Common Misperceptions of PR

People tend to think they know what public relations is about, but I am here to breakdown some common myths of the profession.

Common Misperception #1: Public Relations is all about lying

The public relations field is actually about telling the truth and building trust. If we lie to the public, we will be found out and then we lose all footing. We can only keep the public on our side by being transparent, so we share accurate information about our clients and their stories.

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Common Misperception #2: We drink… A LOT

This is a myth spread mostly by TV and movies. For some reason Hollywood thinks PR pros sit around drinking and lunching or brunching. Some people like to have a sip after work but not everyone drinks

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Common Misperception #3: Social media is our end all be all

People think that we only use social media as a tool. To be a great PR person you have to understand that not everyone uses social media the same. Some people use many social apps, some use a few, and some use none at all. If we only focus on social media, then we are excluding people from getting information.

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Common Misperception #4: Our job is 9-to-5

PR people tend to be shown as working in offices and not having any at home work to do. This is quite the contrary. Whenever a PR person sees a newspaper or a commercial – sometimes even about a client’s competitor – your mind goes right back to work thinking of new strategies to use.

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-Garrett Phillips