The Key to Great PR is Perseverance

By Paula Gardner of Do Your Own PR

I regularly seem to come across businesses that have pinned their hopes on one press release. They tell me how they sent it out with excitement in the pits of their stomachs and then felt the hard cold flop of disappointment when they didn’t get an army of journalists on the phone the very next day. And then, disillusioned, they resign their venture into PR to the past and move on to what they consider safer tactics.

But what separates these businesses from the ones that do get go on to get great, continuous press is often one thing, perseverance.

PR is a long-term option and takes perseverance in more ways than one.

Putting the time in

Just like exercise, an occasional blast of frenetic activity will have little long-term effect. What does succeed is regular, time-tabled PR activity. Take a look at your weekly schedule and ascertain how much time you can devote to PR. A morning or afternoon a week is great. Put in your diary and make it sacrosanct. If you don’t have that amount of time, what can you ditch or delegate to make the time?

Experimenting

One press release does not make a PR campaign. You need to release something to the media at least every other month. Sometimes these communications will disappear into the ether; sometimes they will be spot on. Regular postings to the press ensure that your name is in their minds (and contact books) and allows you to experiment with different ways of writing and presenting your press release.

Building Relationships

But the most important part of a PR strategy is building bonds with journalists and editors. Just like making friends or networking for business contacts, this takes tact and time. It’s not a case of rushing in, but gently building trust and respect.

Allowing the campaign to reach the public

Seeing your company covered in the press is extremely flattering and satisfying, and may help bring you enquiries, clients and increased sales, but the real rewards come with continuous long-term coverage that propels your company firmly into the public eye and creates a recognised brand, your brand.

Working with my long-term clients on the PR Academy programme I have watched complete beginners go on to nab columns in national magazines, be interviewed for monthly glossies and appear on national TV. A key part of the programme is clients’ accountability – ostensibly to me, but primarily to themselves. Take this aboard with your own campaign, either charting your goals and your progress in a diary or journal as you go, or partnering up with another business and sharing the process. This helps keep up impetus and motivation when it becomes a little too easy to get distracted by the day to day distractions of running your business.

And it’s a wonderful way to share and celebrate your PR successes, supporting and cheering each other on as you go.

copyright ©Paula Gardner and Do Your Own PR 2004. All rights reserved.

Paula Gardner of http://www.doyourownpr.com is a PR and marketing coach who works with people who are passionate and serious about getting their business noticed. Do Your Own Pr offers Pr training via ecourses, telephone coaching, one to one consultations and in-house staff training. You can sign up for the Do Your Own PR newsletter at http://www.doyourownpr.com/subscribe.asp

During my career as the head of media relations for the world’s second largest environmental group, I regularly heard a common refrain from the scientists who so desperately wanted press attention for their projects. “But my project is so important," they’d say, expecting that was enough to crack the evening news.

The truth is, there is often a big difference between what journalists consider “important" and what they consider “newsworthy." When pitching a story to reporters, make sure it has both elements. An “important" story without a timely “news peg" is unlikely to get much coverage.

For example, roughly 35 million people in sub-Saharan Africa are infected with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. The magnitude of the health crisis on that continent cannot be overstated, and no news editor would likely dub the story unimportant.

But why would that story be on the evening news today? The crisis is as bad today as it was yesterday, and it will likely be just as bad tomorrow as it is today. In order for it to make news again, something has to happen to advance the story.

For example, if the American president announced a new, $1.5 billion aid package designed to help African children orphaned by parents with AIDS, that is news. Suddenly, the magnitude of the crisis finds its way back onto the front pages and into the lead segments of news broadcasts.

How can you make a story more newsworthy? Here are three ideas you can use for your story – the more of these you can use, the more likely you’ll be to receive press coverage.

1) Announce Something New — Since the word “news" contains the word “new," it’s always a good idea to announce something that’s never been announced before. Perhaps it’s a new product, a new piece of research, a new piece of legislation, etc.

