Creating and maintaining healthy professional relationships with media contacts are key components of promoting your clients and their products. Below are a number of simple tips for working with the media:

1. Most reporters, particularly those with daily morning shows or publications, prefer to get calls fairly early in the day. Their deadlines are typically in the afternoon or early evening.

2. Return all reporters’ calls within the hour, or as promptly as possible, even if you know the inquiry is about a negative topic.

3. If time permits, familiarize yourself with the reporter and the publication/station. Read past articles the reporter has written or tune in to the station’s broadcast.

4. Anticipate questions and practice your responses, especially regarding topics that may be negative or complicated.

5. Any media interview is an opportunity to appropriately advance the goals and activities of your business.

6. Begin the interview by spelling your full and last name twice, along with your title.

7. Make your major points or key messages early in the interview. This sets the tone for the session and will help ensure that your comments are reported in the proper context.

8. Do not overuse industry jargon.

9. Use anecdotes and examples more than weighty statistics to carry your key messages. Real life experiences give real life to your interview.

10. If you don’t know the answer to a question, don’t guess. Tell the reporter that you are unsure, but that you’ll find out and call him or her back.

11. Don’t speak “off the record.” It’s acceptable to give the reporter background information but never say anything that you wouldn’t want to see in print or broadcast later.

12. Avoid the temptation to “wing it.” Listen to the entire question before responding. Don’t be drawn outside your area of expertise.

13. If you discover you’ve provided inaccurate information during the interview, contact the reporter right away to correct your error — before the story is printed or broadcast.

14. Do not ask for an advance draft of a story before it appears. Many reporters will deny such a request and interpret it as an effort on your part to censor or control the news. However, you should offer your assistance, if needed, in verifying facts or figures contained in the story before it goes to print.

15. Don’t attempt to go “over a reporter’s head” to influence a story. Most likely, you will be unsuccessful and only create resentment. If you believe the reporter has treated you unfairly, contact your regional public relations manager for the proper strategy.

16. Don’t offer or send gifts to the news media. Even inexpensive items could be misinterpreted as an attempt to influence the news coverage. If you are pleased by the way a story turned out, a complimentary phone call or thank you letter will suffice.

17. For television interviews, arrive at the TV station at least 30 minutes before the program. Upon arrival, ask for the show’s producer or the designated contact. It is acceptable to ask the producer if you can discuss the upcoming interview with both the producer and the interviewer. This will make the question and answer session easier on both you and the host. Don’t be bothered, though, if the host is unavailable.

18. Do not wear the color white, stripes or any complicated patterns to an on-camera interview.

19. Remember that radio and television interviewers often develop a regular following and that the audience does not know you. Avoid alienating the interviewer. Be friendly, address the interviewer by his or her first name, but don’t “fake” familiarity.

20. Feel free to have brief notes in front of you (that don’t necessarily have to be discussed) for your easy reference.

21. Always provide your interviewer with your business card and thank them for their time.

22. Let reporters know you are available for future stories, to increase the likelihood that they will call you again. This will help you to develop ongoing relationships with the media.

23. Be proactive in developing relationships with reporters. If you see an article that is within your area of knowledge, call the reporter to introduce yourself.

For more tips and information, please feel free to visit our website

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Tags: media, relations, agency, marketing, management

Many people are intimidated by radio interviews, whether live or pre-recorded and often spoil great promotion and branding opportunity in less then effective interviews.

Did you know there are more than 1500 talk radio shows in the US?

Also, radio is the only medium to show increased usage since the introduction of the Internet.

Radio can be a powerful way to communicate to a large amount of people in an immediate and intimate way.

So it is increasingly important to perform at your best when doing radio interviews in order to make optimum use of the opportunity.

Having worked in radio for more than 16 years, here are my 10 tips for getting the best out of radio interviews.

1. Preparation.

You only have one chance to get it right with live radio. Always prepare. This includes having strong and precise messages you wish to relay to the audience and goals for the interview.

2. Stay on message.

Most radio interviews are less than four minutes in duration. Always keep on message and avoid being drawn into side issues. Journalists are trained to acquire information from you, not necessarily on the topic covered in the interview. Keep focused at all times.

3. Metaphors and examples.

Radio is a very intangible medium. It is difficult to store and listeners rarely get a chance to re-listen. Make your message more memorable and tangible with stories, metaphors and examples. Remember radio reflects your personality to the audience.

4. Use word pictures.

The radio is often on as background noise. It is also the medium of imagination. Cut through the clutter with words that paint a picture in the mind of the listener.

5. Be available.

Always make yourself available for radio interviews. The immediacy makes it a powerful medium. Be available to go into the studio for better quality than over the phone or to take talkback calls. Missing a interview opportunity means the station will find somebody else to interview, perhaps a competing company in the same field, offering them the exposure.

6. Warm up your voice.

Always take time to warm up your voice so you sound more articulate, intelligent and authoritative. This will give you more confidence. Be clear in your pronunciation, unlike printed news listeners aren’t able to listen again if they miss words.

7. Make it personable.

Use the interviewers name to make it more personable when answering questions. This is another chance to develop a relationship with the media outlet interviewing you as well as your audience.

8. Don’t wait to be asked.

Many first timers fail to get their message across because they wait to be asked. Always try and take control and use every opportunity to get your message across. Be adaptable but remember your goals and messages.

9. External noise.

When you do radio interviews make sure the background is as quiet as possible. While wailing sirens will help add a sense of urgency, background noise can be distracting from your main message. Remember your message will be competing with background noise in the offices or cars it is listened to in so try to keep your background noise as minimal as possible.

10. Call to action.

Most people will remember the opening and closing of a radio interview. Always have a strong closing with a call to action, i.e. something you want listeners to do. Having an action statement at the end of your interview offers an opportunity for listeners to be involved with your company and develops your relationship further.

Thomas Murrell MBA CSP is an international business speaker, consultant and award-winning broadcaster. Media Motivators is his regular electronic magazine read by 7,000 professionals in 15 different countries. You can subscribe by visiting this site and is available to speak to your conference, seminar or event. Visit Tom’s blog

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Tags : people, management, communications, public, relations

Sample press release templates are difficult, if not impossible to find and work with. However, what makes a press release good is not the format, it’s the content. Here is how to write a simple press release for any niche and on any topic.

The first thing a press release needs is to start with some kind of news. While most people want to write these to help promote their business, it is essential to have some sort of interesting bit of news to include in the story. The release of your new product is not worthy of being considered breaking news. Most sites will still accept your release, but will not be picked up by very many visitors and it will not get too many views. These kinds of articles are useless for promotion and a waste of time

The best way to write a release is to talk about a new scientific study, a new trend in popular culture, or a quote from a famous celebrity or politician. If you dig, it is very possible to find specific things that will help out in any niche, and all a press release needs is an “expert” to simply need to comment about it. The primary way to do that is to quote yourself. Add a comment, and use your product or website name as a descriptor. For instance, I would write a quote, and then describe myself with something like “said Your Name, creator/owner/founder of such and such.” This way, it is still easy to get the publicity, and the powerful links back to your website which does the selling.

If you continue to write the article as if you didn’t need to sell the product, then you’ll have a lot more people interested in finding out more about you and hopefully, your website or your product. This will increase your exposure, as more people will be interested in putting your releases on their site. What you simply have to do is write the article in a way that sounds unbiased, as if you were writing a factual piece to be included in a major newspaper, and you’ll do just fine.

