Perspectives on business-to-business public relations

Over the past 20 years, as the business community has come to better understand the value of third-party endorsement by the media, more time and dollars have been devoted to public relations. Many decision makers realized that in tough economic times, PR can be far more cost-effective than advertising in generating visibility and building credibility.

Yet public relations is still very misunderstood by many business-to-business professionals. Below are some common myths:

Myths about PR

• Investments in PR should always produce direct benefits to the bottom line.
• The benefits of PR should be able to be measured quantitatively.
• The best way to generate publicity about a firm or association is to ask the media to write about its attributes.
• Distributing news releases is the best tactic for generating a feature article on a company.
• Small and mid-sized businesses can implement strategies similar to the ones used by major corporations in order to generate press.
• With the Internet boom, PR campaigns should primarily target Web sites.

To learn more about what public relations is -- and is not -- please call Jack Appleman, President of  SG Communications, at 845-782-2419.