In an article on Brand Channel, Dannielle Blumenthal notes how public relations is not about building a brand, but protecting it. This idea is correct on some accounts, but with the new role of press releases in terms of content marketing and branding, this statement must change.

PR does protect your brand. How? PR protects your product from criticism, whether true or not, by giving you a voice online. Optimized press releases can rank as high on search engines as any online article or blog post about your product. Every day, a journalist brings up a failed product or service, sometimes giving scathing critiques. How do you respond when it's online? It's actually easier than you might think, and easier online than in print or TV, because you can address this criticism immediately.

Press releases address critiques by competitors and journalists every day. You can immediately give a response to any claims made against your product. This can be used if lies were said, or if the statement had some facts, or if the negative criticism was in fact all true and you're addressing it by offering refunds or product recalls.
 
Press releases have immense power online. Online branding itself should involve press releases. They are  a critical tool in doing more than protecting your brand.
 
PR can define your brand. It can allow your brand message to go viral. Online, your message can be picked up by dozens if not hundreds of bloggers and journalists. PR can defintely protect your brand by addressing major issues. In certain markets, this is highly effective.
 
We see it every day with auto companies addressing car issues. The Ford auto company, for example, might recall 50,000 trucks due to a defect. It happens beyond that major corporations too. A food market may take all fruits out of the store because of contamination. A bank may take a government bail out in order to stay solvent and protect the economy. Each of these events can hurt a brand.

Your web brand is the total user experience. When something occurs which hurts your brand, it must be immediately addressed. Some might believe what's written is true unless you address it immediately.
 
Public relations does far more than protect your brand. You can showcase new products and services, explain how your product helped one particular customer, define how your product is better than the competition, and also build a content marketing strategy by using blog marketing and email marketing to define how your brand is growing.

The possibilities of PR for branding are numerous and exciting. The best part is that we are just at the beginning of building, protecting, and defining brands by using PR.
 
How do you protect your brand? How do you improve the user experience for buyers? Have you ever responded to criticism with a blog post or press release? Share with us.