Essence of PR elements in political campaigns
By Nsikak Daniels
“When you have something to say, silence is a lie.” – Jordan Bernt Peterson.
Public perception towards political candidates goes a long way to prove how the electorate will vote at the polls in a given election. However, persuading public perception is easier said than done, which explains why political campaigns require professional public relations practitioners dedicated to ensuring a candidate appears in the best light possible, whether in the media or at public events. Because all political campaign strategies contain a strong public relations component, modern politics has become an ideal place to apply certified PR skills.
Today, the entire world is going through diverse forms of turmoil. Waking up from the pandemic to embrace the Russian invasion of Ukraine, food crisis, insurgency in many African countries, not to mention territorial disputes, coups and other undefined ethnic and religious inspired crises.
With the Nigerian 2023 general elections just around the corner, political parties are faced with managing several challenges in trying to ensure that their candidates win elections successfully. The candidates are also using a variety of PR techniques to their advantage.
For their PR strategies to be potently more effective, it is of great import to deploy the principles of the trade appropriately. It is incumbent on the PR practitioners to preach the truth about the candidates they are projecting. They should match the political manifestos of the parties with evidence and listen to the electorate, while courting their buy in or empathy.
This brings to the fore the opportunities that would enable a proactive and effective management of the crises that may come up in the days ahead. Each crisis should be dealt with as an entity on its own. Every situation should be thoroughly analysed and managed on its own merit.
This would help in evolving a strategic and a well articulated action plan. Making known the media tools and techniques of engagement and rule of deployment and when and where as may be required is also very important.
The success of every novel idea or vision is dependent on many factors, one of which is who is hired to do what and how? The Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR), Public Relations Consultants Association of Nigeria (PRCAN) and other regulatory bodies in the Integrated Marketing Communication sub-sector of the economy should be devotedly involved in the entire process. They must ensure that only licensed practitioners are hired by those contesting for public offices. That way, the PR professional body would begin to make a more positive impact in the mainstream, and become more attractive to career seekers as in other professions.
What’s more, social media and the Internet have added a new layer to public relations and political campaigns. Candidates for the forthcoming 2023 elections need a social media strategy to keep them in the minds of voters. They should pay attention to bloggers with professional PR skills as a part of their media engagement strategy. This is because social media and the digital space have become critical components of the PR strategies for political campaigns.
Thus, as the 2023 elections and electioneering campaigns begin in earnest, the Integrated Marketing Communication professionals, especially PR experts who are part of any group or subject should not ignore ethics that bother on excellence, sound reasoning, and professionalism that hinge on fair play. National unity and peace should also be of paramount importance.
Finally, the need to employ a sound PR approach in engaging the electorate in the forthcoming 2023 elections cannot be over emphasised. PR to every entity, aspiring to live beyond now, is like breath to life and should be seen as such.
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