Public Relations and Publicity

Public relations (PR) and publicity are designed to promote a company’s image or its individual

products. [21] A small business can also use PR to clarify information in response to negative

publicity. (Publicity usually being “an outcome of PR that is produced by the news media and is

not paid for or sponsored by the business involved.”) [22] Traditional PR tools include press

releases and press kits that are sent to the media to generate positive press on behalf of the

business. A press kit, the most widely used PR tool, pulls together company and product

information to make a good, solid first impression. [23] (Be sure to print the company’s website

address on everything.) A press kit can be particularly useful for small businesses, although the

smallest of businesses may not see the need. Other common platforms include speeches,

seminars (online and offline), brochures, newsletters, annual reports, charitable donations,

community relations, and company magazines. [24] Increasingly, companies are using the

Internet: interactive social media, such as blogs, Twitter, and Facebook; home-page

announcements for specific occasions (e.g., messages of sympathy for the victims of a disaster);

and e-mail.

Social media services such as Google Alerts and TweetBeep can be very helpful for managing a

company’s reputation. Reputation management“is the process of tracking other’s opinions and

comments about a company’s actions and products, and reacting to those opinions and

comments to protect and enhance the company’s reputation.” [25] Both services notify the

business when the company name is mentioned. Addressing extremely negative comments

immediately is very important for any small business with a web presence.