Public relations firms have existed for many years helping clients to put out fires in the media and managing their reputations. As with almost every industry on the planet, PR firms now work slightly differently and are now mainly focused on the digital world. I have been working for a Digital PR firm for 3 years now and I must say that is a very exciting job which can change each day, and usually does. The question that I am most often asked by people when I tell them that I work here is what kind of clients use digital PR firms. Without giving too much away of course, these are the kind of clients which we currently have on our list.
Businesses
Th online world is very lucrative for companies and they must constantly work hard to boost there online presence and maintain a positive reputation. Unfortunately the online world can be cruel and it doesn’t take much for a company to be plunged into crisis as the result of an ill-timed tweet or a foolish piece of content. The sis why the majority of our client list is made up of businesses, mainly those looking to avoid a PR disaster. Businesses are very sensitive about their online presence and this is why they work with us.
Celebrities
Over the years we have had quite a few celebrity accounts on our books and the way that they approach PR is very different from a business. Celebrities don’t seem to care too much about whether or not there is negative information out there, as long as there are equal amount or more of positive information. When a celebrity calls on a PR firm it is usually to help them clean up some false stories which have been made about them. Celebs live and die on this reputation and this world of disposable heroes, they know only too well how precious their time is in the spotlight. News stories, true or false, about celebrities can become viral very quickly so they must ensure that they get the story stopped before it becomes a big issue.
CEOs and Pubic Figures
CEOs and public figures like politicians also rely heavily on PR firms to manage their reputation online. In fat a recent case which we had involved a CEO who had a namesake on the other side of the country who was committing terrible crimes. The CEO was naturally worried that when people searched for his name on Google that they would believe, falsely, that it was indeed the CEO who was committing such crimes. The was a rare case admittedly but it does show how easy it is for someone to become a PR disaster, even if they haven’t actually done anything wrong!
All manner of people use these services in order to manage their inline reputation and clean up after they have caused a public relation crisis.