www.1001TopWords.com |
Why Good PR Warrants Your Attention
Because good public relations can alter individual perception and lead to changed behaviors among key outside audiences. And that can help business, non-profit and association managers achieve their managerial objectives. It all happens when you do something positive about the behaviors of those important external audiences of yours that most affect your operation. In particular when you persuade those key outside folks to your way of thinking, then help move them to take actions that allow your department, division or subsidiary to succeed. I believe the key to good PR is this reality. People act on their own perception of the facts before them, which leads to predictable behaviors about which something can be done. When we create, change or reinforce that opinion by reaching, persuading and moving-to-desired-action the very people whose behaviors affect the organization the most, the public relations mission is accomplished. In other words, your public relations effort must involve more than special events, brochures and news releases if you really want to get your money's worth. The payoff can make your day: membership applications on the rise; customers starting to make repeat purchases; fresh proposals for strategic alliances and joint ventures; community leaders beginning to seek you out; welcome bounces in show room visits; prospects starting to do business with you; higher employee retention rates, capital givers or specifying sources beginning to look your way, and even politicians and legislators starting to view you as a key member of the business, non-profit or association communities. But who among your PR team really understands the blueprint outlined above and shows commitment to its implementation, starting with key audience perception monitoring? Luckily, your PR people are already in the perception and behavior business, so they should be of real use for this initial opinion monitoring project. Be certain that your public relations people really accept why it's SO important to know how your most important outside audiences perceive your operations, products or services. Make sure they believe that perceptions almost always result in behaviors that can help or hurt your operation. Talk it over with them, especially your game plan for monitoring and gathering perceptions by questioning members of your most important outside audiences. Questions along these lines: how much do you know about our organization? Have you had prior contact with us and were you pleased with the interchange? Are you familiar with our services or products and employees? Have you experienced problems with our people or procedures? Because it can run into real money using professional survey firms to do the opinion monitoring work, you may wish to use those PR folks of yours in that capacity since they're already in the perception and persuasion business. But, whether it's your people or a survey firm asking the questions, the objective remains the same: identify untruths, false assumptions, unfounded rumors, inaccuracies, misconceptions and any other negative perception that might translate into hurtful behaviors. What your aiming at, obviously, is a PR goal that does something about the most serious distortions you discover during your key audience perception monitoring. Will it be to straighten out that dangerous misconception? Correct that gross inaccuracy? Or, stop that potentially painful rumor cold? Of course, without the right strategy to tell you how to proceed, you won't get there at all. So keep in mind that there are just three strategic options available when it comes to doing something about perception and opinion. Change existing perception, create perception where there may be none, or reinforce it. The wrong strategy pick will taste like horseradish on your pancakes, so be sure your new strategy fits well with your new public relations goal. You wouldn't want to select "change" when the facts dictate a strategy of reinforcement. Here, you must come up with a well-written message and send it to members of your target audience. It's always a challenge to create an actionable message that will help persuade any audience to your way of thinking. What you want now is your strongest writers because s/he must build some very special, corrective language. Words that are not merely compelling, persuasive and believable, but clear and factual if they are to shift perception/opinion towards your point of view and lead to the behaviors you have in mind. After your PR team has signed off on draft copy of your message, you move on to the next selection process -- the communications tactics most likely to carry your message to the attention of your target audience. There are scores that are available. From speeches, facility tours, emails and brochures to consumer briefings, media interviews, newsletters, personal meetings and many others. But you must be certain that the tactics you pick are known to reach folks like your audience members. An alert: you may wish to avoid too loud a voice with this kind of message and unveil it before smaller meetings and presentations rather than using higher-profile news releases, as the credibility of any message is fragile and always at stake. >From this point forward, you'll start getting requests for progress reports, which tells you and your PR team to begin a second perception monitoring session with members of your external audience. You'll want to use many of the same questions used in the first benchmark session. But now, you will be on red alert for signs that the bad news perception is being altered in your direction. It does seem fortunate that such matters usually can be accelerated simply by adding more communications tactics as well as increasing their frequencies. The value of public relations to managers becomes clearer when you realize that the people you deal with behave like everyone else - they act upon their perceptions of the facts they hear about you and your operation. Which means you really have little choice but to deal promptly and effectively with those perceptions by doing what is necessary to reach and move those key external audiences of yours to actions you desire. Please feel free to publish this article and resource box in your ezine, newsletter, offline publication or website. A copy would be appreciated at bobkelly@TNI.net. Robert A. Kelly © 2004. Bob Kelly counsels, writes and speaks to business, non-profit and association managers about using the fundamental premise of public relations to achieve their operating objectives. He has been DPR, Pepsi-Cola Co.; AGM-PR, Texaco Inc.; VP-PR, Olin Corp.; VP-PR, Newport News Shipbuilding & Drydock Co.; director of communi-cations, U.S. Department of the Interior, and deputy assistant press secretary, The White House. He holds a bachelor of science degree from Columbia University, major in public relations. Visit: http://www.prcommentary.com; bobkelly@TNI.net
