Public relations is very important, without question. However, as the late 1990’s and other highly hyped periods have proved, “sizzle” alone does not do the trick. Similar to the absurdity of valuing a company based on a multiple of eyeballs or clicks, was the phenomenon of Internet companies thinking that had become successful when the company CEO was interviewed on CNNfn or CNBC. In fact, the CEOs I saw that were obsessed with this sort of exposure seemed to be more focused on their own personal fame and coverage, than on the success of their companies. They were building their “empires” with other peoples’ money, and trying to make themselves famous in the process. Ego played a very large part in this whole drama, of course. Don’t allow yourself to be sucked into such pursuits. Rather, if you’re going to use PR (and you should), use it responsibly, as an augmentation of your traditional sales and marketing program. Use PR aggressively, as it often has higher credibility than advertising you pay for, and it (sometimes) costs you less cash. But use it responsibly, and don’t believe that your work is done when you start receiving high-profile media coverage – it has only just begun.
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