.

#1 Incorrectly Constructed PR Strategy

PR campaign messages influence consumers not directly, like advertising, but indirectly, notably through interviews, presentations, and reports. Therefore, it is essential to know your target audience well to convey important messages in a way that is understandable to them, through convenient means, and to do so regularly. It is also desirable for significant sources for the target audience not only to disseminate information but also to emphasize the advantages of a particular product, service, or company. Choosing the wrong communication channel can repel consumers, causing negative associations. This is the problem that most campaigns face.

Even well-known global brands do not always conduct perfect PR campaigns. For example, in 2017, after massive protests against racial inequality and police brutality in the US, Pepsi developed a large-scale ad campaign featuring Kendall Jenner. In this way, the brand sought to support the social movement. The video’s plot involves Kendall participating in a photoshoot when a peaceful protest takes place nearby. She notices it and joins the protesters. Then she walks through the crowd to the police officers and hands one of them a can of Pepsi. However, many people did not perceive the promotion of a product using social issues positively. Eventually, the brand had to apologize and even end the campaign. This case proves that if a brand wants to support a social movement and declare its position, it should do so selflessly, rather than simultaneously implementing a marketing plan.

#2 Excessive Number of Press Releases

Press releases are a convenient and quick way to provide journalists with necessary information. However, ideally, the share of press releases should not exceed 20% of the total number of publications. By abandoning reviews, analyses, interviews, and comments, a brand narrows its media presence.

To expand the scope of media coverage, increase the audience, and arouse genuine interest, various communication formats should be used:

regular interviews — not only with top managers but also with department heads and employees who have interesting stories and achievements; expert comments in editorial materials; analytical publications that discuss the situation in a specific area, influencing factors, trends, and forecasts; expert-authored columns on various topics, from the specifics of service provision and product manufacturing to employee motivation and case studies.

#3 Inability to Conduct Press Conferences

Press conferences should be held when a company cannot or does not have time to respond to individual media requests. However, it should be remembered that attempting to offer journalists “correct” questions, according to the company’s opinion, can negatively affect the PR specialist’s reputation. Since media representatives are usually well-prepared and can ask questions favorable to competitors. The media have the right to interpret news at their discretion, except for facts and figures. If you notice a factual error, insist on its correction.

#4 Fixation on Corporate Pages

Social media is one of the primary sources of information through which clients and media learn something new and interesting about a brand. However, at the stage when the company is not yet well-known, news published, for example, on the official Facebook page, is only read by a few people — the employees who write them. Instead, it is better to focus on another task — getting into media accounts with a large number of subscribers. Such publications repost messages that stand out among others and are guaranteed to find a response in the target audience (TA). Therefore, for a user to follow the link, read the material, and pay attention to the brand, the content must be engaging.

#5 Offering Journalists News from Facebook Instead of Exclusive Content

The social media accounts of founders and top executives of the company are, in essence, also media, which, in terms of engagement, can often outperform traditional media outlets. If you planned to prepare exclusive material for publication, but the manager has already shared unique information on their account, this is a reason to change the topic or angle of presentation. After all, the journalist will think that you are unable to control internal communications and have deprived him of exclusive material, which he relied on and agreed on with the editorial staff. So next time, he will think twice about whether it is worth cooperating with you.

Having news for the media, remember that the right to the first publication belongs to the PR specialist. If the company has many employees with active public accounts, develop a schedule together with HR and SMM specialists to understand what and when to publish. This will help avoid misunderstandings in working with journalists and premature disclosure of important information.

#6 Placing Materials on Television Only During Prime Time

At this time, your PR materials can indeed be seen by many viewers, but attention should be paid not to quantity but to quality. When your potential clients watch TV and which channels are their favorites: national or local? It is better to place PR materials in less competitive times and announce them in advance. This will help reduce the budget for the PR campaign.

#7 Poor Choice of Influencers for Collaboration

According to statistics, the level of trust in blogger recommendations reaches 62%. However, there is so much information with the perfect picture that audiences, apart from fans, are increasingly looking for those people and brands that offer useful content, interesting stories, minimal advertising, and above all, values ​​that match their worldview. So be prepared that in the case of an ill-considered action by a blogger, your brand may suffer reputational damage (“turbulence”), which will reduce sales levels.

A vivid example was the scandal this year with the Kyiv TikToker Di.rubens. The blogger posted a video she filmed on Independence Square, where she preferred Russia over the USA, Ukraine, and Belarus. Later, the company “Allo” announced that it was terminating any cooperation with the TikToker Di.rubens and does not share her position.