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Are You Dissing Public Relations If you leave a star player sitting on the bench, you could be the loser. The Art Of Persuasive Pitching Media placement is an art. Practicing it often requires as much attention to approach and style as it does to the focus of your story. While it's important to know how to use creative formatting techniques that can enhance editorial reception to a story (see article, "Using Publicity As A Creative Marketing Tool") publicists can benefit from mastering some useful tips prior to approaching, by e-mail, snail mail or phone, the keepers of the media gate.Some Basic Assumptions: 6 Essentials for Doing Your Own PR: Guest Author Today's issue of Lean Marketing Champions features tips on doing your own PR from one of our authors and PR goddess, Paula Gardner. How to Tie-In With News Events to Score Publicity It's safe to say that we live in interesting times. It seems wehardly have a breather between wars, tragedies, scandals,epidemics, circus trials and other events that capitalize themedia's attention. For the business seeking publicity, the "newshole" for more traditional stories -- new product reviews,business features, offbeat promotions -- keeps shrinking as the"big story" mentality takes hold. How to Write a Media Release That Wins You Coverage & Exposure The Today show? The New York Times? Vanity Fair? What's your dream hit? While nothing inspires more fear and trepidation in public relations professionals than media relations, it doesn't have to be complicated. There are 2 keys to a press release... the Headline and making sure it doesn't sound like an advertisement, but more like it is news.A media release (which also goes by its former name, the press release) is a one page, double spaced, single-sided document designed to transmit news about books, products, and people. Don't forget that real live people, editors and producers, must pull the release from the fax machine and be motivated to read it. All You Need to Know About Press Release Writing and Distribution Before you even think about writing a press release, there are a few things you need to know about the media. Here's the first - and most important - of them: Your Online Newsroom: How to Give Reporters a Tip It's hard to imagine a reporter working today who doesn't regularly visit "official" company websites. And it's hard to imagine just how much those websites have improved reporters' lives. How Managers Hit PR Paydirt As a business, non-profit or association manager, you'll know it's PR paydirt when you're able to persuade your key external stakeholders to your way of thinking, then move them to take actions that lead to your department, division or subsidiary's success. Getting Articles Published - Eight Steps for Trade Publications Trade publications present an excellent opportunity for organisations to gain thousands of dollars worth of free publicity by having articles published. As they are regularly looking for articles to fill space and they are often used as a forum to promote new products or services to specific audiences. In addition to this trade publications are often tailored to specific markets and widely read, offering a tailored communication channel. Asian Media Relations: Increase Your Profile and Image in China China's media is booming creating opportunities for marketing-savvy businesses. But many companies have little understanding of how to harness the power of the media in the world's most populous country. Hispanic Media Relations Training: What to Do When Hispanic Media Call You are a spokesperson for your company, representing it for public speaking and media interviews. You are going about your everyday affairs, granting media interviews on a new product or service your company launched or a timely topic of general interest. All is going well and a Hispanic media representative calls. What should you do? Life After Press Release Distribution? A few weeks ago I was participating on an on-line message board. One of the members was a new business owner who was very excited about sending out her company's first press release. The question she posted to the group was important, but also a common one echoed by so many small-business owners charged with handling media coverage in-house for the first time: "Now that I've distributed my press release, what do I do next? Where is the Best PR Value? Wherever the fundamental premise of public relations is practiced. The Worst PR Mistakes For a business, non-profit or association manager, they could be fatal, coming as they do in four bitter flavors. Marketing-Minded Financial Planners, Dont Hold Back Information From the Media Some financial planners think that they shouldn't share their top tips with the media. What Does Your Telephone Say About You When You Are Away? Business to Business relationships come to expecta certain level of professionalism, from the firsttelephone call to the final delivery. Do You See PRs Real Value? As a business, non-profit or association manager, do you see the value in doing something positive about the behaviors of those important external audiences of yours that most affect your operation? Publicity: Nailing a Media Interview, Part II (Crisis Management) We'd all like reporters to ask us about our career successes and personal triumphs-heck, we'd all like anyone to ask us about those. But reporters must look out for their clients, the reading public. Think about it from your own perspective as an investor-when you read a story about a company, you want to know that the reporter has asked difficult questions, not just relied on the PR hype. A Sensible Way to Use PR The most sensible way for business, non-profit or association managers to use public relations is to strive to alter individual perception among their target publics, which leads to changed behaviors, thus helping achieve their managerial objectives. Marketing-Minded Financial Planners, Join Your Professional Organization to Get Free Publicity Unlike some professionals like lawyers and doctors, financial planners aren't required to be members of a professional association. |
© Athifea Distribution LLC - 2013 |