2) Contains an Extreme — Reporters love anything that represents the first, last, best, worst, biggest, smallest, greatest, etc. If you are releasing the first report of its kind, say so. If your new product is the smallest microwave oven ever produced, put it in the headline.

3) Counterintuitive is Good — Reporters love stories that make the reader do a double take and say, “What did that say?" If your story runs counter to everything we think we know, it’s going to get noticed. For example, if new research concludes that dumping toxic waste in a pond actually helps the fish population, the press will be on the phone with you almost instantly.

Brad Phillips is the founder and president of Phillips Media Relations (http://www.PhillipsMediaRelations.com). He was formerly a journalist for ABC News and CNN, and also headed the media relations department for the second largest environmental group in the world.

The power of Passion

Passion is an extraordinarily powerful spring. Without it religion, history, romance, and art are useless. Likewise, Public Relations too becomes completely deflated without the essential ingredient of Passion. It demonstrates avowed belief, everlasting appeal and steadfast loyalty. So why does passion become so much more important in the business of public relations as compared to any other service industry?

To convert others to your way of thinking, being a believer first is essential. It is then that you can take a convincing stand with people of different attitudes, perceptions and sensitivities. It is necessary to have an obsessive faith in your client’s business & philosophy and your own organizational vision to be able to transmit it through written and spoken word such that its effervescence is delivered undiluted.

Whether it is body language of a PR professional sitting across the table, a written document, or a presentation; it is passion which communicates. Without passion, there is no story to sell!

In a PR agency, passion must become a management mission – an everyday task taken on by the Organizational Head, Team Leaders and Managers – allowing it to spread infectiously throughout the entire organization. Percolating down the agency, passion must show even in the most mundane tasks that the organization does.

The zeal of purpose

“Many people have a wrong idea of what constitutes true happiness. It is not attained through self-gratification, but through fidelity to a worthy purpose.” In a self-made organization, one that emerges from the grassroots, where the milestones for the first few years are just survival, with time, the purpose often gets diluted. This usually occurs due to a lack of sound fundamentals, or the lack of attention to basics.

Starting on the right basics is more than half the battle won. When we started Blue Lotus, we began on four founding principles; firstly, to have complete focus on the client’s business goals and not the money that the client was paying. Money would be only a by-product, we said. We believed that if we did our job well, there would be enough and more of the by-product to go around. Secondly, even at the starting block we decided that Blue Lotus would be co-owned, where each person would share the benefits of growth and the responsibilities commensurately.

The next founding principle was that of fomenting creative-friction continuously in our people. We argued that creativity was not the intellectual property of any one person, and unless we encouraged a healthy friction, we would stagnate. The fourth principle and most sacred belief that we drilled into ourselves was that of maintaining the highest standard of ethics in all our professional transactions.

For an organization to have common purpose, a vision of common destinies is essential. Common purpose is easy to maintain when you are a small organization working out of a single location, but as the company grows geographically and numerically, this common purpose very often gets diluted. To ensure that the organizational purpose maintains its purity, it is necessary that enough time be spent with each new inductee, to ingrain them with the organizational principles, beliefs and ethos. Revisiting this purpose frequently is also critical to ensuring an unadulterated sense of purpose over decades of organizational life.

In a public relations consultancy, the need for a stringent adherence to its purpose can frequently be the deciding factor in its success. One not only needs to zealously believe in the purpose of your own organization, but also in that of your clients. And to align oneself to the vision of client organizations is not always an easy task. Perhaps this is where a due-diligence of the clients is a useful tool in ensuring that you do not sign up clients with viewpoints conflicting with yours. The courage to say NO to potential clients without a culture-fit to your own beliefs can help make the organizational purpose stay vibrant and alive despite of the growth or geographical spread.

Passion with Purpose - a winning combination

Even singly, these two, passion and purpose are extremely potent tools to build sound agency basics, but used together – it can make the agency completely unassailable. Firm belief in your organizational vision and using the tenets of Passion and Purpose are only a start point. To make ensure a working model, this vision must percolate from the top and carried forth in every action of the organization.

