Professional athletes need a public relations firm to help create the best personal brand possible. Professional athletes do not have the time to handle their own PR, and many of them may not feel prepared to manage their public image. There are five tips below that explain why an athlete should work with a PR firm as soon as they get a big contract or become a viral sensation.
1. A PR Firm Can Coordinate With Agents And Lawyers
A PR firm can coordinate with agents and lawyers to manage an athlete’s schedule. Agents expect athletes to show up to team activities, and lawyers may need an athlete to sign off on new contracts with sponsors. The PR team can coordinate with these people to ensure that all of the athlete’s media obligations are honored.
Everyone has a schedule to keep, and the PR firm takes something big off an agent or lawyer’s plate.
2. Athletes Like Partying
Athletes like to party, but a PR firm can help athletes get into the right parties, help manage their public image, and explain how these parties are perceived.
An athlete who insists on partying all the time should ask their PR firm which parties to attend. The PR firm can create social media posts and press releases that explain what the athlete is doing. If athletes are partying in the wrong places, their PR firm can explain why they need to stop.
3. A PR Firm Can Help Showcase The Good Work An Athlete Does
A PR firm will make sure that all the good things an athlete does are publicized. When athletes work with charities, visit hospitals, and donate money, the PR firm will make sure the public knows about it.
Athletes are often perceived as overpaid party animals who have no value in society. A PR firm can show the public that these athletes do good things for the community. Plus, a PR firm can publicize the smallest things that an athlete does. If an athlete helps an old lady cross the street, their PR firm will make sure that story is trending on social media.
4. A PR Team Can Make An Athlete More Marketable
The PR team can work on making an athlete more marketable. Athletes can make more money from sponsors than they making playing sports. However, a PR firm needs to create a public image that makes the athlete a marketable person. The PR firm will take calls from sponsors, and they might create a PR campaign that helps the athlete prepare for a new yogurt commercial or insurance sponsorship.
5. A PR Team Can Keep Athletes Accountable In Crisis Situations
Nancy Behrman Communications suggests that athletes hire a PR firm to handle emergency situations. A PR firm like Nancy Behrman Communications can help athletes understand how to manage a crisis. If the athlete has been caught up in a bad news story, the PR firm can help draft a press release that acts as a response for the athlete.
The PR firm can tell the athlete precisely what to say, and the PR firm can reach out to agents and lawyers to explain how they will handle the situation. Athletes must tread carefully when they slip up in public. A PR firm can tell an athlete what to say when they flip off the crowd after getting kicked out a game A PR firm can draft a statement for the athlete to read at a press conference, and the PR firm will generate positive content to be published online.
Conclusion
Athletes need a PR firm that can help with their public perception throughout the year. A PR firm can help agents and lawyers plan the athlete’s schedule. A PR team can get athletes invites to the best parties, and the PR firm will work on sponsorships for athletes. Plus, a PR firm knows how to respond to a crisis. Athletes should not try to play their game, work out, party, make time for family, and manage their public image a the same time. A public relations firm can even help a disgraced athlete regain the trust of the public no matter the situation