| |
| |
|
PR Information |
|
|
|
What People Believe Can Bring You Success
Just think about it. If I come to believe that you really didn't dump those chemicals in the river, I'll probably stop picketing your business. Or, if I now believe you actually care about me as an employee, I may stay with the company. And if I become convinced that you provide quality service at a fair price, I'll probably do business with you. All of which means that what I think about you - what perceptions of you I hold in my mind - can change my behavior in a way that you prefer, or hate. So, since my behavior is affected by my perception of the facts, it suggests that those perceptions might even be created from scratch, or changed, or existing behavior reinforced through a well-planned public relations effort. Fact is, they can be, and that should interest you. Imagine being able to affect the behaviors of members of your key target audience! What would THAT do to your bottom line? Happily, it's not that difficult to do. Start this way. The foundation on which successful public relations outreach is built is, in reality, YOUR outreach. So become a willing participant in the public business life in your marketing area. That means activities such as sponsoring special events, making speeches before local business and fraternal audiences, and sitting for newspaper and radio interviews. That builds the good will you may need in troubled times. A good starting point is staying in touch with those folks whose actions either help or hurt your operations. When you interact with them, ask them what they believe about your products, your organization and you. Remain alert for looming problems. You can call this the information gathering phase. Now it's time to list your key audiences. At the beginning, concentrate on those actions that REALLY concern you and start your interactions with members of that audience. They can include stakeholders like customers, employees, prospects, media, community residents, local government agencies and many others. When you discover a troubling perception, do something about it as soon as you can. Working with your public relations advisor, establish your public relations goal. Examples: neutralize that negative rumor that you hire illegals; prove that your process does not pollute a nearby lake; or restore the faith of that group of former customers. If you fail to attend to them, any one can hurt your business. So, with your goal set, you must now decide what your strategy will be in dealing with the perception problem. We know there are just three choices available to you in dealing with such opinion problems. Create new opinion, change existing opinion, or reinforce it. Work closely with your public relations advisor in deciding which it is. Then, proceed by preparing persuasive messages carefully and creditably designed to counter the misconception you have uncovered. Run the messages by outsiders so you can gauge just how persuasive they really are. Here, it's time to select the communications tactics needed to carry your persuasive message to the attention of that very important target audience. Fortunately, there are dozens of communications tactics available to you such as print and broadcast media interviews, awards ceremonies, emails, promotions, press releases, newsletters, personal meetings, speeches and open houses. But your work is still not done. You need to continue monitoring members of your target audience to measure not only how aware they are of your message, but how well they received it. Depending on the responses you receive, it may be necessary to adjust both your message content and your mix of communications tactics. Until something better comes along, we have little choice but to continually track perceptions among key audiences by interacting with them and by monitoring other sources such as media reports, speeches by local influentials and emails from other interested parties. Then, create, change or reinforce that opinion by reaching, persuading and moving-to-desired-action those people whose behaviors effect the organization. Using this approach, you will find it easier to accept and act upon the notion that what people believe really can bring you success. 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 © 2003 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
MORE RESOURCES:
PR - Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Make Sure Your Media Room Rocks If a reporter was writing a story about you and your company and she visited your website, could she find anything useful and interesting about you to use in her story? And could she find it quickly? Or would she immediately abandon your site and look for one of your competitors to write about? Make it Easy for the ReporterEvery website today should have a "Media Room" (also known as an online press room) with everything a reporter needs to write a story quickly. Not only should you include information about your company history, the management team and owners, your products and services, and so on, but today you should also provide links to industry trade groups, information about industry trends, and maybe even a list of your competitors. Right PR Focus A Powerful Advantage Powerful is a strong word. But it fits here. A PR Surprise for Managers For those business, non-profit and association managers committed to PR tactics like radio and newspaper plugs, it can come as a surprise to discover where public relations value REALLY lies.Truth is, your PR budget can deliver results far beyond such limited publicity placements. Dont Pay for Radio Interviews It used to be that all you had to do was pitch a great idea with a clever hook, and you'd be booked as a guest on a half-hour radio show.These days, however, hang onto your wallet. PRs Big Bang Theory Lots of theories out there about public relations.Everything from "publicity's the thing!," "the care and feeding of reputations and "sales support is primary" to "gain and hold public acceptance," and "issue management's the thing. The Non-business Business Think for a moment! If you were to do a business, profession or a job that you loved, something that was a passion, you considered worth doing, one that gave you joy; would you ever think early retirement or rush home early from work? 