If this sample press release template wasn’t quite what you were looking for, you might be interested in checking out the free sample press release templates included in Rod Beckwith’s new software Press Equalizer. This software will help you write press releases and submit them to hundreds of websites.

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When it comes to press release distribution, options abound. There are so many press release distribution options, in fact, that it becomes quite a chore to sort through them all without some objective information about what kinds of submissions do what.

We will start with the most “hands-off” approach to distribution. This press release distribution option involves submitting a news release to one company, and paying a large fee to have your documents distributed to their site, as well as forwarded to their media contact list. This can be a powerful option for major corporations and companies whose names are commonly in the news anyways, as most journalists would love to have “inside information” or a breaking news story about a famous company, but unfortunately, for a regular small business or website owner who wants to get the word out, this press release distribution option is going to get their site promoted to people who do not particularly care about small businesses and will not make use of the information in the way that you might like, not to mention that this kind of service is incredibly expensive (most reputable companies charge anywhere between $200 and $2000 per press release).

If you own a brick-and-mortar store or a company which primarily does business in a local area, you may consider sending a copy of your press releases to local newspapers or other media outlets (think magazines, television, and radio stations in your surrounding area). This is a good option for businesses who do not have anything of national appeal, but is probably a bad idea for internet business, or people who want to encourage buyers nationwide.

The next option that many take is to distribute to one or more of the free press release submission sites on the internet and to hope that this will ensure widespread distribution. While it’s free, and thus, rather cost effective, this is the kind of submission service which is only effective if you’re distributing to a number of companies, which is very time consuming. Each individual press release site will have a number of journalists or affiliates who are interested in promoting your news, but the number is relatively small compared to the number you’d need to make a bigger media splash. It is, however, a very viable press release distribution option, and one which my recommended method is based on.

What I have personally found to be the best of the press release distribution options is to use software like Press Equalizer to help get the word out. This software formats and submits your press release to fifteen different free newswire at the push of a button. While the initial cost might seem expensive, it is about half the price of a professional distribution for a single press release, and you can use it forever. If you’re running a professional campaign, with multiple press releases going out over time, then this is easily the best press release distribution option for you.

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When crisis strikes, quick and effective response is needed to mitigate its effects. Done right, it can turn a potentially negative situation into positive outcome. There are, however, factors; which may intensify crises, make the impact worse, or even blunt the impact of the crisis response strategies. Such factors include the media’s interest in, and the public’s seemingly insatiable appetite for sensationalism.

For instance, while crisis can strike any size organization, studies indicate that the larger and respected an organization, the more sensational a crisis will be; hence such organization is subjected to more critical media scrutiny. Coupled with the media’s ability to share such information widely and instantaneously, a mere rumor or speculation can morph into a full blown crisis in no time at all potentially damaging reputation and undermining organizational legitimacy to exist.

Additionally, crisis intensifiers include: crisis history of the organization, relationship with stakeholders, severity of the damage, hesitation, retaliation, lying, pontification, confrontation, evasiveness and litigation. Each is discussed.

Crisis history of the organization. Some organizations are notorious for ignoring societal expectations such as labor, environmental and safety regulations. Some may survive relatively minor accidents and yet, at their peril, ignore its lessons. The investigation into the February 2003 Columbia shuttle accident suggested this assertion. NASA’s attitude toward safety was said to improve little even after the 1986 Challenger disaster (AP, 2003).

Relationship with stakeholders. An entity’s relationship with its stakeholders impacts how deeply a crisis is viewed. It also impacts stakeholders’ willingness to be persuaded regardless of response strategies employed. A mutual trusting relationship between the entity and its stakeholders can create goodwill from which to draw in times of crisis. The Ford Explorer and Firestone tire debacle, described above, provides an example. In a crisis, neither company would be afforded the benefit of doubt nor forgiveness as neither was especially endeared to the stakeholders as a result of their public spat.

Severity of the damage. A crisis resulting in loss of lives; or in extensive loses of income and life savings, takes on greater significance than say, one with loss of minor profits only. The just concluded Enron case provides the example. With the Enron collapse, nothing associated with the company was spared. In addition to loss to property and loss of lifetime income investments for the stakeholders, those involved were convicted and sent to prison for a long time.

Hesitation. In responding to the crisis, there must not be hesitation as it only makes the organization or spokesperson appears indecisive, incompetent or, worse, callous. In communication, perception is usually reality. When Vice President Dick Cheney accidentally shot a friend on a weekend hunting trip on February 11, 2006, it was four days when he finally spoke publicly about it to the media. As a result of his hesitation to respond publicly about it, what was a simple accident on a weekend hunting trip with friends had morphed into a crisis. The media and the public had begun to attribute it to the White House’s reputation for secrecy and high-handedness (Lockheed, 2006).

Retaliation. When one is accused in a crisis or conflict situation, he is embarrassed, belittled, in other words, his face is threatened. A face is a metaphor for someone’s or an organization’s image and reputation. There are two types of faces: Positive face, the desire for others to appreciate, understand and approve the face or image presented; whereas, negative face is the desire for others not to embarrass or impose on them. According to Ting-Toomey (1994), facework or face negotiation theory refers to specific verbal and nonverbal messages that help to maintain and restore face loss, and to uphold and honor face gain. Depending on culture, one way is revenge in which case the accused attempts to make an accuser share his pain as a result of an accusation.

Lying. Another form of face managing tactic, lying implies deliberately misleading the audience about the cause of the incident or, on what would be done to mitigate the effect of the crisis on the stakeholders.

Pontification. Along the line of lying, above, is pontification, boasting or embellishment. Instead of meekness or contriteness, this represents an idea of sounding more than one really is or needs to appear in the event of a crisis situation.

Confrontation. Irritants abound everywhere amid a crisis situation. From the media seeking information, to family members inquiring about their loved ones, to stakeholders who just want assurance their investments are safe or their jobs would be there the next day, it can be overwhelming for an unprepared spokesperson. No matter how overwhelmed, the image of a spokesperson at the podium wagging his finger in a confrontational mode at the media can send the wrong message, keeping the issue alive, instead of making it quickly go away.

Evasiveness. This means not being forthcoming with information, or trying to make things confusing. When a crisis happens, there are information voids the media want filled, and dissonance, a feeling of discomfort the stakeholders want reduced or eliminated altogether.

Litigation. Like confrontation, above, litigation or court involvement only keeps the issue alive, brings more attention to the issue and, by extension, the organization, and shine bad light on the organization longer than necessary.

Emmanuel A. Smart is President of Smart Expressions, a Strategic Public Relations and Organizational communication firm based in Houston, TX; offering lectures, workshops, counseling and support on: 1. Building, managing and leveraging the power of good organizational reputation; 2. Spokesperson development; 3. Crisis management strategies; more. For more information, visit this site

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Tags: public, relations, management, crisis, cases

Public speaking can be an excellent form of free PR and an effective marketing tool. Speaking in front of groups gives you exposure to potential clients and enhances your credibility as an expert in your field — and people like to buy from experts. Below are some tips to help you step out and use speaking to grow your business.

Identify your ideal audience. Research professional associations and industry meetings your target clients are likely to attend. Service clubs are often looking for speakers, and their members might be good clients for you. Get names of program chair people and call to ask if you can speak to their group.

Make your message meaningful. Talk about what you know — topics you’re passionate about. Provide valuable information that will really help your audience. Perhaps pinpoint your target clients’ three biggest problems and write a speech about how to solve each of them. Aim to give practical tips — preferably ones they can implement right away. Don’t use your talk to give a sales pitch for your services or products.

