Often times, marketing and public relations get lumped into one category. While the two categories have been growing more and more similar with the Internet and companies being able to do their own marketing and PR, there are still a few differences to keep in mind. Also important to remember is the existing differences between advertising, PR, branding, and marketing. These four components of business are all interrelated and need to work together to ensure that a business is successful. In order to understand how to use each of these components, you must first understand how to identify them.

Marketing is more closely related with selling than public relations. While the ultimate goal of both marketing and PR is to gain customers and business, PR is more focused on the relationship aspect of the buying process that a buyer goes through. Moreover, PR helps to maintain the relationships with current users and new customers, whereas marketing is primarily focused on gaining new business. PR also helps to maintain and build relationships between the company and the public.

Some state that public relations is all about building relationships. While that is true, PR also has a dual purpose in a company: to help maintain relationships, as noted above. Once marketing has helped to instill recognition of a company in a buyer’s mind, it is PR’s job to foster these relationships and ensure they continue to grow in a positive manner. This can be done through communication, honesty, and engagement of those audiences.

Reading materials from other blogs to see what my take on this was, I came across a few things that made me wonder: ‘What is the difference between marketing and PR?’ Other bloggers were stating that the difference between the two were that marketing asks buyers to take an action, whereas PR does not. (I disagree.) Some were stating that marketing has nothing to do with relationship building. (I disagree here, too.)

So, what does differ between PR and marketing? I think perhaps it boils down to the bottom line: marketing aims to increase sales and overall company performance. While that is an outcome desired from having great PR, that is not what drives companies’ PR. We do PR because we want to have another side to our companies that customers can see, talk to, and engage with. This PR side of our companies is a more personified and honest interpretation of our company that does away with the advertisements and marketing seen in our other business objectives. While we would love for this tactic to earn us more business, we know the ultimate PR goal is to build relationships with our customers, potential customers, communities, and general public.

Marketing, on the other hand, is looking to convince customers of something, whether that be that our company is awesome or that our competitor is not; we are trying to force-feed customers and buyers the beliefs we want them to hold. This is more difficult than what PR does, which is to allow customers to make their own interpretations of our company (with a little help). We want to put our company in the best light, but there is only so much we can do without reverting back to marketing or advertising. With public relations, customers are given more to go off of, and can create a message or idea of their own in terms of what our company means to them.

Public relations, then, is seen as more credible than marketing. When a customer comes to a conclusion on their own, it is easier to believe and it makes more sense to them than the overdone methods of advertising and marketing. There is a very fine line between marketing and PR that is being ever blurred with the available online tools. The Internet has made it easy to perform tasks that were once labeled marketing and are now classified as PR, such as distributing press releases to the public.

When it comes down to it, customers will embrace the company they like more. Getting a customer to like your company more cannot easily be done with marketing, though it is possible. It is easier for them to like your company when they hear about you from someone else (PR), when they read about you in a newspaper article written by the paper’s staff (PR), when they see your press conference on the news (PR), or when they see the news at your awesome fundraiser event (PR).

What do you think the difference between PR and marketing is?

Public Relations may be a bit intimidating, especially having never done it in practice, but know that everyone starts somewhere. The best thing to do: exactly what you’re doing now. You’re here, perhaps by mistake, but more likely because you want to know more about PR and how it can help you, your brand, company, product, service, cause, etc. PR really is applicable in all those areas, and it simply requires that you get started. (Looking for a definition of PR? Try this: What is Public Relations? | Brief Overview and Definition)

Here are some PR basics you should know and become familiar with:

1. The Press Release. While people think this is all there is to PR, this is simply one of the small pieces that make up the entire PR arsenal. This is a tool meant to assist you in your PR efforts and will help you to spread your message. For some tips on writing a press release, check out: 3 Important Things to Consider When Writing a Press Release

2. The Press/Media Kit. This is your company’s calling card. Use this packet of information to ask the media for coverage, share your expertise with others, and to give an overall introduction to who you are. Predominantly, these are used when sending a pitch to media to give the reporter, journalist, or writer more information on the company. It is also a collection of materials a company uses to send to prospective customers and clients. This can include a number of things, but normally includes company information and history, services offered, press coverage, and team players (key executives, etc.). It can also include advertising materials such as flyers, newspaper ads, or cards. (Here are some effective ways to use your media kit.)
3. Social Media. This includes the blog, social networking tools, forums, and wikis. These are all things you monitor, create copy for, and need to be a part of (so long as it makes sense to use for your company, situation, and audience.) Social media is a wonderful tool to utilize for most companies, and for a majority of the companies that do use it, it is a relatively low investment of funds. It does require time, especially if you want to see results.

   If you’re on the fence about implementing it into your own PR mix, and for more information on determining social media’s role for you, try reading: Public Relations & Social Media | Make Sure it Fits in Your PR Mix.