The advantages of starting from the grassroots cannot be understated. It is like having a blank canvas, lots & lots of paint and your creativity. Let not your passion to colour the canvas use up all the paint, and neither let not your purpose to paint, curb your creativity. Using a judicious mix of the two, think as Da Vinci would before he painted the Madonna or Michealangelo would before he changed a block of stone to into a stunningly life-like image of David.

Let this guide you and you will not only see your agency grow and flourish, but you will see a haloed aura about your organization that attracts people and clients to your business.

N.Chandramouli, the author, is the CEO of Blue Lotus Communications Consultancy, a knowledge based public relations agency headquartered in Mumbai. He can be reached at mouli@bluelotuspr.com.

Think of a triangle. On the left, imagine the story you want to tell. On the right, you have zeitgeist , or curent events.

The object of the game is to create a unified, triangulated center…literally an "angle" for your story.

For example, if you have improved your business practices, you might utilize the popularity of television transformations, and promote your story as an "extreme makeover" for busy professionals.

By tying your story to something topical, you vastly improve its chances of being heard.

A good story with a mediocre salesperson is better than a bad story told by the most articulate salesperson. Lack of slickness is actually an asset.

If you had the greatest press kit in the world-but a lackluster story-I couldn’t get you on the Today Show . But if you were pregnant with Osama Bin Laden’s baby, I could get you on with a smudged fax.

In America Today, for better or worse, the way we become credible is by being visible. These are wacky times. Where there’s no visibility, there is no credibility. That’s just the way it works.

GuerrillaPR Insights is a, weekly newsletter that does 2 things: First, it provides readers with a weekly, actionable "insights" on how you can work more effectively with the media.

Secondly, it provides NAPES: Names, Addresses, and Phone numbers of key media producers and editors. For example, in a recent issue, we gave specific contact information on how to contact the producers of the Oprah Winfrey Show. To check out the archives, go to: http://www.guerrillapr.net/ Guerrilla_PR_Insights-backissues.html

I heard a speaker recently who was talking about how to maintain strong relationships. As I listened to his basic principle, I realized that it is true in all of our life situations, be it work, family etc. And let’s face it, relationships are what make the world go ’round. So strong healthy relationships will make your work more enjoyable, and prosperous, and will make your family and friend relationships better as well.

What was the principle? The speaker said that each point of connection is like an anchor in the relationship, and the more connections you have, the stronger the relationship will be. He calls one-connection relationships "Simplex," and multi-connection relationships, "Multiplex." The strongest relationships are multiplex.

There is also the idea that some connections are stronger than others and so you want as many connections as possible and you want those connections to be as strong as they can be as well. Confused? Let’s put some legs on this. We’ll take a business situation and we’ll take a family situation to illustrate the principle.

Anchoring work relationships. Let’s say you sell insurance. A guy walks in and says, "I would like to purchase some term life insurance." You have a simplex relationship. The connection is that you both want him to have insurance. As you get to know him better and get information from him, you realize that you have a multiplex relationship growing and the chance that your business relationship will grow is improving.

"You grew up in Iowa? Me too!"

"You like to golf? Me too!"

"Your wife and you like to go to the opera? So do we! We should go together sometime."

The multiple connections are anchoring your relationship.

Anchoring a family relationship. Let’s take a marriage in trouble. Chances are that at one time, the relationship was multiplex. Because of time, work, and other stresses, the marriage has deteriorated to the point where both are thinking, "What did I marry this person for?" Or "Why do I stay?" The chances are that now the relationship is simplex. Maybe it is that the one connection is that they want to do right by the kids and so they "Tough it out." What is the answer? I believe that it is regaining a multiplex relationship. Work hard to make those other anchoring connections. Did you used to play tennis together before the kids came along? Go play tennis together on a regular basis. Do you both have a common interest in a specific cause or charity, but time hasn’t allowed you to pursue it? Take the time! It will anchor your relationship again!

