By Scott Goldberg

Managing Director and EVP of Client Services at Carve Communications 

The challenges of public relations are constantly evolving and you never know what the next day will bring. You must stay proactive and alert, but also patient and nimble. 

Contrary to what some might think, PR is not just about pitching reporters; Some don’t even know that “PR” stands for more than just “press release.” 

Side note: We have many stories of new business conversations that go something like this: 

• Potential client: So, when do you do the PR? 

• Us: Well, we’re always doing the PR. 

• Potential client: You’re always doing the press release?

PR is relationship building, research, writing, storytelling, working with new tools and platforms — the list goes on and on.  It’s for huge corporations, startups, personalities, and nonprofits. The best PR partners take the time and ask the right questions to understand your business. The best model of PR is “always on.”

That was the rapid-fire version of busting some common PR myths. Let’s dive deeper below.

Debunking 8 PR Myths

 “PR is just writing press releases” 

Press releases are part of the strategy; not the strategy. Take a funding announcement, for example. 

It’s all about the “ready-aim-fire” approach. We start by creating a custom media list and identifying the appropriate reporters who cover this type of announcement or the industry. Then, we think through different delivery situations like an embargo versus an exclusive and the pros and cons that come with each. That’s when the pitching starts. 

A press release supplements the pitching – not vice versa. A great one gives the facts but it also helps position the raise as part of a larger story, giving reporters a look at the company’s origin, the problems they’re solving, and the journey it took to reach this milestone.

But unless the announcement is huge – I’m talking “going public” huge – a press release alone rarely lands the story we’re all striving for. That’s the role of the perfectly-targeted, succinct pitch answering why that specific reporter should care about the news.

Guess what the first question they typically ask is after the interest? “Can I see the release?” Once those initial stories go live, then – and only then – does the press release get distributed for public consumption. 

“PR is only for big companies with big budgets”

We’ve seen clients with incredible stories but no dollars to build a splashy campaign, and clients with massive $400,000 budgets for a single event. No matter the size of your budget, it’s possible to deliver positive results.

Here’s why: PR success is not about the “right” amount of money. Instead, it’s about the right strategy to achieve your goals. That strategy can be super straightforward or elaborate depending on what you’re trying to achieve — good reviews, brand awareness lift, coverage for a new product launch, differentiation in a crowded market, or holiday sales. 

That’s not to say money can’t help. A solid budget can get you that ideal advocate or allow you to buy scale through pay-to-play tactics like SMTs (Satellite Media TV Tours), for example. 

“There’s no such thing as bad publicity”

This PR myth has been thrown around time and time again. Every year, articles cover the most cringeworthy PR disasters. Publicity can honestly be bad, sometimes. More often than not, it’s tied to having the wrong PR team in place… or no team at all.

This is where a strong relationship with a reporter can make a difference – especially when it comes to a product test or review. 

More than a few times over the years, a reporter has received a product that… let’s just say didn’t perform to our expectations or to the best of its ability. In that case, the reporter contacted us and voiced their concerns. As a result, we realized the original product was faulty and coordinated a new sample for review. The problem was solved. 

Had we not prioritized that relationship and the reporter had written a negative review, no question it would fall under the term “bad publicity.”

 “We only ever need Crisis PR”

An excellent PR team can identify a problem before it becomes a moment of crisis PR. They’ll also quickly mitigate any potential crises you encounter with powerful messaging that addresses the problem and pivots the story, limiting the potential impact.

This is one of the reasons we tout the value of always-on PR. It can also limit the potential impact of a crisis. If you have one negative story about a problem, complaint or a new business strategy and a hundred stories about positive experiences or smart executive profiles, people are more likely to see the positive stories.

Maintaining a sustainable PR strategy ensures that no moment or opportunity goes unnoticed. Yes, PR can be about the big things, like tentpole announcements and product launches. But a good PR team will create an opportunity instead of just waiting for it. 