4. The Public Relations Plan. This is a pivotal component to your overall PR efforts. Moreover, it contains all of the pieces (with their individual pieces) above. This also takes time, and requires that you actually plan to have success in this area. This term may be a bit misleading, as it implies that plans are a one time thing that you do and walk away from. They are very much the opposite. A plan is created when you have a specific goal or objective in mind and need to create a plan in order to better define the strategies and tactics that you will use to reach that goal. From there, it requires maintenance, improvement, and perhaps termination if you find that the goal has been reached and the campaign is over.

   The main point here is that the PR plan is a blueprint for your next moves, how you plan to acheive those moves, and what the results were so that you can create an ever better plan to follow. Remember, though, that all of your efforts will have been done in vain if you don’t measure and analyze your ROI! Return on investment is often the only reason companies conduct PR activities, and even if it isn’t the only reason, you still need results to show to your board, investors, and shareholders to get future backing. This is such a large part of constructively creating better plans, yet companies often opt out of doing this step. This is especially important when measuring the effectiveness of your social media use. (For tips on measuring your social media ROI:Public Relations Strategies | 5 Ways to Measure Social Media ROI (Return on Investment) For a step-by-step breakdown of the PR plan: 6 Characteristics and 7 Components of a PR Plan That Works)

The key to using all of the above together in a successful and pertinent manner is to ensure that you do your research before just jumping in. To be successful and to create a productive and effective campaign, be sure to define your needs and the needs of your buyers. Additionally, be sure you can define your tactics and strategies well so that you can effectively carry them out!

Good luck on your PR adventures!

I recently read the Marketing Gurus by Chris Murray (highly recommended), and a topic that really stuck out to me was the concept of renovating a business, product, idea, solution, etc., instead of innovating a completely new one. The latter route seems to be the more popular of the two. The book review that this concept came from is a few years old (2004), and was written by Sergio Zyman titled Renovate Before You Innovate.

Here are some reasons I gathered from the book (and from my own experience and education) that help to reiterate this point:

- Companies often times look at only innovating a new product. What they do in turn is ignore (or forget) that innovation means revamping and creating anew to benefit customers, consumers, and the business. “When it comes to identifying organic growth opportunities, an amazingly large percentage of companies are one-trick ponies, focusing only on coming up with new products, excluding anything else. What’s worse, the emphasis is often on quantity over quality.”

- Customers are the only thing that matter. No matter what you tell them, what you sell, or what you do, nothing matters but what they think. As such, it is important to take into account the following benefits that your product offers your customers: (you may remember this from your marketing or consumer behavior classes)

1. Emotional benefits – how your product or service made them feel.
2. Functional benefits – what makes your brand superior over your competitors, in their minds.
3. Attributes – the things that benefit the above benefits.

- Horizontal growth is less productive and beneficial to a company than vertical growth. Spreading your resources thin can make it hard to do business. “Trying to grow a business through innovation means spreading resources horizontally, developing new brands, new customers, and new directions. It’s a tremendously risky and expensive path to take.” (pg. 270)

Overall, there are many reasons to renovate something you have to make it better instead of spreading yourself, your brand, and your company so thinly. Instead, build your brand and products vertically, ever improving their quality. While the concept of “new” can generate you some buzz, longer lasting buzz will be generated when you show buyers that you are dedicated to creating a better product from what they’ve already fallen in love with. Lastly, create effective measurements so you can see where your renovations have been successful and not.

Creating a public relations plan takes time, knowledge, and understanding of your company or client needs and wants. Here are some steps to ensure you capture those wants and needs in the plan creation process and that you create a plan that is relevant and useful to your company or client.

1. Know your company’s or client’s current situation. This is essential to knowing where the company now stands, where the company is able to go, what the company’s market/industry looks like, and what direction the company is headed. This helps to put things in perspective.
2. Know your resources. This can be a part of the first step, as it is a part of the situational analysis needed to understand where your company or client currently stands. This can help you better build your tactics and strategies while considering the budget, time, and other resource limitations the company or client may have.
3. Know your objectives and goals. Also essential to the PR plan having success, you must know where the company hopes to go. Like driving with no directions, a PR plan with no goals or objectives is an aimless action with no knowledge of what could come, or even what results are desired. Be sure that the PR plan’s objectives are in line with the rest of the company’s overall objectives, and ensure that they are clear to all involved.
4. Know and define your target audience(s). This means that you’ve defined your target buyer audiences and target media audiences. Each audience will need a different message and a different approach. Knowing these audiences will help you to frame your strategies and tactics so that you can effectively reach the people you hope to reach.
5. List messages and strategies you will use to reach the target audiences you defined. These should be in line with the goals and objectives listed earlier; if they are not, the plan is already off to a somewhat bad start. Know that your strategies and messages also need to relate to one another, otherwise there is some disconnect happening that needs to be addressed.
6. Define the tactics you will use to make the strategies you’ve listed a reality. These tactics will take the messages and strategies listed and make them happen. If, for example, a strategy is to enhance a company’s brand awareness, tactics could include community outreach, social media use, press conferences, etc. There first needs to be a strategy defined before tactics can be addressed and assigned to a message.
7. Create a time-line for implementation. This needs to be realistic but also challenging. Remember that there should be no lapses in the PR plan where press releases are being sent out, events are taking place, or media are being engaged. There needs to be constant reminder to the public that the company is alive and well, and that can be done with constant information being sent out.
8. Delegate obligations and responsibilities to your team or your client’s team to ensure all parts of the PR plan are completed. This helps to ensure that everyone is on board and that everyone knows their own responsibilities and duties. This is crucial to seeing the PR plan come to fruition. This step should be done with everyone involved so that no one feels over-burdened, left out, or given too much responsibility. This can also help to give everyone the feeling of responsibility since the plan was created with everyone together and not just one person’s say.
9. Create measurements of results/ success. To know if your plan is effective, create measurements and benchmarks for the tactics you implement. This is a place for the PR team to gauge the success of the plan and to see if goals were realistic. Creating measurements can also help to show what could have been done with the expertise and estimations of a PR firm or team.
10. Review the plan after implementation and conclusion of the plan. This is the time when all who helped to create and carry-out the plan can come together and share their thoughts on what went well, what didn’t go so well, and what could be done differently in the future. This needs to be done to ensure that future plans have a chance of being successful. This step can help to encourage group members to continue working for the company’s success by giving everyone a chance to talk and contribute to the next planing.