I think you get the point. Take some time to think about your current relationships. Are they as multiplex as they can be or as they used to be? Think about the new relationships you will make in the coming weeks or months. Think of ways you can make them strong by finding multiple connections, securing deeper and more fulfilling relationships.

Make your relationships "multiplex" and you make them strong, with an anchor that will not let them go!

About The Author:

Chris Widener is a popular speaker and writer as well as the President of Made for Success, a company helping individuals and organizations turn their potential into performance, succeed in every area of their lives and achieve their dreams.

To see Chris "live" at the upcoming Jim Rohn Weekend Event as he speaks on the subject of Secrets of Influence go to http://Chris-Widener.InspiresYOU.com/ or call 800-929-0434.

As a business, non-profit or association manager trying to get a bang for your PR buck, you could pretty much concentrate on simple print and broadcast mentions or, for that matter, the whole basket of tactical public relations weaponry including old favorites like high-visibility speech appearances and newsworthy special events.

But if you really want premium public relations results, you must use a broader, more comprehensive and workable public relations blueprint to alter your key, external audience perceptions – perceptions that lead to the changed behaviors you’ll need to reach your managerial goals.

In short, you had best take steps to persuade those key external stakeholders with the greatest impacts on your organization to your way of thinking, then move them to take actions that help your department, division or subsidiary succeed.

The PR blueprint is the best place to start: 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.

Publicity tactics, of course, have their role in the blueprint, but they are not the be-all or end-all of the public relations plan, nor should they be.

Savor for a moment premium results like those mentioned above. Prospects starting to do business with you, and customers starting to make repeat purchases; fresh proposals for strategic alliances and joint ventures; welcome bounces in show room visits; rising membership applications, and community leaders beginning to seek you out; new approaches by capital givers and specifying sources, not to mention politicians and legislators viewing you as a key member of the business, non-profit or association communities

But who will do the work such results demand? People assigned by the corporate office to your unit? Possibly your full-time public relations staff? Or even an outside PR agency team? No matter who they are, they must be committed to you, to the PR blueprint and to its implementation, starting with key audience perception monitoring.

Sad to say, simply because someone describes him/herself as a public relations person doesn’t mean they’ve accepted PR as you understand it. So by all means make certain the public relations people assigned to your unit honestly believe why it’s SO important to know how your most important outside audiences perceive your operations, products or services. Make sure they accept the reality that perceptions almost always lead to behaviors that can help or hurt your unit.

Sharpen your plan – your blueprint — for monitoring and gathering perceptions by questioning members of your most important outside audiences. Questions like these: how much do you know about us? Have you met our chief executive or other senior managers? Have you had other contacts with our staff and were you pleased with the interchange? How much do you know about our services or products and employees? Have you experienced problems with our people or procedures?

Use professional survey firms in the perception monitoring phases of your program if you can afford them. But your PR people are also in the perception and behavior business and can pursue the same objective: identify untruths, false assumptions, unfounded rumors, inaccuracies, misconceptions and any other negative perception that might translate into hurtful behaviors.

Here, it’s time to establish your PR goal, one that aims to do something about the worst distortions you turned up during your key audience perception monitoring. It could be to straighten out that dangerous misconception, correct that gross inaccuracy, or stop that potentially fatal rumor dead in its tracks.

Now, with the PR goal established, select the right strategy, one that tells you how to proceed. But keep in mind that there are only three strategic options available to you when it comes to handling a perception and opinion challenge. Change existing perception, create perception where there may be none, or reinforce it. Since the wrong strategy pick will taste like onion gravy on your raspberries, be certain the new strategy fits comfortably with your new public relations goal. You don’t want to select “change” when the facts dictate a “reinforce” strategy.

With that homework complete, prepare a clear message and aim it at members of your target audience. Because crafting action-forcing language to persuade an audience to your way of thinking is hard work, you need your best writer because s/he must create some very special, corrective language. Words that are not only compelling, persuasive and believable, but clear and factual if they are to correct something and shift perception/opinion towards your point of view leading to the behaviors you are targeting.

