You might be wondering why you should tell your business story to anyone? You may already have overcome the initial difficulties, and in spite of the recession and administrative swirls your work is progressing at a satisfactory level.  Or you might still be at the beginning and are doing your best to keep your head above the surface. Let us presume that you have a service or a product for which there is a need on the market, you have mastered basic entrepreneurial skills and found good employees and collaborators. You have started or are planing marketing activities, you are tracking the market searching for new trends and trying to be the first to apply them at home…All in all, you are a complete entrepreneur or you are on the right track of becoming one soon. Still when you look at it in a wider context you find that there is still something missing.

This missing link you are now thinking about and that will round up the whole story is public relations. Despite all the plagues that have afflicted the market, every developing and ongoing business story deserves to be told in a way that it will present who you are and what you represent. Each company, product or service are just like an individual, unique and special. It is this unique and special quality that we all want to underline: highlight our best features and become recognizable.

It is the public relations specialist’s job to recognize your story and to make it closer to the right people, in the right way and at the right time. The most common way to approach your target audience is through media who will recognize the potential of a good story if it is told in a way they can understand. The media is still the most powerful means of communication, a channel that every day reaches millions of people. If you manage to get the reporters and the editors interested in your story, you will have done a great job, since they are the ones that listen to your audience and know how to attract their attention. Interest or indifference to the media could be a great indicator whether you are going in the right direction: if you manage to place your story in the media, your service or product will definitely have their customers.

However, a few media appearances do not mean that you have developed a relationship with the public. A constant presence, professionalism and availability demand time, strategic planning and resources. Some stories should be told on TV, some are excellent for the online media and some are ideal for the printed media. Should I even mention that nowadays, if you do not have an online profile it is as you didn’t exist at all? Google is the first tool your clients or potential business partners will use when they search for more information about you. Why shouldn’t you then take the matters into your own hands and be in charge of the online content connected to your name or your company? It will remain available online forever.

Communication on social networks and the opportunities they create are a completely separate area that offers immense possibilities, but should be left to the professionals unless you are really skilled and  know all the rules. The amount of time needed for a two way communication on social networks also should be considered. You also should not neglect the need for professional crisis communication, employee relations, developing relationships with B2B community and key stakeholders.
Public relations will often open new business opportunities not only to the end users, but also to potential business partners both in your country and abroad. The way you approach the public relations will be a way from which they will be able to evaluate your business potential.
In the end, looking at a bigger picture, it is the public relations job to help you gain and maintain the reputation or a way you want to be perceived. Experience proves that set goals, designed communication, strategic planning and dedicate work inevitably result in success.