The key to remember when creating a PR plan is that all plans are going to be unique and different for each company, and even within the same company, they will be different for each plan objective/goal. Do your homework before creating a plan, and be sure that you work closely with the company or client to make the plan a success.

The PublicRelationsBlogger.com glossary defines word of mouth as: “The advertising of a product or brand that takes place between customers. This is promoted through ‘people networks’, referring to WOM as word of mouse as well. There is no outside influence or management from the company or brand.”

Normally, the last sentence in that definition is true. When it comes to astroturfing, companies are very much involved in creating that false WOM, though that is the extreme end of a company partaking in the WOM creation process. Companies can be involved in other ways that are not so bad and do not carry such a negative connotation as astrotrufing. That can include being actively aware of the WOM being generated about your company or client’s company, and responding when necessary. Doing these things can really help t alleviate the minimize the impact and repercussions of negative WOM. Negative WOM can include negative comments, false statements, and customer complaints. These things all need to be taken seriously and given the appropriate attention. Responding to these things can make or break your company’s success and online reputation and brand identity.

Companies do tend to respond to negative WOM, and according to a recent study done by by Econsultancy and bigmouthmedia, “direct engagement is the number one method of rectifying issues and addressing not-so-positive response.” (eMarketer)

Negative comments and false statements about brands can spread fast. Because consumers have the ability to create, publish and distribute their own content—as well as comment, debate, recommend and share their opinions—marketers and their brands are more vulnerable than ever. For instance, brands can be damaged by people who use Twitter to post false information. And they can just as easily be affected for the worse by employees who post prank videos on YouTube. (eMarketer)

Being a responsive PR professional takes tact and prompt action. Though the above tactics found in the study are all viable options to fight negative comments and WOM online, they may not work for your company, or there may may be one method that works better than others. Knowing which ones to use requires a great understanding of your target audiences, buyers, and your own company. Having that understanding can help you to ensure that you respond correctly and are able to respond in a manner that your customers/buyers will appreciate.

Do your homework, and be sure to allow yourself to find what works best by simply trying something; you won’t know if it works well for you unless you try it. Creating a PR or marketing plan is all about implementing tactics and strategies with educated reasoning and being able to evaluate how they are working for you and your company.

Media Relations may be the most important part of Public Relations. As such, Media Relations Training is a useful tool any business professional can utilize. It may be recommended for professionals in the PR industry or department of a business, but it would be beneficial for all professionals of a business to partake in media relations training.

Public Relations has many roles within a business, but the most important may be that it serves as an outlet and tool for shaping an image, whether it be for a company or an individual. The most important thing to remember about public relations is that it is not advertising. Though PR may have a similar outcome or influence on the company as advertising, PR is less biased and self serving. It is information based, stating facts like a new product release, a recall has been put into effect, or that a new CEO has been brought into the company.

It may seem somewhat daunting in this economic time to find a job of any sort. Depending on where you’re starting, being a recent graduate or a specialist from another profession, here are a few tips that might help you land a position in public relations:

[If you would d first like to learn more about public relations (and if it's the career for you) and the differences between it and advertising, click here]

A press release is a document written about a company, by the company, to be distributed to print and web sources, as well as other media types. Typically, these are created/ written by the publicist of the firm.

One of the top 25 PR firms in the industry, 5W Public Relations has clients the likes of Harrah’s, Evian, McDonald’s, XM Satellite Radio, and BET Networks. Founded in 2003 by Ronn Torossian, they are now a full-service firm, and work in the consumer, technology, entertainment, lifestyle, fashion, corporate communications, and health and wellness areas. The are headquartered in New York with an office in LA. They were voted the 5th largest firm in NY and the 21st largest firm in the US by the O’Dwyers PR Report, and have revenues exceeding $11.5 million.

