A motto is a simple way to set your mind on a goal that you need to accomplish. It can be any brief statement or phrase that helps you focus on the task at hand. Furthermore, these powerful words help direct your efforts towards what’s important and highlight your personal values. No wonder this is a must-have for any public relations practitioner!

But what words can serve as the perfect motto for PR pros specifically? media update’s Maryna Steyn looks at three words that you can live by.

Behave: PR pros manage reputations

When you think of the word behave, you immediately understand it as a prompt to act in a particular way — specifically according to accepted societal norms. So what does this mean for PR practitioners?

This points to reputation management, of course. As any public relations officer knows, reputation is everything!

Society expects a brand to ‘behave’ according to a set of criteria, such as being transparent, authentic and responsible. Reputation management through public relations aims to promote content that highlights these positive attributes. Similarly, it also aspires to contain and address information that places the company in a negative light.

Brands employ PR pros to craft and maintain a strong, positive reputation for them — to prove that they are ‘behaving’ as they are supposed to.

Think: PR pros are problem solvers

When you work in public relations, you need to be able to problem-solve and generate ideas quickly and well — in other words, PR pros need to ‘think’ all the time.

Being a skilled problem solver is imperative — not only for dealing with a crisis, but also to find solutions to any challenges a campaign may face. On top of that, the public relations industry plays a vital role in solving client’s problems. These issues are set as a goal and the PR pro works towards finding and implementing a solution. That’s why generating ideas is important too!

Possible problems that need to be solved include increasing a brand’s visibility or awareness, or gaining partnerships — it all depends on the specific needs a business might have. And so will the solutions. Good thing you are good at thinking of new ideas, right?


Engage: Public relations means engaging audiences

Last but not least (maybe the most important), engaging refers to being involved with your audience and capturing their attention. When it comes to public relations, a PR pro needs to build a strong and long-lasting relationship with customers by firstly capturing your audience and then continuously engaging with them.

How exactly does this happen?

PR professionals need to know their audiences. This means researching the needs of customers and participating in conversations with them on social media. They also need to create compelling content that will keep the audience interacting with the brand. This can either be funny videos, quote images or thought-provoking polls — anything that keeps them hitting the ‘Like’ button and sharing the branded content.

via GIPHY

Do you have a favourite word to use as a motto in your career? Let us know in the comments below.

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Now that you have a motto, why not check out 10 Marvel quotes that PR pros should live by for some inspiration.
*Image courtesy of Canva