Though we travel the world over to find the beautiful, we must carry it with us or we find it not.
– Ralph Waldo Emerson
They say that beauty is skin deep, and the same phrase goes to public relations professionals and how they conduct themselves ethically. We are just finishing up the semester for my online public relations class at West Virginia, and one of my students (Elyse) mentioned a very interesting and insightful point about public relations and how it is very similar to makeup. Women have to put on the blush, mascara, lip gloss, and lotion to present themselves to fit a particular image of being polished, well-refined, and sophisticated. Some experiment with color and zest to fit their overall reputation with colorful shades of eyeshadow or fake eyelashes, while others take the conservative approach to their appearance and still with the fundamentals.
Makeup is an interesting product women use. I am also a fan of makeup – I feel besides the Apple Store or any shoe store – Sephora is a place where I am spend hours in and be completely happy! We invest hundreds to make sure that we cover our faults, highlight our features, and make sure that we look “on” wherever we go. Heaven forbid anyone should see us without our makeup – as they say in the movie “The Devil Wears Prada” – that would be a catastrophe! We have a routine that we go through putting makeup on – once we get up in the morning, on our way to work, before we go out with friends at night, etc. It is part of our daily routine and can help in presenting the image we want others to see about ourselves. However, this daily routine takes time, has to be done on a regular basis, and we need the resources to maintain this for our image.
Well, the same goes with public relations – we are in a very image conscious field where image is everything. The way we present ourselves to our peers, clients, and to the public are all things that we have to consider on a daily basis. We invest in not only our appearance, but the tools and devices that help present this overall image. This includes having the latest in technologies such as the iPhone, iPad, or other devices that present the image as being someone that is cutting edge or innovative.
We have to continue to present and work on this image both in our appearance and our daily activities. Whether it is communicating and interacting with our audiences online through social media to networking with fellow researchers and professionals at conferences to maintaining a personal website – this is what public relations professionals call their digital makeup, or makeup 2.0. 🙂 Plus, with the thanks of Photoshop and other picture altering software, this is definitely easy to do online for public relations professionals to present this image virtually.
However, the problem is for some public relations professionals – all of this means is that you are just presenting a particular image, but it all starts with the person itself. Beauty and having the image of a good reputation is one thing – but the key is inside the person / PR professional that counts. You have to walk the walk and talk the talk – good character is something that you have within you and no matter amount of gadgets, fashion statements, or makeup can cover it up for long. So, I suggest that while appearance is important, so is the experiences, knowledge, and character of the person behind the image. Invest in makeup, but don’t let it be something to hind behind.
I would like to thank again Elyse (student in my IMC course at WVU) for providing this valuable insight about PR to the class discussion – thank you again! 🙂 Hope you all are having a wonderful day.
Best Wishes,
Karen
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