360 Public Relations, founded in 2001, is a public relations firm focused on niche consumers, such as foodies, homeowners, parents, gamers, and green consumers. They found that these target markets are passionate about what they consume and 360 Public Relations has upped their game and crafted a new, creative way of reaching these audiences. One of these creative ventures includes the MomSquad™ which “brings a real parent perspective to clients, brands, products and services the agency represents.” The members of MomSquad™ are people who parent and market, and are journalists, researchers, and PR veterans.

They have helped the likes of companies such as Lego, PBS, Vicks, Snuggie, and Disney. They have some case studies on their website that highlight some of their clients, including Crock Pot, Lego, and Ball. Among the work they have completed, they also network through Converge™, of which they were a founding member. Converge™ is a geographically diverse network of agencies that offers resources and expertise in markets across the US, on-ground, and in the market.

To read more about them and to visit their website, click here.

Tags: 360 Public Relations, public relations firms, Public Relations Companies, public relations

Tags: Public relations, internet marketing strategy, online marketing and public relations, PR strategies, online pr strategy

Ogilvy has been around for a little more than a quarter century when in 1980 the subsidiary Ogilvy & Mather Public Relations Inc. was founded by David Ogilvy. Through acquisitions and years of proving themselves, Ogilvy has become another prominent PR firm on the forefront of public relations.

In addition to their US offices, Ogilvy has offices in China, Taiwan, Korea, Bangalore, India, Sri Lanka, Czech Republic. They hold clients the likes of BAND-AID, Disney, DuPont, Fox Mobile Entertainment, Johnson’s Baby, Slim-Fast, Pfizer, Canon, LG Electronics, and Lipton, just to name a few.

If you’d like to read more about this worldwide public relations firm, click here to be redirected to their website.

Tags: Ogilvy public relations, public relations firms, public relations

Edelman is “the leading independent global PR firm.” (edelman.com) With over 3,000 employees and offices in more than 50 countries, Edelamn is an easily recognizable force in the public relations industry. What’s more, Edelman has clients that are also easily recognizable, such as Quaker, Brita, Dove, and XBox 360.

Edelman started in 1952 after Dan Edleman, founder and chairman, left the Toni Company to open his own PR firm. With accomplishments such as bringing western companies to China, being the first public relations firm on the web, and creating standards to OTC drugs, Edelman seems to be going strong.

If you’d like to read more about Edelman and their accomplishments, numerous as they are, click here to be redirected to their website’s homepage.

Tags: Edelman public relations, public relations firms, public relations

What’s a press release? This is generally a one page story about your business, your product/service or an event happening related to your business that is about to, or recently occurred. These publicity stories are generally “shot gunned” to newspapers, radio, television and the trade publications.

Then imagine having your products/service written on newspapers, trade publications, aired on radio and viewed on television absolutely for FREE!!! Pal, that’s going to skyrocket your profit target. That’s what press release can do for you. It’s not going to cost you anything to do this, not a dime.

Don’t get excited yet because survey shows that 95% of all press release are rejected, they don’t make it. The problem is getting the people to whom you’ve sent these press release to use them, publish or broadcast them. But this article will show you the art of making a good press release that will be accepted by news directors and editors, and give your product/service the publicity it needs.

The two basic things to pay much attention in making your press release is the writing and presentation. So lets start from writing. What would you write about? You can write about just anything but please it” MUST be something that will sell the first person receiving your material – the editor or news director. Then the media man will quickly see and understand how your product or service benefits, his readers – thereby making him a hero to them.

Go right to the point and say your product is lower in price, more convenient to use or in what way your product or service is useful to the people in general. It’s a good idea to include a complimentary sample of your product. Don’t make the mistake of telling the story of your ups and downs towards your success about your product/service. They don’t have time for that, they only want things that alerts them of something new and probable real interest to their readers.

Try to associate your release with current events in the news. Is there job layoffs, increased unemployment, and inflation or growing need for earning extra income? Then its an opportunity to cash in if you have a product/service that’s a solution.

Now you have gotten a story to write, to make it to be attention grabbing depends on how you write your headline. Lets say your product/service offers a solution to the above mentioned problem. Here’s an example of a headline that could be used – MONEY MAKING GUIDE: SECURE YOUR FINANCIAL FUTURE, NEW SOLUTION FOR THE UNEMPLOYED.

You can write the headline before the story, and then a story to fit the headline or the story before the headline, and then a headline to fit the story either way basically the same as writing a space ad or a sales letter; you attract attention with the headline and fill in the details with your story.

About The Author

Emma okafor, an online market researcher and writer. His blueprint success in online marketing is available in his site here.

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Tags: free publicity, public relations, press releases

It behooves you to know and remember the names of reporters. Reporters know everybody. They talk to and interview people constantly. Because of their job, they usually size people up in a matter of minutes, sometimes without even meeting them face-to-face. If first impressions ever count, this is one first impression you don’t want to mess up. Be sincere, polite and try not to use slang.

