The Oxford definition of management is “the process of dealing with or controlling things or people.” The Archaic Oxford definition of management is “trickery; deceit.” And finally, the Wikipedia definition of management is “the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a non-profit organization, or a government body.”
To further illustrate Wikipedia’s definition, Oxford defines administration both as “the process or activity of running a business, organization, etc.” and “the management of public affairs.”
All of these definitions, when put together, describe the managerial aspect of public relations, often called PR management. Don’t worry – it isn’t trickery or deceit, but we will show you how that definition ties in at the end of this post.
Controlling Things or People
This first definition sounds harsh, and it is. Do not take this definition literally when thinking about PR – and, hopefully, most businesses do not aim to manage people in this way. The word “control,” especially when in the context of our fellow people, has negative connotations. We prefer to think of it as controlling the messages of things of people.
Our job at Victorious PR is to control how the world sees you and understands your story. We do this by crafting well-written stories that express what you want to share and then pitch those stories to publications, earning you placements in the press and on podcasts.
Administration: A Closer Look
Interestingly, one definition of administration is “the management of public affairs.” Whereas the Wikipedia description of management is “the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a non-profit organization, or a government body.”
Semantics, right?
So let’s do some algebra: The description of management could then become ‘the management of public affairs of an organization, whether it is a business, a non-profit organization, or a government body.’ We got there by replacing the term ‘administration’ with its definition.
So whether your business is in real estate, cryptocurrency, blockchain technology, healthcare, or other entrepreneurial pursuits, our job is to manage your public affairs, based on the definition of the word management that we just used! Cool, right?
But, What About Trickery and Deceit?
We wanted to touch on this because public relations is NOT trickery and deceit, nor is the archaic definition of management still accurate in the modern era.
The use of this word, at the time, described businesses that were fraudulent or corrupt. But we wanted to include this definition to touch on the skills required for top PR firms to consistently portray a positive image of their clients to the public.
In public relations, sometimes things get messy. A business owner might have a scandal, say something that gets interpreted negatively by the public out of context, or have some dark, buried history crop up in the media.
It is the job of their public relations agent to manage the public’s view of their client. While not literally trickery and deceit, this does take plenty of work and dedication. The PR agent will spend their time pitching factual, positive stories and try to earn their client speaking engagements so that they can set the record straight and share their side of the story.
By turning the public attention back onto the positive and honest things their client has done, the PR agent builds visibility, credibility, and authority for their client. And that’s what it’s all about!
Victorious PR was chosen as one of the top PR firms in Las Vegas in 2021 by Expertise.com. We earn media placements for our clients in top-tier publications such as Forbes, Inman, Entrepreneur, and more. If you would like to learn how we help you grow your business by becoming the number one authority in your niche, please book a call with us today!