Run it by your PR team for impact and persuasiveness. Then, select the communications tactics most likely to carry your message to the attention of your target audience. You can pick from dozens that are available. From speeches, facility tours, emails and brochures to consumer briefings, media interviews, newsletters, personal meetings and many others. But be sure that the tactics you pick are known to reach folks just like your audience members.

Rather than using higher-profile news releases, since a message is often dependent for its credibility on the means used to deliver it, you may decide to unveil it before smaller meetings and presentations When questions about progress are heard, you and your PR team should get busy on a second perception monitoring session with members of your external audience. And remember to use many of the same questions used in the first benchmark session. Difference this time is that you will be alert for signs that the bad news perception is being altered in your direction.

If momentum flags, you can always accelerate matters by adding more communications tactics and increase their frequencies.

When all is said and done, you want your new PR blueprint to persuade your most important outside stakeholders to your way of thinking, then move them to behave in a way that leads to the success of your department, division or subsidiary. Period.

And, when you think about it, we are fortunate indeed that our key stakeholder audiences behave like everyone else – they act upon their perceptions of the facts they hear about you and your operation. Leaving you little choice but to deal promptly and effectively with those perceptions by doing what is necessary to reach and move your key external audiences to actions you desire.

A great way to do PR.

Please feel free to publish this article and resource box in your ezine, newsletter, offline publication or website. A copy would be appreciated at mailto:bobkelly@TNI.net. Word count is 1200 including guidelines and resource box.

Robert A. Kelly © 2004.

About The Author

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. mailto:bobkelly@TNI.net

Visit: http://www.prcommentary.com

Business, non-profit and association managers are in a stronger position to succeed when they use their public relations resources in a way that alters individual perception leading to changed external stakeholder behavior.

A mouthful, but true.

Here’s the obvious core of this approach: persuade your most important outside audiences with the greatest impacts on your organization to your way of thinking. Then move them to take actions that help your department, division or subsidiary prevail.

The right action plan – the right blueprint – helps you to achieve that kind of success. And it does so by getting everyone working towards the same external audience behaviors. For example: 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.

And look at what might happen. A nice jumpup in show room traffic; local thoughtleaders seeking your opinion on key local issues; newly interested prospects calling you; growing numbers of membership applications; the repeat purchase rate increasing; new inquiries about strategic alliances and joint ventures; capital givers or specifying sources making inquiries; and even politicians and legislators viewing you as a leading figure in the business, non-profit or association communities.

Caveat: your PR people are already in the perception and behavior business, so they should be of real use for your initial opinion monitoring project. But you must be certain your public relations people really believe – deep down — why it’s SO important to know how your most important outside audiences perceive your operations, products or services. Make sure they accept the reality that perceptions almost always lead to behaviors that can help or hurt your unit.

While reviewing your PR plan with them, talk about how you will monitor and gather perceptions by questioning members of your most important outside audiences. Questions like these: 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?

While professional survey firms can always be hired to do the opinion monitoring work, they also can cost big bucks. So, 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.

Clearly, you must do something about the most serious distortions you discovered during your key audience perception monitoring. Will it be to straighten out that dangerous misconception? Correct that gross inaccuracy? Or, stop that potentially damaging rumor dead in its tracks?

We all know you won’t get there at all without the right strategy to tell you how to proceed. But remember 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 sour cream on your spaghetti, 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 “reinforce” strategy.

Now it’s time to put together a well-written message and direct 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.

You need your best scribes for this one 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.

Once you’ve run draft copy by your PR team, it’s 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,

Actually, you may wish to avoid “shouting too loud” and unveil your message before smaller meetings and presentations rather than using higher-profile news releases, as the credibility of any message is fragile and always at stake.

It won’t be long before voices will be raised about progress reports, which will be your signal for you and your PR team to get going on 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. Big difference this time is that you will be on red alert for signs that the bad news perception is being altered in your direction.

It seems lucky for us that such matters usually can be accelerated simply by adding more communications tactics as well as increasing their frequencies.