Be crystal clear. Know what you plan to say. Start with a simple outline based on your main points — ideally, no more than three. This makes it easy for your audience (and you) to remember. State your points at the beginning, repeat them throughout your presentation and use them to recap at the end.

Keep their attention. Make your talk interesting and memorable. Illustrate each of your points with examples and stories your listeners can relate to. Statistics can be powerful to back up what you say, but keep them relevant and don’t bore your audience with too many.

Practice your presentation. Become so familiar with your material that you don’t need to rely on notes and can step away from the podium. Be natural and speak from your heart. Make eye contact with several members of the audience. Never read your speech. Be sure to stay within the time limit set by your host.

Look the part. Be well groomed and appropriately dressed for your audience. Ideally, dress like but slightly more formally than your audience.

Have helpful handouts your audience can take away listing the main points of your presentation. Include space for them to write notes and your contact information. Proof your handout carefully, and have someone else look it over to ensure there are no typos and that it represents you well.

Arrive early and become familiar with the room, the PA system, and meet and mingle as people arrive. If you’re using a projector, give time for set up and testing.

Be prepared for questions. If you want your audience to interrupt you with questions, tell them. If you plan a question-and-answer time at the end, let them know this at the beginning and suggest that they make notes of questions to ask later. Then be sure to allow enough time for questions.

Fine-tune your speaking skills: read books, take a course, join Toastmasters International or hire a speech coach. Start with small low-risk groups.

A major marketing campaign may not be in your budget, but speaking is a great way to get your message out to prospective clients. It will take some of your time and energy, but will set you apart as an authority in your field and it’s free!

Victoria K. Munro is co-founder (along with husband Dave Block) of Make-it-Fly® LLC, a company dedicated to creating success for small business owners through creatively designed programs and tools. Victoria has started and run nine different businesses. To receive FREE business success articles with tips to help you with your business, sign up for their award-winning ezine, “In-Flight Refueling,” at her site, and receive a free copy of the eBook, Get More Done in Less Time: 101 Quick and Easy Time Tactics & Tips.

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The use of public relations in litigation is becoming more and more prevalent in today’s world. Litigation PR is defined as the management of the communication process during the course of any legal dispute or adjudicatory processing so as to affect the outcome or its impact on the client’s overall reputation. In today’s world it is more and more common to see law firms being assisted by PR consultants and counselors. This is evident by the increased media coverage of court cases and the law. Many parties to a lawsuit have very important concerns and interests that go well beyond the legal concerns and issues. Negative publicity can cause damage to an organization’s and/or an individual’s reputation even if they prevail and win in the courtroom. Therefore the impact of negative publicity on public opinion cannot be ignored.

There are proven ways to use public relations to assist attorneys in their litigation efforts. Here are ten (10) public relations tips to assist the attorneys in influencing the outcome of the litigation, protecting their client’s reputation before and after the litigation, making a client’s viewpoint known, ensuring balanced media coverage, helping the media and the public understand complex legal issues, defusing a hostile environment and helping resolve the conflict.

1. Commit to and retain a public relations consultant to be on to your legal team at the beginning of the client engagement.

2. Engage a professional public relations consultant that has experience in litigation PR.

3. Develop a strategic communications plan for the engagement. An effective public communications strategy must complement, support and enhance the legal strategy. Avoid withholding information from your PR expert, as it could prove disastrous in developing the PR strategy.

4. Work with your professional PR consultant to select a company spokesperson and to work closely with the spokesperson to prepare him or her for all public appearances and public statements.

5. Listen to, hear and understand what your professional PR consultant tells you so you can develop a clear vision of a big picture view point relative to an issue that goes beyond the immediate pending litigation or issue.

6. Rely on the strategic use of your public relations experts’ experience in dealing with the media.

7. Strategically engage the public relations expert’s resources and networks with various media and identified stakeholder groups.

8. Seek, trust and use your PR professional’s expertise in crafting statements to the media and the public.

9. Commit to understanding that there is a difference between writing legal documents and writing for the general public.
Work closely with your public relations consultant so he or she can translate your “legalese” into “common” English for the media and the public.

10. Have the attorneys be engaged in media training to increase their comfort level when it comes to dealing with the media. Have your PR expert educate and train the attorneys on how journalists work, how deadlines play into the interview process and how to develop a positive rapport and relationship with the media.

Glenn Ebersole, Jr. is a multi-faceted professional, who is recognized as a visionary, guide and facilitator in the fields of business coaching, marketing, public relations, management, strategic planning and engineering. Glenn is the Founder and Chief Executive of two Lancaster, PA based consulting practices: The Renaissance Group, a creative marketing, public relations, strategic planning and business development consulting firm and J. G. Ebersole Associates, an independent professional engineering, marketing, and management consulting firm. He is a Certified Facilitator and serves as a business coach and a strategic planning facilitator and consultant to a diverse list of clients. Glenn is also the author of a monthly newsletter, “Glenn’s Guiding Lines – Thoughts From Your Strategic Thinking Business Coach” and has published more than 325 articles on business.

To find out more about the benefits & rewards of litigation public relations, please contact Glenn Ebersole through his website

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Tags: litigation, public, relations, crisis, management

Press release software is somewhat of an enigma to the majority of writers and news editors, and yet many people are starting to turn to these products to help them write and distribute a news release. Some pieces of press release software are very simple and perform some tedious tasks on your behalf, while other types of press release software will practically write the whole thing for you.

But what features should you look for in press release software? Here is a short list of some of the most common.

Many of these programs are designed to make the writing process easier on business people with little experience in actually writing a media release. While this is important, it is not essential, as the majority of these article writing programs will put together poorly written documents. It will then take even longer for you to go back and fix the mistakes that the software has generated, and in the end, it is a waste of time. A good piece of software will come with some pre-formatted templates, with clear instructions on the best practices for writing a press release. This allows you to retain control of the language structure, and not get too far away from the main points, even if you’ve never written an article like this before.

Press release software is also capable of filling out the majority of online forms on your behalf. Any software which does not do this automatically is not worth your time or money, since you’ll spend quite a while filling out the forms correctly and clicking submit each and every time. For those programs who submit to thousands of sites, this is obviously not worthwhile.

Distribution of press releases is essential, and this is what the vast majority of pieces of press release software specialize in. You must be careful when using these products, however, as many brands will only submit a static document, and are not capable of reformatting the document automatically in order to meet the requirements of each individual newswire. As a result, only a few newswires will accept your releases, even if the product has delivered your document to thousands of sites.

By far the best of the pieces of press release software I have found is called Press Equalizer It comes with more than ten templates built in, and it can submit to more than fifteen different press release newswires who will further distribute your content for free. It can even reformat the documents for you on submission, which very few of its competitors are capable of. The software is also on the low end of the price scale at $97. Check it out

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Tags: pr, software, agency, management, solutions

We are all aware of some of the nasty spills the Cruise Ship lines have taken with negative public relations and much of it is undeserved. Nevertheless crisis management is a part of Cruise Ship line Public Relations, just as much as positive public relations and travel industry goodwill.

Perhaps you’ll recall two years ago the outbreak of a virus on a cruise ship line and another cruise ship, which had bacteria in the water. Neither of these were the actual cruise ships fault. But rather they had picked up water and a port, which was not good.