“It takes too long for PR efforts to get meaningful results”

PR can be as fast as necessary. Timing is one of the unpredictable challenges of PR. We recently secured more than 60 pieces of coverage for the launch of a new electric boat in less than two weeks, that includes a national placement with FOX, local Miami media, industry trade coverage and more. 

Would we have preferred more time? Absolutely, but sometimes it’s not in the cards. 

That said, here’s our way to effectively balance speed and strategy to get maximum results. Let’s take onboarding a new client for example:

• Homework: Within the first week, we do our homework as a team and learn about the industry, competitors, and hot topics or trends clients might be able to capitalize on immediately. We’ll often create a SWOT analysis from this exercise and identify the initial “white space” to play in.

• Prep Work: We identify the reporters and journalists based on past coverage, develop our custom media list based on that research, and follow each reporter on LinkedIn and Twitter. We request assets from our clients such as fact sheets, company backgrounders, exec bios, and images/logos to build our asset bank.

• Narrative Development: For every client, over the last 8+ years, we sit down with them and execute a Messaging Matrix together to answer four essential questions: What, Why, How, and Who. The answers provide a roadmap for our storylines. We also run a more Thought Leadership focused workshop for clients who engage us in Executive Communications work.

• Steps 1-3 are complete: We can begin drafting new materials including fact sheets, pitches, press releases, and more.

We typically accomplish this in the first month of working with a client. Having all this information on hand helps us quickly start pitching reporters, inserting clients into trends, and sourcing opportunities. Sometimes in that first month, we even secure an opportunity or two.

“PR people don't get our business”

Lazy PR people don’t get your business. PR people that are in it for a quick buck instead of a long-term partnership also won’t get your business.

They tend to skip the “ready” in “ready-aim-fire,” or change the order entirely as they are more focused on crossing a task off their to-do list than doing a great job. 

On the other hand, good PR people will become subject matter experts in your field. They’ll do their homework and get to a spot over the first month or so of partnership where they can pitch your business and your product as well as, if not better than you can.

This is where forming a genuine relationship with a new client comes into play. Client relationships rooted in transparency and commitment on both ends lead to the greatest success. Learning from you about who you want to be the hero for and your brand story, as well as aligning on strategy and having honest conversations on KPIs, goals, and what success looks like, will immerse your PR team in your business.

“PR doesn’t lead to ROI”

While PR is not as transactional as CPM or other advertising metrics, there are ways to measure and quantify what constitutes success. Usually, that entails aligning on KPIs upfront and using different measurement methods.

For example:

But we often found that clients questioned how to evaluate stand-alone coverage apart from things like unique monthly visitors, circulation, viewership and more. 

So we also created our own measurement model to measure PR ROI, the Carve Scoring System (CSS). Our CSS is based on the belief that not all placements are created equal. Simply put, a one-sentence mention in The Wall Street Journal is not as valuable as a full review on TechCrunch that includes crucial message points, a visual, and a CTA.

“Only coverage from big outlets matters”

PR is a frequency medium. Media breeds media. More frequent stories get you on the radar and make breaking a big story that much easier. 

High CSS coverage across niche publications like industry trades and local media builds reputation and eventually lands that highly-coveted, top-tier spot. This approach is also more targeted than the large national media, reaching your audience spot-on. If you’re only focused on pitching pieces to big-name outlets you may be waiting a long time before you get a hit.

The true recipe for success is a combination of reach and frequency. The best PR program limits the peaks and valleys in-between coverage to create a more consistent approach.

I’m sure as the industry evolves, the myths will evolve, too. And that’s why it’s so essential to our growth as an agency that we stay on top of emerging trends and technologies. Years ago, Advocacy Relations and LinkedIn Executive Communications weren’t on anyone’s radars. Today we have many clients who work with us across all three service offerings, increasing demand and awareness and creating new opportunities every day.

I could have busted more PR myths here – but I’ll leave it in your hands. If you have any other potentially controversial PR topics you’d like to discuss, please reach out.