Yes, you as a business, non-profit or association manager become empowered when you persuade your most important outside stakeholders to your way of thinking, then move them to behave in a way that leads to the success of your department, division or subsidiary. Pure and simple.

Put another way, when your key external stakeholders start behaving suspiciously like everyone else – acting upon their perceptions of the facts they hear about you and your operation — you really have little choice but to deal promptly and effectively with those perceptions by doing what is necessary to reach and move those important outside audiences 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 mailto:bobkelly@TNI.net. Word count is 1105 including guidelines and resource box.

Robert A. Kelly © 2004.

About The Author

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. mailto:bobkelly@TNI.net

Visit: http://www.prcommentary.com

Business, non-profit and association managers committing their public relations resources to (1) doing something about the behaviors of those important outside audiences that most affect their operation, (2) creating the kind of external stakeholder behavior change that leads directly to achieving their managerial objectives, and (3) doing so by persuading those key outside folks to their way of thinking by helping to move them to take actions that allow their department, division or subsidiary to succeed – greatly increase the chances of success for their operation.

Thus, feeding the engine of their own economic growth AND that of the nation at large.

But, in reality, it takes more than good intentions for any manager to alter individual perception leading to changed behaviors, something of profound importance to ALL business, non-profit and association managers.

What they need is a simple PR blueprint that gets everyone working towards the same external audience behaviors insuring that the organization’s public relations effort stays sharply focused.

For example, a blueprint like this: 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 that way, those same business, non-profit and association managers can see results such as new proposals for strategic alliances and joint ventures; customers making repeat purchases; prospects starting to work with them; membership applications on the rise; capital givers or specifying sources looking their way, and even bounces in showroom visits.

But HOW those managers pull that off forms the real challenge.

Here’s how the best of them can do it. They find out who among their key external audiences is behaving in ways that help or hinder the achievement of their objectives. Then, they list them according to how severely their behaviors affect their organization.

But precisely HOW do most members of that key outside audience perceive their organization? If the budget to pay for what could be costly professional survey counsel isn’t there, Ms. or Mr. manager and his or her PR colleagues will have to monitor those perceptions themselves. Actually, they should be quite familiar with perception and behavior matters.

Getting that activity under way means meeting with members of that outside audience and asking questions like “Are you familiar with our services or products?” “Have you ever had contact with anyone from our organization? Was it a satisfactory experience?” And if you are that manager, you must be sensitive to negative statements, especially evasive or hesitant replies. And watch carefully for false assumptions, untruths, misconceptions, inaccuracies and potentially damaging rumors. When you find such, they will need to be corrected, as they inevitably lead to negative behaviors.

The job now is to select the specific perception to be altered which then becomes your public relations goal. You obviously want to correct those untruths, inaccuracies, misconceptions or false assumptions.

One of the painful aspects of the whole drill is that a PR goal without a strategy to show you how to get there, is like a three-bean salad without the beans. So, as you select one of three strategies (especially constructed to create perception or opinion where there may be none, or change or reinforce it,) what you want to do is insure that the goal and its strategy match each other. You wouldn’t want to select “change existing perception” when current perception is just right suggesting that “reinforce” strategy.

The moment has come when you must create a compelling message carefully constructed to alter your key target audience’s perception, as specified by your public relations goal.

Keep in mind that you can always combine your corrective message with another news announcement or presentation which may give it more credibility by downplaying the apparent need for such a correction.

The content of the message must be compelling and quite clear about what perception needs clarification or correction, and why. Of course you must be truthful and your position logically explained and believable if it is to hold the attention of members of that target audience, and actually move perception in your direction.

Some allude to the communications tactics necessary to move your message to the attention of that key external audience, as “beasts of burden” because they must carry your persuasive new thoughts to the eyes and ears of those important outside people.

Actually, we have a wide choice because the list of tactics is long indeed. It includes letters-to-the-editor, brochures, press releases and speeches. Or, you might choose radio and newspaper interviews, personal contacts, facility tours or customer briefings. There are scores available and the only selection requirement is that the communications tactics you choose have a record of reaching people just like the members of your key target audience.