The same thing happens on airliners when they fill up with water and foreign airports. There was another problem recently where a newlywed husband got into a fight and ended up overboard and no one had ever seen him again. His widow and their family sued the Cruise line and made a huge issue out of it.

Cruise ship lines have to overcome negative public relations and crisis management of this type and be careful to promote positive public relations all year round, otherwise they cannot fill up the ships with passengers.

Public relations for Cruise ship lines means they must also keep up communication lines with all mass media outlets and promote all the good things they do such as assisting during the Indonesia tsunami efforts and the post hurricane Katrina disaster relief efforts. Perhaps you will consider all this in 2006.

“Lance Winslow” – Online Think Tank forum board. If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance, on this site. Lance is an online writer in retirement.

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Tags: public relations, crisis, management, cruise, travel

When is public relations most critical? Well during crisis mode of course when the client, corporation or public figure is in dire straights and becoming a media football and something must be done quick. But what can you do? If you were at a party and you stuck your foot in your mouth what would you do?

Well it is about the same thing really, you go into crisis mode and cover your tracks or you talk louder than everyone else and force your opinion and perspective based views onto those in attendance. This is one way to handle the situation and often in doing so you can bring another point of view to the table and cloud the issue in all kinds of contrived controversy and actually come out ahead for being in the news for over a week.

Of course this is a risky way to do things. Probably the best way to do things and the safest from a public relations standpoint is to admit fault, apologized and and promise to never do it again. Perhaps even state that you will get counseling or something of that nature.

Of course what if you are a company and the corporation makes a huge boo-boo? Then what you do? Public relations crisis management teams are often pitted against mass media hysteria and they immediately go to work and review the situation, come up with a simple and understandable description of the problem while downplaying its importance and then offer a plausible or deniable reason for the event. Please consider all this in 2006.

“Lance Winslow” – Online Think Tank forum board. If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance, on this site. Lance is an online writer in retirement.

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Tags: public relations, crisis, management, mass media, review

Many organizations actively engage in ‘Issues Management.’ For most, this involves scanning the news, developing communications strategies around relevant issues and trends, and then communicating their messages back through the media.

However, effective communications is more than just managing issues through the media. Companies and organizations must also be aware of their external publics – the people and groups outside of an organization’s sphere that affect, or are affected by, what that organization does.

This is known as ‘Relationship Management.’ It is the discipline of identifying key publics and establishing strategies for building and maintaining mutually beneficial relationships with those publics.

Identifying External Publics

Like most organizations, there is a good chance you are already using media monitoring to track the issues that affect your organization. This is Communications 101.

You may even be taking it one step further and conducting some kind of media analysis, including assigning tones like positive, negative or neutral to news stories. And if you’re not, you should be. Without proper analysis and evaluation, your communications team is not doing its job properly.

But where it really gets interesting is when you take your existing monitoring and analysis and add another dimension to it. One of the best examples of this is tracking and analyzing quotes.

Tracking quotes helps you identify your key publics. You can see exactly what they are thinking, what they are saying, what they are doing.

And by taking further small steps, such as cross-referencing tone with quotes, you can easily identify the type of relationship that exists between your organization and its different key publics. You can get a picture of what you are doing right and what you are doing wrong, and, where necessary, develop a plan to change the relationship.

Obviously, the more positive the quote or article, the greater the chance that the person being quoted is an ally to issues favorable to your organization. Conversely, the more negative the quote or article, the greater the chance that the person being quoted is opposed to issues favorable to your organization.

Furthermore, the more times a person is quoted, the greater the chance he or she is an Opinion Leader – a person that knowingly or unknowingly influences opinion. It’s important that your organization try to have an open and professional dialogue with Opinion Leaders no matter what their position is.

Dealing with Key Publics

A lot of people feel the media ultimately control public opinion. There’s no denying they do have an enormous influence, but they are only one piece of the PR puzzle.

It’s important that PR professionals not limit themselves to just the media. Sometimes it’s best to communicate right to the source, if possible. Remember, as a professional communicator, your primary job is to disseminate information, not necessarily to deal with the media or write news releases. How you get the information to your publics is not what matters; what matters is that they get the information. Using the media and writing news releases are simply a means to an end.

According to Statistics Canada, 61 per cent of Canadians belong to a group or organization, including organizations unions, religious groups, professional associations, etc. Opinion Leaders are a very important component of these groups.

Once you have identified the groups and their Opinion Leaders, it’s important to develop consistent messages that will clearly state your organization’s position on key issues. Without that consistency, you run the risk of looking hypocritical or insincere. The last thing you want is to be communicating different messages regarding the same issue.

If you want people to trust you and your organization, consistency is a must. Trust is the first step in developing a relationship with the Opinion Leaders and your key publics.

Honesty is Always the Best Policy

Remember, when it comes to any type of communications, honesty is always the best policy. Trying to manipulate the media or the public is a dangerous game. If you’re honest, people might not always like what you have to say, but at least they’ll believe you and have a greater respect for you in the long run.

Monitoring the Media Helps Ensure Honesty Prevails

Monitoring the media allows organizations to ensure everyone is on message, helping to prevent misunderstandings through inadvertent contradictions or an overly aggressive spokesperson. Also, proactive media analysis can gauge how well key publics and other influencers, such as the media, are accepting your organization’s position on an issue.

Media Analysis is a Powerful Tool, but…

Media analysis can help identify miscommunication, and can also help identify the underlying reason for that miscommunication. It’s also an effective way of identifying key publics and opinion leaders, gauging where they stand on an issue and finding out what they are saying.

However, it’s important to remember ‘Relationship Management’ is about dealing with people directly. Media analysis is just a tool to help ensure your organization is communicating honestly and effectively – the same way the media are just a vehicle for delivering your message.

But even if you have a top notch media analysis program in place, you should never stop communicating directly with your key publics to figure out where they stand on key issues and how they view your organization. After all, public relations and communications are all about communicating effectively, and nothing is more effective than getting your information straight from the source.

Brett Serjeantson is the CTO at MediaMiser Ltd, leading the creation and development of MediaMiser’s software solution, MediaMiser Enterprise.

MediaMiser Enterprise is a complete media analysis platform and information management system that helps turn news into knowledge.

For more information visit this site.

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Tags: pr, solutions, communications, public, management

As the tragedy at the Sago mine in West Virginia unfolded on our televisions and front pages in January of 2006, I’m certain we all wondered how the story could have become such a terrific example of corporate media-relations bungling.

Perhaps I was in the minority thinking the bungling was terrific, but I’m in the media relations business – this mess was going to be a terrific teaching tool.

How did such utterly wrong “facts” get released? And why did International Coal Group, the company that owns the Sago mine, let the wrong story spread for three hours before admitting to the real facts – twelve miners were dead. There was only one survivor. Not twelve, as had been joyfully reported by broadcasters and newspapers around the world.

There is one primary rule in media relations – never let the story get away from you. International Coal Group violated that rule, and wound up the poster child for corporate blundering. ICG will have “Sago mine disaster” inserted in every story about their company for years to come. The coal industry isn’t known for its safety record – now ICG has the dubious distinction of joining the “worst mining disasters” list.

Most business owners, large and small, will never face a media disaster of these epic proportions. They can, however, learn some valuable lessons by being aware of what can happen if you violate that one primary media relations rule – never let the story get away from you.