A good reporter uses perfect grammatically structured sentences and flawless spelling when writing articles. Usually these skills transfer to many other facets of their persona therefore you should not be intimidated by an articulate and well-spoken reporter. It makes sense that they of all people might possess a perfect command of the English language. It goes with the territory. They are used to the fact that most people cannot keep up with their vocabulary. So don’t try to impress them with your speech. Any attempt to fake them out with words is sure to fail. Be yourself. It doesn’t mean they are smarter than you. On the contrary, if they were smarter they would be a freelance writer instead of a periodic journalist or perhaps own their own business like you. It pays better and you don’t have someone else editing your stories or asking you to rewrite something to change the slant or angle.

Most journalists are like artist. They are creative. Creative people don’t like to be put into structures, systems and absolutes. But periodic newspaper writers are forced into this through deadlines and space requirements. Many reporters like the type of work they do, writing, but they absolutely hate the structure. It’s stressful, hard work and not that much fun. A few reporters love the challenge of deadlines. These are the ones to watch out for. With these reporters, you should have your answers to questions pre-thought out. They will surely take most of what you say out of context. They are in a hurry. They are only concerned with finishing the story on time and then writing another. They will interview a few people instead of many to get to the bottom of the issue. They will use your name and insert a quote from you where it fits and when they need it. And then conveniently change, modify and delete parts of what you said or what they wanted to hear to fit nicely into a complete story. If, for some reason, they disagree with what you said or they just don’t like you, it’s all over. So this brings us back to our original thought. Be friendly to reporters. Be honest, truthful and sincere. Help them keep it short and sweet and help them save their valuable time.

When you see these reporters around town or at community events, be sure to acknowledge their presence. Even if you don’t have time to talk, a simple nod or good evening ‘Joe’ and a firm handshake will do.

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

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Tags: media relations, public relations tips, dealing with the media and reporters, public relations

Everyone is talking about the Ps of successful marketing, so I thought it was time that PR had it’s own Ps – essentials that will help you maximise your PR activities and results.

1. Pin-point

The first thing you have to do in a campaign is to pin-point your market. There’s no point pulling out all the stops to get into the Financial Times when your customers are actually more likely to read The Sun. In fact failing to pin-point your market and consequently the publications it reads can actually make every single action you put into your PR after that point absolutely worthless. It may seem boring to spend time on market research, especially if you’re keen to get going, but it’s a vital part of the process.

2. Publications.

When you find the publications that your potential customers read (as well the radio programmes they listen to, the TV programmes they watch and the websites they visit) immerse yourself in them. Subscribe to them, read them on the train, in the bath, teach your kids to read with them. Get to know the language of the different publications, the focus, and who writes what.

3. Power.

Think about your message. If you’re going to go to all the bother of putting a press release together it had better be powerful.

4. Passion.

One of the simplest ways to access power is to tap into your passion. Imagine reading your release out loud – is it vibrant, full of passion for the subject matter and compelling the listener to keep tuned in, or is it dull and monotonous with no impact whatsoever?

5. Pliable.

Your campaign has to be flexible, ready to respond to national or trade news. You need to be flexible, ready to break your routine and set aside a morning to make some calls if you suddenly come up with an idea that might get the press interested.

6. Poise.

Do try to retain some dignity. Journalists work to strict deadlines and conditions and if one of them says “sorry, it’s not for us” then do respect them and don’t start trying to convince them to change their mind. What you can do however is to ask them what is, and learn for the future.

7. Playful.

A sense of humour is vital..no client does better than the one that can crack a good joke or make a suitably humorous remark at the right moment. Even a bit of gentle flirting can sometimes work wonders!

8. Paper.

Don’t forget that you don’t always have to email. If you’ve got something visual, or particularly nice stationery (!) then do use the post. It’s more expensive of course, but it will help you to stand out.

9. People.

Journalists and editors and people, just like you and me. Some you’ll like and some you’ll dislike, but it’s important to treat them respectfully. Just like you rarely make a new friend over the process of one telephone call, it will take time to build up bonds and those all important “contacts”.

10. Persistence.

I believe that this is the single most important factor when it comes to making your campaign a success. It can take months for a campaign to really get going and one press release alone just won’t do it. Journalists need to see that you’re hear to stay, a provider of professional material and a brand to be reckoned with. Be patient, it will happen.

Paula Gardner teaches businesses of all sizes how to raise their media profile. If you’d like the whys, hows and what to do’s of a PR campaign at your fingertips then check out our PR ecourse here.

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Tags: professional public relations, public relations tips, public relations

Hundreds of thousands of News Releases are sent out all the time
and many people will show you different ways to write a news release in a way that will result in publicity for you or for your company.

However, many people over look the 17 Deadly Sins that you should never do or have in a news release. These can cause your news release to end up in the shredder!

I will discuss five of them here that I believe you should look at first. Ask yourself, “Am I doing any of these? And if so, rewrite or redo the new release before sending it out.

Remember that the reason that you are sending one is to get noticed and have it picked up by the different media outlets.

