Public Relations professionals build reputations through strategic communication & meaningful interaction with audiences and stakeholders
Dwijendra Kumar
Public relations is all about creating a favourable public image through proper communication. In this fast-paced and digital world, maintaining the image of a brand, product, or company is quite a challenging assignment for the professionals handling the task. They need to be in touch with the people who are connected with them directly and indirectly through various media tools and platforms, as and also the media professionals, including social media influencers. A wrong piece of information circulating at any level may ruin the reputation in a very short period built through hard labour and dedication for many decades.
So the job of public relations professional is quite challenging. Publishing advertisements may draw attention towards a particular product, but if the image of the product is not good, it would backfire. Through direct mails, messages, emails, and social media platforms such as Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, websites etc., public relations officials may be able to dispel any mischief and silence the rumour mongers.
Using contacts in media, they can place news items favourable to them in newspapers and other media channels. So, the public relations professionals have a crucial job in hand, and that is to transform negative public view points into positive ones.
Herein comes the role of crucial decisions that need to be taken by public relations professionals in terms of determining priorities and focusing on potential groups relevant to projecting the image of the company. They need to choose the media platforms that are more popular among the target groups.
So if the product is for consumption among youth, social media platforms such as Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, etc. may be more effective in popularizing the product. It is also to be kept in mind that the message is not repeated so that it doesn’t lose its charm and that different messages need to be shared with different publics to get their attention and confidence.
As our country’s economy is growing and we are on the threshold of becoming the third largest economy in the world, there are plenty of opportunities for public relations professionals in every sector, be it government or private. No big company can afford to run their business or services without employing a public relations professional who would act as a bridge between management and the employees and also serve as a potential link between the company and its clients, prospective customers, and media professionals.
Though a person having a pleasing personality and possessing excellent verbal and written communication skills is the right fit for the job, there are a number of institutions and organizations that impart training in the field.
The Indian Institute of Mass Communication, New Delhi, offers a one-year postgraduate course in public relations in Delhi and its other centers. Admission is through a written test followed by an interview. Those with completed graduation studies are eligible to apply. Other institutes offering diploma courses include University of Mumbai, Patna University, Panjab University, Netaji Subhas Open University, Kolkata, Aligarh Muslim University, Nalanda Open University, Uttarakhand Open University etc.
Besides, a number of universities offer graduate and post graduate courses in mass communication, such as Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi, University of Delhi, Banaras Hindu University, Aligarh Muslim University etc. Study of Public Relations is part of their overall syllabus.
There are other institutes, such as Bharatiya Vidya Bhawan, New Delhi, that also offer a one-year postgraduate diploma in public relations. Those having diplomas and degrees in Journalism from reputed institutions such as IIMC Delhi and Dhenkanal (Odisha), Delhi University etc are also considered for the position of Public Relations professionals.
The best part of doing a course in public relations or mass communication from a recognized institute is that public relations professionals are also hired by government organizations in good numbers, and these need applicants to possess diplomas and degrees duly recognized by the government.
(Dwijendra Kumar writes on fashion and lifestyle issues and has authored books on fashion design & textiles. Views are personal)