Of course, things can always be accelerated by adding more communications tactics, AND by increasing their frequencies.

It won’t be long before those around you will be asking about progress. But you will already be hard at work remonitoring perceptions among your target audience members to test the effectiveness of your communications tactics. Using questions similar to those used during your earlier monitoring session, you’ll now become beady-eyed looking for signs that audience perceptions are beginning to move in your general direction.

Yes, performed in this manner, public relations obviously does feed the engine of YOUR economic growth and, thus, that of the nation at large.

But do keep your eye on the core of this approach: persuade your most important outside audiences with the greatest impacts on your organization to your way of thinking. Then move them to take actions that help your department, division or subsidiary prevail.

Please feel free to publish this article and resource box in your ezine, newsletter, offline publication or website. A copy would be appreciated at mailto:bobkelly@TNI.net. Word count is 1085 including guidelines and resource box.

Robert A. Kelly © 2004.

About The Author

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. mailto:bobkelly@TNI.net

Visit: http://www.prcommentary.com

Fiercely combative business, non-profit and association managers use every PR weapon they can lay their hands on. Which means they employ strategic, rapid-fire print and broadcast tactics every day of their business lives.

Still, many realize they need more than that to win the long-range battle. Fact is, they need a public relations budget that can deliver results far beyond publicity tactics.

The fierce and the smart know they need real behavior change among their most important outside audiences that leads directly to achieving their managerial objectives.

So they make sure they persuade those key outside folks with the greatest impacts on their organizations to their way of thinking, then move them to take actions that help their department, division or subsidiary succeed.

The really fierce use a public relations blueprint something like this one: 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.

If that’s you, over time your results probably look like these: fresh proposals for strategic alliances and joint ventures; prospects starting to do business with you; welcome bounces in show room visits; membership applications on the rise; customers starting to make repeat purchases; community leaders beginning to seek you out; 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 the fierce ones don’t go it alone. They make certain every member of the PR team agrees that it’s crucially important to know how your outside audiences perceive your operations, products or services. Dig deep to ensure they REALLY accept the reality that perceptions almost always lead to behaviors that can damage your operation.

Now it’s time to activate the PR blueprint and monitor and gather perceptions by questioning members of your most important outside audience. Ask questions like these: how much do you know about our organization? Have you had prior contact with us and were you pleased with the interchange? How much do you know about our services or products and employees? Have you experienced problems with our people or procedures?

Lucky for all of us, your PR folks are already in the perception and behavior business, so they can be of real use for this opinion monitoring project. Professional survey firms can be brought in to handle the opinion monitoring chore, but that can cost you a lot of money. So whether it’s your people or a survey firm who asks the questions, your objective is to identify untruths, false assumptions, unfounded rumors, inaccuracies, and misconceptions .

Which of the above abberations is serious enough that it should become your corrective public relations goal? Clarify the misconception? Spike that rumor? Correct the false assumption? Fix those inaccuracies? Or yet another offensive perception that could lead to negative results?

With your public relations goal established, you can assure you’ll achieve it by picking the right strategy from the three choices available to you. Change existing perception, create perception where there may be none, or reinforce it. But be sure your new strategy naturally compliments your new public relations goal.

So what will your message emphasize when you address your key stakeholder audience to help persuade them to your way of thinking?

Select your best writer to prepare the message because s/he must put together some very special, corrective language. Words that are not only 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.

Happily, the next step is easy. You select communications tactics to carry your message to the attention of your target audience. Making certain that the tactics you select have a record of reaching folks like your audience members, you can pick from dozens that are available. From speeches, facility tours, emails and brochures to consumer briefings, media interviews, newsletters, personal meetings and many others.

Keep in mind that HOW one communicates often affects the credibility of the message, so you may wish to deliver it in small getogethers like meetings and presentations rather than through a higher-profile media announcement.

You’ll soon feel pressure for signs of progress. And that will lead to a second perception monitoring session with members of your external audience. Employing many of the same questions used in the first benchmark session, you will now be watching carefully for signs that the offending perception is being altered in your direction. Remember that you can always accelerate the program by adding more communications tactics as well as increasing their frequencies.