You can gain much credibility and attention when you send a successful news release. You can also be seen as a valuable resource for information or an expert in a particular field, so it is important to make sure that your release is completed right and does not have any of the deadly sins.

The first thing that people do is to send too much information. I have seen people fax 20 or more pages with background and promotion material. First this annoys the media. Second, the point of a news release is to get them to call you. They won’t know what angle you are after and will guess with that much information.

That is if they publish at all. A news release should be one page, double spaced or at least 1/2 spaces with the most pertinent information on it. Only on rare occasions do you want more. You can and should have a media kit ready when they call, but the news release needs to be short.

Second, white space, white space, white space. Say these words repeatedly. Do not send a solid block of information. It is hard to read and hard to find the facts. People generally feel over whelmed at a solid block and are less likely to read it. Remember, with the volume of releases that are received every day the editors want to scan it fast to decide if it is news worthy. They also decide if it ties in with anything so they can know where to assign the story. If they are unable to scan and find the important details or find anything interesting fast it will be shredded.

Third, several of my friends in the media have said to me that one of their pet peeves with a news release is people who start with a history lesson. They said that they groan and crumple up the new release without going further. 99% of the time the history has nothing to do with the news part of the news release. The history lesson is much more interesting to you than it is to them. Tell them up front what the news is. Give them something to hook them in. There are many categories and classifications that you can use. Later you can mention some of the history or keep it for your media kit.

Fourth, be careful which fax numbers you use. Sending your news release out on an advertising line can get it shredded fast even if it is a good story. If you send your news release out on an advertising line it looks like a blatant request for free advertising. The media just won’t want to use it. You could hurt yourself for future releases as well.

Five, Jargon whether it is in your industry or just way over used jargon. You will get a much better response if you give the benefits for the clients or customers of your products or services. Flashy descriptions say nothing of what you really have or how it can help people. Remember, you are probably interested in the features of your product but they are interested in the benefits.

Some examples of jargon are:

*Leading

*State-of-the-art

*Seamless

*Best of

*Turnkey

*Customer Driven

*Solutions

A study of all news releases sent via Business Wire and PR Newswire during a one-week period had one new “solution” being offered once every eight minutes on average! More than half of all companies claimed to be “leading providers”

It does take time to complete a news release right; however, if you are going to take time to create one, it only makes sense to do it in a way that is well received by your intended target market.

Remember these starter points and you will be on you way to creating a much more effective news release.

All the Best in your endeavors!

All the Best!
Maria Boomhower
The Master Communicator
To sign up for a free report on “The 7 Secrets to Communication Mastery” go to her website.

P.S. If you like what you’re reading in this ezine, you’ll love the book, “Effective News Releases” It’s a manual that helps you to get noticed, have the coverage needed and build your credibility! Click here to learn more.

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Tags: press release writing tips, public relations 101, public relations

So you’ve put yourself “out there” with a public relations campaign. Your dealings with the media now become critical. Those relationships with the media can make or break your public relations efforts. Here’s how to get the media to love you:

1. When the media calls, stop what you are doing and give them your full attention. That’s right. Maybe you’re having lunch. Or in a meeting. I advise my clients to say to others around them “I only allow interruptions when the media calls.”

2. Treat the media like gold. Answer their questions in a forthcoming manner, in a respectful, pleasant tone. Do not disparage others and be careful about making negative comments. Do not lie or provide exaggerated claims. Just like you, media people appreciate those who take the “high road”.

3. Be realistic about coverage. A reporter can interview you for an hour and you might only have one line in the media. Or none. Depending on how the story goes or space available or the editor’s whim, any of the above can happen. The reporters owe you nothing for your time. Take this in stride and be pleasant and understanding in future dealings with them.

4. Lose control. You have control over advertising; you have minimal control over PR. That’s the difference between paying for something and not paying for it. A media piece may not contain the “story” that you would like covered. It may focus on an angle you don’t like. The reporter determines what angle to use, depending on his/her needs and information you provide. It also probably won’t be 100% accurate. If it is 90% accurate, you’re doing great. Take this in stride and don’t complain to the reporter.

5. Stop complaining. Sometimes, after a phone interview, you will be misquoted. Unless it is truly a libelous or slanderous comment, you should take it in stride. DO NOT decide to complain to the reporter, or you will certainly not be getting any press, at least not favorable, in that media again.

6. Give several contact numbers, including day, night and weekend, to the media (including vacation/out-of-town contact info). The press waits for no one.

7. Be realistic about when the media will cover you. Typically, daily newspapers, radio and TV have a one-day to three-month coverage window. Magazines have a 2-3 month to one-year window. The lead times vary depending on editorial calendars, seasonal coverage and breaking news. In addition, the media chooses when they want to run a story; you have little control over when they run it, unless it is tied in with a timely event, such as a holiday. While you would love to see yourself or your organization on the 6 o’clock news or the front-page of the business section, the media may have other stories slotted for those options, or they may need to fill a space in another segment. Similarly, you might want your story to run immediately, but the media may hold it for months, if there is no urgency in running it.