Every company should have a media plan – even if you will only end up talking to a community newspaper. Plans for any size company should follow these guidelines:

Be prepared

Tell the truth

Establish one point of contact

Tell the truth

Maintain your message – know what to say, and say only that

Tell the truth

Know what is, and isn’t, newsworthy

Tell the truth

Be aware of deadlines

One rule is so important, it’s in there four times – no matter what you have to say, if it isn’t true, you’ll be found out. It might be within three hours, like it was for ICG. It might be three weeks, three months – but you will be found out, and you’ll have an accelerating disaster on your hands. Your business may not survive.

Tell the truth.

You should have a media plan in place before you speak to a community calendar newsletter, your local paper’s business editor, a local radio or television reporter, or launch a product or service at a trade show. Having a plan in place gives you the confidence to speak your message, stay on track, and stay in control of your company’s news.

In the fast-moving, 24-hour spin cycle that is today’s news business, you don’t want to get sucked down the drain – getting caught off guard if your company suddenly becomes newsworthy. If you’re lucky enough to come up with that fresh take on the mousetrap that has the world, and the media, beating a path to your door, you don’t want to answer the door in your underwear.

By being prepared with a media plan, developed by using the guidelines I’ve given you, you’ll answer your door looking (and sounding) sharp, successful and newsworthy. And you’ll enjoy your ride on the media train, instead of finding yourself ground under its wheels!

Casey Quinlan has spent over two decades in the news business, working stories for the major networks in the US and around the world. She recently hung out her shingle as a communication consultant, helping companies build bridges over communication gaps. Visit Mighty Casey Media on the web at here.

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Tags: public relations, crisis, management, media, rules

I turned on the television news recently to learn that one of our top football teams may have lost an important match because of illness, the story being brought to us by a reporter stationed outside the hotel where the players enjoyed lunch prior to the game.

In the car, this was the lead story on the radio news with the story read by a reporter, again said to be outside the hotel. He confirmed that the Police had collected samples from the restaurant to pass onto the health authorities.

Guess what? The story was also the lead in the tabloid newspapers sat on my desk when I reached the office. Photographs of the hotel in question usually supported the story.

As a public relations professional, I reflected on what the hotel’s PR people are going through this morning. This is a prestigious hotel group with a well-crafted brand image of quality at the premium end of the market. Here they are, in the spotlight for all the wrong sort of reasons!

They will surely have a documented Crisis Management Plan or, in softer terms, a PR Communications Plan. But it is not only global companies who need to devise a plan in advance. Being in business, or even running a not-for-profit organisation, exposes everyone to the risk of a PR crisis.

No organisation is very far from crises and their resulting media attention. Their reputation can be washed away or seriously damaged in an instant. A crisis is any situation that threatens the integrity or reputation of your company, usually brought on by adverse or negative media attention.

These situations can be any kind of legal dispute, theft, accident, fire, flood or manmade disaster that could be attributed to your company. It can also be a situation where in the eyes of the media or general public your company did not react to one of the above situations in the appropriate manner. This definition is not all encompassing but rather is designed to give you an idea for the types of situations where you may need to follow this plan.

Crisis management is a complex subject, but here are five tips to get you started. And, start, you must.

1. Don’t wait. Many organisations only get their crisis plans underway once a disaster has struck. Instead, brainstorm possible scenarios or types of disasters that could happen, and start planning for them. In fact, I have found this to be a positive process as bringing together key executives to share ideas and examine scenarios often brings out a range of issues that they can take forward.

2. Realise that crises take a wide range of shapes. As I say, this can be anything from the hotel’s crisis to a legal dispute getting out of hand to customer dissatisfaction aired on the Internet. I even recall a weekend phone call from a Scout leader whose campsite had been washed away in storms with some children being injured; the media were on the telephone badgering her for the story! They will all require slightly different responses. Brainstorm and prepare for as many as you can imagine.

3. Develop a PR communications plan. A barrage of media attention may swamp you within minutes of the news breaking. Also, think about how you will get information out to staff, supporters & investors, and customers – yes, remember to get your side of the story out to customers as soon as you can. Internal communication is as important as communication to the general public.

A physical plan has to do with getting everyone out of the building in case of an earthquake. A communications plan involves identifying a spokesperson, developing press releases, setting up a media hotline, and finding a place where you can have a press conference.

4. Be prepared to speak to the media and to your constituents. Even if you can’t say much because your lawyer is concerned about liability, plan to say what you can as soon as you can. Be concerned, show concern, speak concern, and always tell the truth. That doesn’t mean you have to tell everything all at once, but never, never lie.

5. Provide media training for senior management. Do this before a disaster strikes. Make it a regular part of board and senior employee training. Media training needn’t cost a lot if you have someone on your board working in public relations or someone who is a member of the media. The key is to do it regularly so that new people are always trained and others don’t grow stale.

Don’t delay your crisis planning. Don’t ruin your hard-won reputation by handling difficult situations badly! The directors and PR team of that hotel this morning went to bed last evening little knowing the blast of unwelcome publicity that was facing them this morning. Hopefully, their PR Communications Plan will be a trusted aide today!

Suggested reading

1. “Crisis in Organizations: Managing and Communicating in the Heat of Crisis,” by Laurence Barton.

2. “You’d Better Have a Hose if You Want to Put Out the Fire: The Complete Guide to Crisis and Risk Communications,” by Rene A. Henry.

John Hicks is a Marketing and Press & Public Relations Consultant supporting small to medium sized businesses in the UK. He specialises in the manufacturing, leisure and retail sectors. His company is Headline Promotions Press & PR.

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Tags: public relations, crisis, management, communications, pr

As a business, non-profit, government agency or association manager, are you satisfied with using a collection of communications tactics to move a message from one point to another. You know, creating print and broadcast exposures? Publicity, if you will?

No problem, if that’s all you believe you really need. But, have you ever thought about pulling out all the PR stops to help achieve your unit’s managerial objectives?

I mean, you COULD do something really significant about those important outside audience behaviors that MOST affect the department, group, division or subsidiary unit you manage.
Then take advantage of the perception levels you’ve achieved as those key external audiences of yours become persuaded to your managerial way of thinking.

And, for that matter, once you’ve persuaded a number of members of that key external audience to your views on the issue in question, watch their perceptions closely as they morph into behavioral actions that allow your unit to succeed.

That might even make your day! And it’s all very doable.

But not if you insist on limiting your offensive public relations effort to simply creating print and broadcast exposures. Instead, you should be preparing to do something positive about the behaviors of the very outside audiences of yours that MOST affect your operation. Because that’s when public relations can actually create the kind of external stakeholder behavior change
that leads directly to achieving those key managerial objectives of yours.

Thus your real managerial opportunity arises when it becomes painfully obvious that counterproductive behaviors by target audiences are the direct result of negative perceptions about your organization or its services, products or personnel.

Suddenly, it becomes clear why you have to monitor opinion among members of your most important outside audiences to (1) determine how they perceive your organization; (2) to
identify and prioritize your public relations goals; (3) to create and communicate corrective messages to those key outside audiences and (4), to carefully monitor how and when those
perceptions inevitably convert to the key audience behaviors you know, as manager, you need.

In brief, what you really require is an action-based blueprint that leans on you to do some meaningful things about the behaviors of those important outside audiences that MOST affect your operation; to create the kind of external stakeholder behavior change that leads directly to achieving your managerial objectives; and to do so by persuading those key outside folks
to your views, then help move them to take actions that allow your department, group, division or subsidiary to succeed.

You can count on the underlying premise of this kind of managerial public relations: 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 usually accomplished.

