PR is definitely a great field to work in, especially when you are passionate about it. But as any profession, it can be very challenging sometimes. PR professionals have constantly to find effective ways to communicate with the public and build a good image, and sometimes the path to success can be very tricky. Especially with the rise of the internet and social media, the number of competitors that keeps on increasing, the public’s expectations that are getting higher etc. Here are some challenges that PR practitioners face on a daily basis.
Reputation management
A good reputation needs A LOT of work to be built, and even more work to be maintained. One mistake or clumsiness can destroy everything, and rebuilding a good image in the eye of the public can be way too harder. This is why managing the organization reputation is a challenging task. Professionals need to constantly check what it is said about the organization on the internet. Especially today, since everyone can write everything about anything. Fake news or bad reviews for example, definitely affect the image of the company. And without any doubt, bad reviews lead to a bad reputation. This is why PR practitioners should make sure in the first place to be honest, satisfy their target audience and most importantly, listen to their critiques and requests.
Crisis management
Unexpected events that can threaten the stability of a business can hit from nowhere and anytime. It can be anything: economic issues, natural disasters, accidents etc. Some crises in particular can be really difficult to deal with and manage. And most of the time, it’s the communication and PR team that has the responsibility of handling these difficult situations. The organization’s stability should never be taken for granted. They need to make special strategies in advance and always be prepared to manage crises.
Communication and media channels
Choosing the right media channels for a PR campaign isn’t always an easy task. Yes, nowadays there are a lot of trending channels such as Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok etc. in addition to the different traditional channels. But if practitioners pick the wrong one and don’t deliver their message to the audience they are trying to reach, what is the point?
Some audiences are just easily reached on some platforms just as some channels are more suitable for a specific kind of messages. Modern PR campaigns today should consider more channels based on their key messages and what objectives they are aiming to reach. Choosing the right ones is a challenge in the sense that they are the key of reaching the target audience. The effectiveness of a campaign depends on many things, and choosing the correct channel is one