8. Pick up your own copies of your articles or tapes. Do not ask the reporter for a copy. They will be offended! Pick up a copy of the publication or call the media outlet to order a copy or tape.

9. Spend time reading, listening to the radio and watching TV. These activities are a part of most of our days. And if you plan on “pitching” a particular media outlet, research it first (that means reading a publication, listening to the radio or watching that particular show, even if you generally wouldn’t). Once you do your research, you will have a better idea of the types of stories they cover, and also what has already been covered. Remember, the more you understand what the media likes to cover, the more likely that you will create great media angles that the media loves.

10. Thank them. Media people, just like you, enjoy a pat on the back once in a while. And no one can ever get too many thank-yous. And to be remembered even more, put it in writing.

By putting effort into developing media relationships, you’ll increase your chances of current and future public relations success.

Copyright 2008 Margie Fisher All Rights Reserved

Margie Fisher, President of Zable Fisher Public Relations, is the author of the Do-It-Yourself Public Relations Kit. For more information on the Kit, the Pay for Results Publicity Program, and to sign up for the complimentary PRactical P.R. newsletter, visit her website.

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Tags: public relations tips, getting the media on your side, public relations and media, public relations

Smaller companies don’t always have the budget – or inclination – to retain a PR hotshot to tell the world about their business success, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t a ready source of news.

The problem is it’s often dull news which is ignored by all except the industry press and quite rightly so in most cases. If you land a contract, you issue a press release. If you take on a new senior sales rep, you issue a press release.

Attending an exhibition? Press release, natch. These are simply announcements that you are doing what you do, that it’s business as usual.

With a little lateral thinking, however, you could be issuing press releases throughout the year which present topics and subjects that’ll have editors from all disciplines chasing you for the full story. Below I’ve presented just five brainstormers to get the creative juices flowing.

• Your Survey Says…

Even though I know nothing about your company, the odds are that you have the time and resources to carry out a survey which could get you some coverage if it’s implemented and reported properly.

Concentrate on your niche, whether that’s your industry or expertise. Keep it relatively simple, but ensure the final results have the potential to grab headlines. For example, if you’re a butcher, you could ask 100 people if they would give up bacon if their partner issued an ultimatum. ‘4 Out of 10 Choose Bacon Over Marriage’ is going to get an editor’s attention!

But be honest about your methodology. If you’ve simply polled a handful of your colleagues, don’t try to pass it off as a six-month research project.

Some journalists won’t touch a survey story with a barge poll unless it’s been carried out with the kind of planning that goes into a Nasa shuttle launch, but others might find it useful, particularly if it’s a fun subject and doesn’t take itself too seriously.

• Your Opinion Counts

Surf the major news sites – try Google News for starters:

Ask yourself what you or your boss would have to say about the main news stories
of the day. Or perhaps a current event impacts directly on your industry. Pretty soon
you’re going to have a story to tell.

A property solicitor in Scotland did this and the resulting story is great – here’s the
intro:

“Scottish property solicitor criticises Gordon Brown’s tax U-turn.

A leading Scottish property solicitor has criticised Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown’s decision to abolish without notice the exemption for deprived areas from Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT), saying that the measure would have an adverse impact upon the commercial property market in Scotland.”

For the full story, click here.

• Your Opinion Counts 2 – Straight to the Editor’s Desk

While serving as editor of business magazines in the past, there have been times when PR companies have contacted me following publication with some kind of gripe regarding coverage of their company or client.

Disgruntled PR people are often being beaten hard with large sticks by CEOs and senior management who just don’t ‘get media’, so their persistence is somewhat understandable.

But 9.98 times out of 10 the PR exec is simply not going to get what they want – some kind of full-page, front-cover apology and glowing testimonial signed by the publisher himself printed with a photo of the editor’s public execution.

Every time I let them down I did say: “Write in – we’re always keen to receive letters to the editor.” I’d guess one in 20 actually went ahead and did so, but you know what? If every one of them wrote in I would almost certainly have printed them all. Good editors embrace transparency – if you disagree with them or their reporters they’re likely to print your letter.

• Happy Birthday

At the very most you’re 364 days away from some company milestone and if you put your mind to it you may find a few anniversaries just around the corner.

Don’t limit yourself to the xx years since the company was launched, how about the anniversary of the company’s first profit, a look back at the day the company took on its 10th employee, or the date a key contract was secured.

Then tell the tale of how your company has developed since this date. Be sure to include some drama, the good times and the bad, and plenty of meaty quotes from the most senior talking heads.

• Make a Date

Hunt for an angle based on some future date that is covered in one way or another by local and national press.

Browse some of these major online almanacs for inspiration:

Info Please

Scopesys

New York Times

What you’re doing here is following the Happy Birthday strategy, but looking for external hooks on which to hang your news release.

Local newspapers in particular like to keep an eye on the calendar, so if you can provide your neighbourhood newspaper with a story, photo opportunity or news release and photo package related to a particular event, celebration or holiday, you could get some great quality local coverage.

• Only Five?