This bears repeating – yes, fiercely combative business, non-profit and association managers use every PR weapon they can lay their hands on, and that includes strategic, rapid-fire print and broadcast tactics.

But those same competitive managers also know they need an aggressive blueprint such as this one that will deliver behavior change among their most important outside audiences leading directly to achieving their managerial objectives.

Feel free to publish this article and resource box in your ezine, newsletter, offline publication or website. A copy would be appreciated at mailto:bobkelly@TNI.net. Word count is 990 including guidelines and resource box. Robert A. Kelly © 2004.

About The Author

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. mailto:bobkelly@TNI.net. Visit: http://www.prcommentary.com

One of the greatest ways to promote your product or service is with publicity. Many people have little, if any, understanding of how to go about securing publicity, never mind free publicity. Fact is, people will pay more attention to free publicity than they often do to paid advertising.

A simple way to gain free publicity is to write and distribute a well-written and well-formatted press release. A good press release is one of the most effective, and yet, most underutilized, of publicity tools. Simply put, a press release is an announcement you send to magazines, trade journals, newspapers, and newsletters. Also to radio and television. Often what you send to radio and television are referred to as PSA’s (Public Service Announcements).

I have one client who hosted an event and submitted one well-written and well-distributed press releases to the media. When the release made it in print, they went from having a 50% booking for their event through some direct mail efforts to filling up the entire room in less than 48 hours. This was worth a substantial amount of money to them.

Necessary steps

Prior to writing a press release, determine the following:

Develop a system for writing and distribution of releases. Stay organized. Know how to send the press release to a specific media outlet and person. Each has their own preference as to how they want to receive it. It will be to your benefit to find out. A quick phone call will often provide you with this key information.

Editors are inundated with information. If you want their attention keep the release short and to the point. During busy times, like before a huge event in a city, they will be in information overload.

Don’t use massive amounts of buzzwords such as “its all-new, interactive, interoperable, cross-platform, new multimedia solution.” Avoid jargon. The general public will have no idea what your industry jargon means and editors rarely will take time to find out.

Give them the who/what/when/where/why as articulately as you can. Make your information is complete. Incomplete information is far more likely to get your press release in the trash bin than anything else.

The 5 Ws of writing a press release or PSA.

Who should attend? Who will be there?

What is taking place? What will come from this event? Is it a fundraiser?

When is it happening?

Where will this occur?

Why would people be interested in the information? Why would they attend the event?

Sending press releases

Many journalists prefer that you send press releases via e-mail. You will find some die-hard snail mail folks, and a few who like faxes. If you’re about to start working with a new journalist, and you’re not sure how they prefer to receive their press information, ask. Once they tell you how they prefer the information, honor that request.

E-mail should be sent as a plain text file: the simpler, the better. Do not send a press release via email with an attachment. Most media people will automatically delete due to the concern of a virus. Do not send your email out via a mass email. Actually, if you use a good contact management database, you can send it by mass email and it appears as if each is a personalized email. Don’t send a press release to your entire press list, with the entire recipient list visible.

When an editor calls for more information, respond to their call as quickly and professionally as possible. There is not substitute for building good relationships with the media. Don’t ever think you are too busy for them.

By making yourself available for the media, they tend to make themselves available for you. And what more could you possibly ask for?

Copyright: © 2004 by Kathleen Gage

Publishing Guidelines: You may publish my article in your newsletter, on your web site, or in your print publication provided you include the resource box at the end. Notification would be appreciated but is not required.

About The Author

Kathleen Gage is a business advisor, keynote speaker and trainer who helps others gain marketing dominance and visibility within their market. She is the recipient of the 2004 Giant Step Award for Business of the Year in the State of Utah. Call 801.619.1514 or email Kathleen@turningpointpresents.com. Get Gage’s online newsletter called Street Smarts Marketing and Promotions by visiting www.kathleengage.com.