Dont Need No Stinking PR?

Almost assuredly you do, especially when your most important external and internal audiences behave in ways that stop you from achieving your organizational objectives.

With that attitude, you could have a long wait before you see community leaders strengthening their bonds with you; customers making repeat purchases; unions bargaining more frequently in good faith; prospects becoming customers; employees beginning to value their jobs; political leaders and legislators starting to think of you as a key player in the business community, and suppliers working hard to expand your relationship.

Lighten up and use public relations in your own best interest, and benefit from a really cost-effective assist to your business, non-profit or association.

And there's another reason to do so. Tough times require tough tactics. Luckily, PR firepower can do for you what it was meant to do ? help you achieve your operating objectives by moving those people whose behaviors have the greatest impact on your organization, to actions YOU desire,

You know it's worth it, so give it a shot!

Best place to start is by listing your most important audiences, or "publics," and ranking them according to the impact they have on your enterprise. Let's work on the outside audience at the top of that list.

How aware are you and your colleagues as to how that audience views you? Could there be negative perceptions out there that, inevitably, will morph into behaviors that hurt your organization?

You really can't afford to ignore that possibility.

So get out there and interact with members of that target audience and ask questions. The alternative is to spend a LOT of money on a professional survey. Instead, make the time commitment to do some home-grown research. After all, PR best practice says you should be in regular touch with target audience members anyway, so this interaction is probably long overdue.

Ask questions like "Do you know anything about us? Have you heard anything good or bad about us?" Stay alert to hesitant and evasive responses. Notice any negative undertones? Do inaccuracies crop up? Any misconceptions or rumors that need your attention?

The answers you gather are the fodder for your new public relations goal ? i.e., the specific perception to be altered, followed by the behavior change you want.

Which requires that you set a public relations goal aimed at clearing up that misconception or nameless concern, correcting that inaccuracy or untrue belief, or disarming that rumor for good.

Now, what happens to that goal? You select a strategy to get you where you want to be. The choices are few indeed when it comes to perception and opinion. You can create perception where there isn't any, change existing perception, or reinforce it. That's it. You should, however, match your strategy selection to your newly-established public relations goal.

Clearly, the most sensitive, even difficult step in this problem- solving sequence is message preparation. At ther same time, it's your opportunity to write something that will change somebody's opinion, and that is a really satisfying experience.

First, your message must stick to its knitting and not ramble. Address the inaccuracy, misconception, untruth or rumor clearly and in a believable and as compelling a manner as possible. Remember what it must do if the public relations program is to be successful ? alter, change or reinforce what a lot of people believe. And that is a big job and a big responsibility.

If the message is the bullet, your "beasts of burden" are the gun, the means by which your communications tactics carry your message to the eyes and ears of members of the target audience.

And what a list of tactics offer themselves to you. Everything from open houses, feature articles, press releases and speeches to personal contacts, broadcast appearances, newspaper interviews and so many more.

Your measuring stick for each tactic is, does it have a proven track record for reaching people like those who make up your target audience?

So, you will get antsy and wonder if you're making any headway with your new public relations program. Best way to tell is to monitor target audience perceptions all over again. Use questions similar to your first monitoring session.

Big difference this time, however. Now, you need to see indications that perceptions are being altered as a result of your corrective message.

If you want to speed things up, you can always add a few more tactics to the mix, AND increase some of their frequencies. The message should also be re-evaluated for the strength and persuasiveness of its underlying facts, as well as impact and clarity.

Yes, you may believe you "don't need no stinking PR," but there's no denying that people in your area behave like everyone else ? they take actions based on their perception of the facts they hear about you and your operation. So, you must deal promptly and effectively with those perceptions by doing what is necessary to reach them.

And what that means is, in your own best interest, you must persuade many of your stakeholders to your way of thinking, thus moving them to take actions that lead to the success of your organization.

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.

About The Author

Bob Kelly counsels, writes and speaks to general management personnel about the fundamental premise of public relations. He has been DPR, Pepsi-Cola Co.; AGM-PR, Texaco Inc.; VP-PR, Olin Corp.; VP-PR, Newport News Shipbuilding & Drydock Co.; Director of Communications, U.S. Department of the Interior, and Deputy Assistant Press Secretary, The White House. mailto:bobkelly@TNI.net. Visit: http://www.prcommentary.com

---

Watch Your Attitude

So many restaurants spend money on publicity and then practically... Read More

Making Great Announcements

When do you use the newspaper for publishing announcements for... Read More

Attention PR Shoppers!

As a business, non-profit or association manager, what do you... Read More

Publicity: Five Tips for Calling a Reporter

Always ask, "Is now a good time?"Deadlines in journalism are... Read More

Publicity: Nailing a Media Interview, Part II (Crisis Management)

We'd all like reporters to ask us about our career... Read More

Effective Media Relations ? You Won?t be Talking to the Media Without It!

The media's role is to package and spread news, current... Read More

Managers, Got a Grip on Your PR?

What are you trying to do with your business, non-profit... Read More

Dont Be Incredible

Public relations is all about credibility and trustworthiness. If you... Read More

Inoculate Yourself Against Bad PR

What is bad PR?Well, if you're a business, non-profit or... Read More

Some Cool P.R. Tips for These Dog Days of Summer

Yup -- it's hot and sticky and you don't feel... Read More

What is GuerrillaPR Anyway?

Public relations is the art, as one of my colleagues... Read More

PR: Time For a New Playbook?

When your public relations results pretty much depend on whether... Read More

Anatomy Of A PR Campaign

The message is determined by analyzing the brand being marketed,... Read More

Add Some Firepower to your PR

Sure, as tactics usually presented to business, non-profit and association... Read More

Managers: Why PR is SO Key

When outside audiences important to your operation do not understand... Read More

How To Write More Powerfully For PR, Offline And Online

Years ago when my Dad owned a group of local... Read More

10 Secrets to Free Publicity

Public relations is popular because it is very cost-effective and... Read More

Press Kit Elements That Work

Considering how fundamental they are to the publicist's trade,it's always... Read More

PR: Your 500 Pound Gorilla

What else, for goodness sake, could you as a business,... Read More

Permanent Press: Using Press Releases to Keep Your Company in the News

When is your best advertisement not an advertisement? When it's... Read More

The Non-business Business

Think for a moment! If you were to do a... Read More

The MOST Powerful Marketing and Advertising on the Planet!

It sounds too simple to be true, but it really... Read More

Advertising Is Dead. Long Live PR

Although I still believe there is a place for advertising... Read More

Writing a Press Release: The Medias Dirty Secret

There's a dirty little secret about press releases that the... Read More

How Real PR Works

For some, public relations works well when their news release... Read More

Is PR Right for You? 6 Questions to Ask

When most people think about marketing, they think advertising. While... Read More

6 Essentials for Doing Your Own PR: Guest Author

Today's issue of Lean Marketing Champions features tips on doing... Read More

Media Relations: Should You Pay For News Coverage?

Dear New York Times:I'd like to be quoted in one... Read More

Want This Kind of PR?

PR that really does something positive about the behaviors of... Read More

Ignore PR at Your Peril!

If you do, it means:you don't value tracking the perceptions... Read More

What Many PR Users Ignore

Simply that the behaviors of their most important outside audiences... Read More

PR Essential to Your Success

Whether you are a business, non-profit or association manager, your... Read More

Cross Cultural Communication & PR

The Public Relations (PR) industry is responsible for creating and... Read More