By Mariah Brown
There are many reasons that diversity is a vital component to the public relations industry. One main reason being authenticity. Authenticity is one of the most important principles stressed in public relations. Without a diverse team who come from a vast array of backgrounds, ethnicities, ages it may be more difficult to communicate with our publics. To create relationships with their publics, practitioners must understand what the audience’s needs are. The more diversity the industry has, the more authentic and effective we can be while building relationships with our publics.
People love to be able to relate and connect with others. A broader audience will find the company to be relevant, relating to the company’s goals, products or services. If this is done successfully then relationships can be built and maintained with the consumers.
Diversity in the business also means that more creative ideas can be generated. With a team that comes from many different places, with many different circumstances there will be various and unique ideas to bounce off each practitioner. Something that a practitioner from Africa learned growing up may contribute to something another from Asia has experienced. More experiences lead to more outcomes. This also effects the trust that consumers build with the organizations. If a Caucasian woman is representing a campaign about ethnic hair products, but she has no experience with them at all, audiences may not be so quick to trust the company’s actions or what they say.
Without diversity in the Public relations field, the industry does not thrive. Authenticity, relatability, creativity and trust are some of the main principles that public relations are based upon. If there is little diversity in PR, then building relations with publics at optimal potential cannot be reached. PR practitioners are the worlds influencers—we cannot reach the world without people from all of it.
Comments