A variety of results are possible when you work public relations this way: customers making repeat purchases; a rebound in showroom visits; new proposals for strategic alliances and joint ventures; membership applications on the rise; improved relations with government agencies and legislative bodies; capital givers or specifying sources looking your way; fresh community service and sponsorship opportunities; prospects starting to work with you, and even stronger relationships with the educational, labor, financial and healthcare communities.

It always pays off when you clear some time for planning meetings with your public relations people. For example, get their input on your plans to monitor and gather perceptions by questioning members of your most important outside audiences. Suggest queries along these lines: how much do you know about our organization? Have you had prior contact with us and were you pleased with the exchange? Are you familiar with our services or products and employees? Have you experienced problems with our people or procedures?

You might also reinforce your confidence in the PR team by insuring that they really accept why it’s SO important to know how your most important outside audiences perceive your operations, products or services? And do you believe THEY believe that perceptions almost always result in behaviors that can help or hurt your operation? This is essential to PR success.

One of the facts of life in dealing with opinion polling matters, is that things often go better when a professional survey firm helps monitor your key audience’s perceptions. But real pros cost real money, compared to using your existing public relations staff who, while they ARE already in the perception and behavior business, also cost money. 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, misconception and any other negative perception that might translate into hurtful behaviors.

Setting your public relations goal is the tip of the spear. Your new PR goal should call for action on the most serious problem areas you uncovered during your key audience perception monitoring. You may, for example, decide to straighten out that dangerous misconception, bring to an end that potentially painful rumor, or correct that terrible inaccuracy.

Seldom can public relations people, or most other managers for that matter, establish a new PR goal without the support of an action-oriented strategy. If, that is, you are to know HOW to
get to where you’re going. Plus, remember that you have just three strategic options available to you when it comes to doing something about perception and opinion: change existing perception, create perception where there may be none, or reinforce it. Needless to say, the wrong strategy pick will taste like fish sauce on your grilled quail. So be sure your new strategy fits well with your new public relations goal. You certainly don’t want to pursue “change” when the facts dictate a strategy of reinforcement.

Recruit the best writer on your team to prepare a carefully -written message targeted directly at your key external audience. To move that key audience to your way of thinking, s/he must produce some really corrective language that is 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.

Carefully selected communications tactics (and there are many such available) will be needed to carry your message to the attention of your target audience. You may pick from such time-honored devices as speeches, facility tours, emails and brochures to consumer briefings, media interviews, newsletters, personal meetings and many others. But be certain that the tactics you pick are known to reach folks just like your audience members.

As “opening day” approaches, you may want to partially neutralize any opposition to your message by unveiling your corrective message before smaller meetings rather than using
higher profile news releases or broadcast announcements. Reason is, a message’s credibility can be fragile and often suspect, depending on how it is delivered.

It’s always a satisfying feeling when you can illustrate how the monies spent on public relations can pay off. That’s why the time needed to prepare and distribute progress reports is time well invested. They are, however, also your alert to start a second perception monitoring session with members of your external audience. Here, you’ll use many of the same questions used in the benchmark interviews. Only difference now is, you will be on strict alert for signs that the bad news perception is being altered in your direction.

If you feel impatient with the program’s rate of progress, you always have the prerogative of adding more communications tactics, and/or increasing their frequencies to address that
problem.

In essence, making sure you get the right managerial public relations requires that you resolve to do something about the behaviors of those outside audiences that most affect your
operation; to create the kind of external stakeholder behavior change that leads directly to achieving your managerial objectives; and to do so by persuading those key outside folks
to your way of thinking by helping move them to take actions that allow your department, group, division or subsidiary unit to succeed.

Please feel free to publish this article and resource box in your ezine, newsletter, offline publication or website. Only requirements: you must use the Robert A. Kelly byline, and resource box.

Robert A. Kelly © 2006.

Bob Kelly counsels and writes for business, non-profit and association managers about using the fundamental premise of public relations to achieve their operating objectives. He has published 245 articles on the subject which are listed at EzineArticles.com, click Expert Author, click Robert A. Kelly. 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. He holds a bachelor of science degree from Columbia University, major in public relations.

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Tags: pr, managers, management, public relations, companies

Writing for machines may seem a strange way to proceed with the preparation of a press release – but it is one component to writing a successful press release that can result in a massive PR-payoff.

There are certain basics that anyone wanting to achieve high search engine rankings need to fulfill. But there is also one secret component that many search engine optimizers forget when preparing their releases – of which, more later.

First, let’s consider what you must do to optimize your news release? The answer is two words: Key Words.

Key words are the essential words that your clients or customers will use to find you – or your competitor. They are the search terms, the words that describe the product or service you offer. They are also something else: Gold in the right hands.

Let’s say the media are looking for your business. What is the word or search term they would use?
Ask yourself (and your staff, friends and customers) what they use to find a product or service like yours. Do they search under your brand, or your service/product type, or generically in some manner? Do they search using geographical factors?

Are these issues that you have seriously considered? Have you tried to ‘break down’ your business into a few, critical key words?

There are a number of useful tools available that can help your search – Google search terms, Overture’s search tool, Wordtracker and others – but you can simply search the major search engines to find what words surfers are using to find your business.

Then work out what others, like the media, would use to find your business. It may be a different set of words or word. For instance, your business in auto repairs might use that term by customers, but media interest may be more focused on a search term like ‘auto repair service provider’ or ‘auto services’. You need to check and find out the key words that your target audience is using to find you.

Once you’ve located the ‘gold’, you need to mine it. You need to use those words in your company reports, company statements, announcements and – of course – press releases. Focus just on a few key words so as to not lose the momentum and impact that they create. But use them in your content and, where possible, hotlink them to your content.

When search engine “spiders” hunt for text items and key words they particularly like links to the words you have used, rather than to something that could mean anything – such as a generalized link to an information service.

There’s lots more to this, but the first step for anyone writing for search engines is to hunt down those key words. And mine them.

And the secret? Well, it’s like this. Writing using key words is writing for the search engine spiders who place your item into the engines – which in turn permits your business to increase its exposure. But then what? You need to convert surfers into clients or customers.

How do you best do that? Obviously if your business is providing the required product or service you’re ahead of the game, but in a competitive marketplace you have to be noticed as well. You need to “engage” the Web surfer with your content. Infusing your copy with key words is fundamental. But so too is writing in a manner that will engage with the reader in a way that they want to use your product or service. Get emotional (without being sappy) about your product, service or business. Build in humor and humanity, whenever appropriate. If you seem to be a real person, rather than a robotic, PR type writing for machines then you may get the rankings, but you won’t get the business.

Go to it. Get emotional. And use the right words.

John Bowie founded http://www.LawFuel.com , the legal news network and one of the largest law news release websites on the Net. He has also been an author of the free, 5-step to high traffic report available from Web Traffic Rules which also provides a discounted copy of the ‘guru traffic advice’ ebook on generating high, free web traffic fast. See this website

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Tags: public relations, tips, management, business

Many people feel they lack the expertise or the time to write a “Press Release”. This form of marketing is not all that difficult and certainly not mysterious. By giving some attention to what others have written and applying a little elbow grease, you will be amazed at what you come up with.

A Press Release is “news”. It “tells” people about something, it doesn’t “sell” something, but it is still a very good sales tool! For instance, you are reading this article because you want to learn something that will help you. You aren’t reading it because you wanted to buy something. In our business our main goal is to please our customers, providing them with a good, quality product and give them more than their money’s worth. (Hence this article!) The trick is making money while doing all this as well. People don’t care what hurdles you had to jump to find a great product. All they want to know is what it will do for them and where to get it.

