One of the first steps in strategic public relations is identifying who you want to reach with your message. Who are the priority groups of people you need to reach to make an impact? To most people, audiences and publics are the same, but from the perspective of PR, they are different. Audiences are merely people who pay attention to a particular medium of communication and receive messages through it. A public is a group of people who share a common interest in a specific s

Just as its name implies, public relations is all about building relationships; an understanding of the ongoing relationship between an organization and its various publics is the cornerstone of effective public relations. The process of two-way communication begins with awareness, both internal and external. So, in forging relationships it is important to clearly understand what drives and motivates the organization’s publics and influencers. Equally important is determining