'Doubtful' is a certainty, to say the least!A few years ago, I perchance drifted across a book titled 'To Sail Beyond the Sunset' in which Robert Heinlein's character, Jubal Harshaw, said something that left a lasting impression on me, and ergo, naturally, on the way I look at life. Jubal says "Happiness lies in being privileged to work hard for long hours in doing whatever you think is worth doing. Attention PR Shoppers! As a business, non-profit or association manager, what do you want?Publicity that delivers newspaper and talk show mentions, or behavior change among your key outside audiences that leads directly to achieving your managerial objectives?Special events that attract a lot of people, or public relations that persuades your most important outside audiences to your way of thinking, then moves them to take actions that help your department, division or subsidiary succeed?Zippy brochures and videos, or a way for you to do something positive about the behaviors of those external audiences of yours that MOST affect your organization?What I believe you need to know about PR are two realities:1) The right PR really CAN alter individual perception and lead to changed behaviors that help you succeed, and2), 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 underlying truth about PR goes this way: 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. Media Releases - Helping Grow Your Business Business people often spend time and money trying to find new ways to stand out from the crowd or craving recognition and exposure for their organisation and its achievements.Communicating with your customers and stakeholders has become more demanding, complex and pressure-driven. Some Cool P.R. Tips for These Dog Days of Summer Yup -- it's hot and sticky and you don't feel like doing much of anything -- let alone working on publicity for your business.But the summer months can actually be a great time to get publicity. A Winning Game Plan You want to sell your products or services, and that means good money management, top quality products or services, and hard work on your part. But, for REAL success, the icing on the cake is public relations. Killing Them Softly The world has woken up to ethical issues in corporate governance & accounting practices. Corporate heads that were not guillotined were forced hang their heads in retrospective shame. How To Get Radio-Active PR For Your Non-Profit Cause-Part One "We are in the communications business, the business of conveying messages to the human brain," said the late David Sarnoff, founder and president of RCA. "No man is wise enough to know which avenue to the brain is best. Interviews - Five Tips To Handle Tough Questions From Reporters Journalists are trained and often experienced at getting information out of their subjects. Conflict and other negative situations often make the news and journalists often have a knack for taking a positive situation and twisting it into something else in order to make it more "sell"-able as news. Passion with Purpose - The Winning Combination The power of PassionPassion is an extraordinarily powerful spring. Without it religion, history, romance, and art are useless. 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.However, if you want to take advantage of a great way to get free publicity, you marketing-minding financial professionals will join an association like the Financial Planning Association or the Society of Financial Service Professionals. Get PR Off the Bench Something that results in your most important outside audiences doing what you need them to do should not be warming the bench.But that's exactly what's happening at organizations that allow their public relations people to play games with tactics like newsletters, press releases and brochures instead of aggressively pursuing the major benefits PR can provide. Publicity: A Financial Planners Best Marketing Friend There's an old African proverb:"If you think you are too small to make a difference, try sleeping in a closed room with a mosquito."There's a message here for financial planners who want to get free publicity exposure, and use it as a smart marketing tool to grow their practice. Why PR is a Vital Force Because it can alter individual perception and lead to changed behaviors. Something of profound importance to businesses, non-profits and associations who can sink or swim on how well they employ this crucial dynamic. What to Do When the Reporter Calls: Five Tips for New (and not-so-new) Business Owners New business owners often miss out on publicity opportunities because they think it's a nuisance to talk to reporters. In fact, publicity can be far more valuable than advertising. Ill Alert The Media There is something newsworthy happening at your organization right now. Here are some tips on how to tell your story.
|
| home | site map |
| © 2006 |