The sales flyers you print and mail sell your products. A Press Release simply informs people about your product. Your main objective doesn’t always have to be selling the product and getting the order right now. A Press Release will tell the customer how your product will benefit their lives. This can be done in a “newsworthy” Press Release. You can convert a sales circular into a Press Release without much difficulty. It’s just a new angle for presenting your product to the public.

The following example of a Press Release tells about our services but doesn’t sell:

“So many people are entering the ’Work at Home’ market these days, but so many of them are confused by the hype. Promises of untold riches plays havoc with emotions making people believe it’s easy to make huge income figures.

A new easy to understand manual has been released to help solve these issues. The manual has a directory, listing real names and addresses of over 200 honest and trustworthy work at home job providers. People can contact these companies and get free information to get them started in their own ‘Work at Home’ business!

At long last there is a real answer! Without trying to sell you anything else, you can get this manual for a price you can easily afford. Meet the real ‘Work at Home’ providers who care about their products and want to help you get started making money.

Only available on the Internet at www.Workathomeop.com.”

This short and simple Press Release demonstrates the “newsworthiness” of it’s product. The main focus is on the fact that most people get “snowed in” by all the hype when they want to start a home business. The answer to this problem is a new directory that is now available! The reader will naturally want to get the manual. No money is asked for, but the press release tells the reader how to get a copy.

Here’s a simple test for a real press release. Is the release worth reading without the final paragraph, where the sales pitch is? Try it… Read the Press Release aloud but omit the last paragraph. Is it still worth reading without the sales pitch? If so, it’s likely a good a Press Release. This simple rule applies even though different products will result in some changes to how the News Release is written.

One of the simplest ways to start learning how to write your own News Release is to look at the local newspaper and pay attention to the methods used there. Even if you have never written before, don’t give up, simply note how each article is written and pattern your’s the same way. After you have done a few of them, you will “figure it out.”

The proper way to submit your Press Release to a publisher is quite simple: Be sure and type it double-spaced and not longer than two pages. Put your name, address and page number at the top of each page. If you’re submitting to only one paper be sure to add the note “first run”. Also at the top include “For Immediate Release.”

Now just jump in and give it a try. After all who is more qualified and knows more about your product than you? You are the one, so simply act on it.

Fred specializes in thinking “outside the box”. A number of years ago he was deeply affected by a sales manager who challenged him to think “past the pages” of the “how to” sales manual. The result was astonishing and his sales soared to top levels. He has created a Work at Home resource web site that offers simple but great opportunities for people who are willing to change the way they think about work. Check it out here.

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Tags: sales, strategy, effective, marketing, management

If you don’t, it could be that those who do are actually preoccupied with moving messages from one point to another using simple tactics like broadcast plugs, brochures and press releases.

What’s missing from that picture, of course, is you as a manager doing something meaningful about the behaviors of those important audiences who most affect the business, non-profit, government agency or association sub-unit you manage.

For example, the creation of the kind of external stakeholder behavior CHANGE that leads directly to achieving your managerial objectives. As well as your follow-through in persuading those key outside folks to your way of thinking by helping move them to take actions that allow your department, group, division or subsidiary to succeed. If true, there’s a lot missing from your control and oversight.

Fortunately, the underlying premise on which public relations is based, is really proactive: 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 usually accomplished.

The good news emanating from that premise is that the right public relations planning really CAN alter individual perception and lead to changed behaviors among your key outside audiences. But your PR effort must demand more than special events, news releases
and talk show tactics if you are to receive the quality public relations results you believe you deserve. That way, you really will stand a good chance of getting the best public relations has to offer.

Employ that approach and the results you seek should soon come your way. For example, community leaders begin to seek you out; and prospects actually start to do business with you; new proposals for strategic alliances and joint ventures begin showing up; customers starting
to make repeat purchases; capital givers or specifying sources beginning to look your way; welcome bounces in show room visits occur; membership applications start to rise; politicians and legislators start looking at you as a key member of the business, non-profit or association communities.

It’s obvious that the public relations staff itself can be of real use when you commence the new opinion monitoring project. After all, they are already in the perception and behavior business. But to be certain, determine if those PR folks really accept why it’s SO important to know how your most important outside audiences perceive your operations, products or services. And this is really important: be sure they believe that perceptions almost always result in behaviors that can help or hurt your operation.

Let’s talk for a moment about your public relations plan. In everyone’s best interests, go over it carefully with the public relations professionals on your team. Talk over how you plan to monitor and gather perceptions by questioning members of your most important outside audiences. Try to 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 exchange? Are you familiar with our services or products and employees? Have you experienced problems with our people or procedures?

Retaining professional survey firms will be proposed as the best way to do the opinion gathering work. But ave no illusions about the added cost when compared to using your own PR staff. 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.

Next we set an achievable goal addressing the most serious problem areas you uncovered during your key audience perception monitoring. Will it be to straighten out a dangerous misconception? Correct a gross inaccuracy? Or, stop a potentially painful rumor before it does more damage?

Because, a matching strategy is mandatory in order to show you how to reach that goal, we address it here. For better or worse, there are only three strategic options available to you when it comes to solving perception and opinion problems. Change existing perception, create perception where there may be none, or reinforce it. But the wrong strategy pick will taste like sour orange marmalade on your Gnocchi. So be certain your new strategy fits well with your new public
relations goal. You certainly don’t want to select “change” when the facts dictate a strategy of reinforcement.

Every public relations professional is painfully aware of how crucial good writing is to the business. And here, it’s true once again as you face the reality that you must put together a persuasive message that will help move your key audience to your way of thinking. It should be a carefully-written message aimed directly at your key external audience. Hopefully, your best writer willingly accepts the assignment because s/he must produce language that is not merely compelling, persuasive and believable, but clear and factual if it is to shift perception/opinion towards your point of view and lead to the behaviors you have in mind.

As you consider those communications tactics most likely to carry your message to the attention of your target audience, you’ll be pleased to discover that there are many waiting for you. From speeches, facility tours, emails and brochures to consumer briefings, media interviews, newsletters, personal meetings and many others. But be certain that the tactics you pick are known to reach folks just like your audience members.

Keep in mind that the method by which you communicate your message will bear heavily on its
credibility, which is always fragile. That’s why you may wish to unveil your corrective message before smaller meetings and presentations rather than using higher-profile news releases.

As you measure the headway made in moving key audience perception, it will become clear that a second and comparative perception monitoring session will be needed. Those data will comprise your first progress report. Fortunately, you can use many of the same questions used in your benchmark session. But now, you will be watching for signs that the bad news perception is being altered in your direction.

First-aid may be needed if momentum slows. And that suggests speeding up matters by either adding more communications tactics and/or increasing their frequencies, or both.

Maintaining control of your unit’s public relations will confirm that, in fact, you really ARE doing something meaningful about the behaviors of those important outside audiences of yours that MOST affect the group, department, division or subsidiary you manage.

Then you’ll know for certain that public relations is working well for you. Please feel free to publish this article and resource box in your ezine, newsletter, offline publication or website.

Bob Kelly counsels and writes for business, non-profit and association managers about using the fundamental premise of public relations to achieve their operating objectives. He has published over 200 articles on the subject which are listed at here, click Expert Author, click Robert A. Kelly. 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. He holds a bachelor of science degree from Columbia University, major in public relations. Visit this site

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Tags: public, relations, theories, communications, management

The quick answer is, PR helps managers manage when it (1) moves business, non-profit, government agency and association managers away from a preoccupation with simple tactics like press releases, special events, broadcast plugs and brochures. Then (2), moves them on to PR that creates the kind of external stakeholder behavior change that leads directly to achieving their managerial objectives.

But it does beget a question: how do those managers shakeoff that tactical orientation?

A good first step might be to digest public relation’s underlying premise: 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 usually accomplished.

What sticks out there, is the reality that good public relations planning really CAN alter individual perception and result in changed behaviors among key outside audiences.

Obviously, that helps managers manage. Especially if you, as that manager, decide once and for all that you want the best public relations has to offer. Which is why you may be interested in hearing more about a high-impact action plan designed to do something meaningful about the behaviors of those important outside audiences that MOST affect the departmental, divisional or subsidiary unit you manage.

What you are doing here, is creating the kind of external stakeholder behavior change that leads directly to achieving those managerial objectives of yours; in this case by persuading those key outside folks to your way of thinking by helping move audience members to take actions that help your unit succeed.

Thus, the good news implicit in PR’s underlying premise is the reality that good public relations planning really CAN alter individual perception and result in changed behaviors among key outside audiences.

Consider PR’s underlying premise for a moment: 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 usually accomplished.

Happily, the results you want, public relations can deliver: for example, community leaders begin to seek you out; customers begin to make repeat purchases; new prospects actually start to dobusiness with you; politicians and legislators begin looking at you as a key member of the business, non-profit or association communities; capital givers or specifying sources begin to look your way; welcome bounces in show room visits occur; new proposals for strategic alliances and joint ventures start showing up; and membership applications start to rise.

It’s especially important to analyze, along with your PR people, your plans for monitoring and gathering perceptions by questioning members of your most important outside audiences. Suggest interview questions like these: how much do you know about our organization? Have you had prior contact with us and were you pleased with the exchange? Are you familiar with our services or products and employees? Have you experienced problems with our people or procedures?

Because your PR staff already operates in the world of perception and behavior, you are ahead in the opinion monitoring game. While looking first to them to manage your data gathering activity, be certain that they really accept why it’s SO important to know how your most important outside audiences perceive your operations, products or services. In a word or two, be sure they believe that perceptions almost always result in behaviors that can help or hurt your operation.

By the way, it can be very costly asking professional survey firms to do the opinion gathering work, when compared to using those PR folks of yours in that monitoring capacity. 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 othernegative perception that might translate into hurtful behaviors.

Because you need to take action on the most serious problem areas you uncovered during your key audience perception monitoring, you must set a clearcut and realistic PR goal. It may be that you’ll decide to straighten out that dangerous misconception, bring to an end that potentially hurtful rumor, or correct that disastrous inaccuracy.

Of course, establishing the right action-oriented strategy will tell you how to reach that goal. But be aware that you have just three options available to you when it comes to doing something about perception and opinion: change existing perception, create perception where there may be none, or reinforce it. Needless to say, the wrong strategy pick will taste like butterscotch sauce on your pig’s feet. So be sure your new strategy fits well with your new public relations goal. Obviously, you don’t want to select “change” when the facts dictate a strategy of reinforcement.

A persuasive message stands at the core of your new PR thrust, and will be tasked with helping move your key audience to your way of thinking. So ask the best writer on your team to prepare a carefully-written message targeted directly at your key external audience. The writer must produce some really corrective language that is 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.

Communications tactics will carry the ball, and your message to the attention of your target audience. Many are available ranging from speeches, facility tours, emails and brochures to consumer briefings, media interviews, newsletters, personal meetings and many others. But be certain that the tactics you pick are known to reach folks just like your audience members.

In the interest of not getting too far out front too early, you may want to initially unveil your corrective message before smaller meetings rather than using higher profile news releases. And that’s because a message’s credibility is always fragile and often suspect depending on the method by which it is delivered.

As your program proceeds and succeeds, you’ll be demonstrating, in the form of periodic progress reports, how the monies spent on public relations can pay off. But it’s also an alert to start a second perception monitoring session with members of your external audience. Here, you’ll use many of the same questions used in the benchmark interviews. Only difference now is, you will be on strict alert for signs that the bad news perception is being altered in your direction.

Any program can suffer a slowdown for a variety of reasons. Just keep in mind that adding more communications tactics, and/or increasing their frequencies, should adequately address that problem.

Clearly, this approach to public relations does deliver the best PR has to offer, PR designed to do something meaningful about the behaviors of those important outside audiences that MOST affect the unit you manage.

Bob Kelly counsels and writes for business, non-profit and association managers about using the fundamental premise of public relations to achieve their operating objectives. He has published over 230 articles on the subject which are listed at EzineArticles.com, click Expert Author, click Robert A. Kelly. 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. He holds a bachelor of science degree from Columbia University, major in public relations. Visit here.

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Tags: public, relations, management, manager, crisis

UBS has apparently been given the job to seek potential buyers that could include rival private equity houses, such as CVC which lost out to Montagu last time.

In our previous article in our public relations series we discussed how to land you first job in the field of public relations. In this article we’re going to briefly touch on what exactly public relations is and how complex it has become in our modern world.

If you were to look up public relations in the dictionary you would find one of the following definitions.

1. The art or science of establishing and promoting a favorable relationship with the public.

2. The methods and activities employed to establish and promote a favorable relationship with the public.

3. The degree of success obtained in achieving a favorable relationship with the public.

4. (as a noun) a promotion intended to create goodwill for a person or institution.

Unfortunately, the methods used in definition 2 to create a positive effect in definition 1 are not always what people would consider scrupulous and the success we achieve in definition 3 is many times destroyed by those methods.

In today’s world of immediate news access, public relations is more critical than ever. With stories breaking literally minutes after an event, public relations firms sometimes have little to no time in order to put out fires.

One need not look far to find public relations disasters, some being actual acts of God. When a natural disaster such as a hurricane hits a particular region that depends on tourism for much of its income, it is difficult to try to sell to the rest of the world that the region is still a great place to come and visit, to spend their vacation dollars. The recent hurricane that hit New Orleans is a perfect example. A public relations firm would have to literally be wizards to get anyone to come to a city that is now a ghost town.

Then there are the public relations disasters that are man made, such as the torturing of prisoners in Iraq. The public relations people of the US government had the near impossible task of trying to put a positive spin on this event. The war in general has been a difficult thing to sell to the American people.

Of course the most common public relations disasters are those associated with big business. An example of this, and there are many to choose from, would be when Coca Cola had to defend itself against allegations from Pepsi that its product manufactured in India contained high levels of toxins. The way the two companies handled this matter only added more fuel to the fire.

When someone eats in a fast food restaurant and finds things in their food that don’t belong there, this is another public relations nightmare for the company. Again, in most cases when these things happen, the company only makes things worse by either denying the allegations or trying to cover them up.

The best way for any company, or government for that matter, to handle public relations nightmares is to deal with the situation honestly; present the facts and state their plan for correcting the problem. Most importantly, take responsibility. In today’s world people expect honesty. If we give them the facts and our intentions for dealing with the situation honestly, most public relations nightmares can be avoided. Unfortunately, this is a lesson most of us have not yet learned.

Michael Russell

Your Independent guide to Public Relations

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Michael Russell – EzineArticles Expert Author

Tags: public, relations, crisis, management, communications