Trawl the internet for reasons to write a press release and you’ll come up with dozens of lists. Some of them provide 30 plus reasons to issue a release, but the vast majority of them require you to have “done something”. They are reactive reasons, rather than proactive.

The reasons given above can be put into action today – you don’t have to wait to secure a new contract or make a high-level appointment to get ink.

You might not have known you were sitting on those news stories, but there’s no time like the present to tip off the press that you have them.

Copyright © 2005 George Hopkin

George Hopkin is a freelance journalist and CEO of ClickPress, a free press release distribution service which distributes content to some of the world’s most influential news and web search engines. ClickPress is a property of Pressventures, a provider of free and fee-based services to PR professionals.

You have permission to publish this article electronically or in print, free of charge, as long as the bylines are included. If it is to be delivered via email it must be to your own opt-in list only. A courtesy copy of your publication would be appreciated.

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Tags: public relations stories, public relations department, public relations

In fact, here are three really foolish goofs made by too many business, non-profit and association managers.

If that’s you, you foolishly do nothing positive about the behaviors of those important outside audiences of yours that most affect your operation.

You foolishly fail to create external stakeholder behavior change leading directly to achieving your managerial objectives.

Then you foolishly compound those goofs by never persuading those key outside folks to your way of thinking, or moving them to take actions that allow your department, division
or subsidiary to succeed.

Enough already!

What you really need to know is this.

The right PR really CAN alter individual perception and lead to changed behaviors that help you succeed. And your public relations effort must involve more than special events, brochures and news releases if you really want to get your money’s worth.

The foundation underlying public relations reads 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.

Just look at the results it can deliver: new proposals for strategic alliances and joint ventures; prospects starting to work with you; customers making repeat purchases; stronger relationships with the educational, labor, financial and healthcare communities; improved relations with
government agencies and legislative bodies, and even capital givers or specifying sources looking your way.

And results need not stop there. For example, you should also see results like rebounds in showroom visits; membership applications on the rise; new community service and sponsorship
opportunities; enhanced activist group relations, and expanded feedback channels, as well as new thoughtleader and special event contacts.

Of course your PR crew – agency or staff – must be committed to you, as the senior project manager, to the PR blueprint and its implementation, starting with target audience perception
monitoring.

And furthermore, you must impress upon them the crucial importance of why your most important outside audiences really must perceive your operations, products or services in a clearly positive light. So assure yourself that your PR staff has bought into the whole effort. Be especially careful that they accept the reality that perceptions almost always lead to
behaviors that can help or hurt your unit.

Meet with your PR team and discuss the PR blueprint in detail, especially the plan for monitoring and gathering perceptions by questioning members of your most important outside audiences. Questions like these: how much do you know about our organization? How much do you know about our services or products and employees? Have you had prior contact with us and were you pleased with the interchange? Have you experienced problems with our people or procedures?

Luckily, survey pros can always handle the perception monitoring phases of your program, IF the budget is available. But remember that 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.

Now a word about your public relations goal. You need one that speaks to the aberrations that showed up during your key audience perception monitoring. And it could call for straightening out that dangerous misconception, or correcting that gross inaccuracy, or doing something about that damaging rumor.

The hard truth is that, when you set a goal, you need a strategy that shows you how to get there. You have three strategic choices when it comes to handling a perception or opinion challenge: create perception where there may be none, change the perception, or reinforce it. A bad strategy pick will taste like ketchup on your stringbeans, so be certain the new strategy fits well with your new public relations goal. For example, you don’t want to select “change” when the facts dictate a “reinforce” strategy.

Because awfully hard work really is awfully hard work, persuading an audience to your way of thinking means your PR team must come up with just the right, corrective language.

Words that are compelling, persuasive and believable AND clear and factual. You’ve got to do this if you are to correct a perception by shifting opinion towards your point of view, leading to the desired behaviors.

Review your message with your troops for impact and persuasiveness. Then, pick out the communications tactics most likely to carry your words 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.

You’ve heard the old bromide about the credibility of a message depending on its delivery method. So, on the chance that HOW you deliver your message may affect its believability, you could introduce it to smaller gatherings instead of using higher-profile tactics like news releases or talk show appearances.

When you notice mumblings about a progress report, take it as an alert to you and your PR folks to return to the field for a second perception monitoring session with members of your external audience. Using many of the same questions used in the first benchmark session, you’ll now be watching very carefully for signs that the bad news perception is being altered in your direction.

If things still are not moving fast enough, you can always accelerate the effort with more communications tactics and increased frequencies.

No more foolish goofs!

Instead, depend on the reality that the right PR really CAN
alter individual perception and lead `to changed behaviors that
help you succeed.

Please feel free to publish this article and resource box
in your ezine, newsletter, offline publication or website.
A copy would be appreciated at bobkelly@TNI.net.

Robert A. Kelly © 2005.

Bob Kelly counsels, writes and speaks to business, non-profit and association managers about using the fundamental premise of public relations to achieve their operating objectives. He has been DPR, Pepsi-Cola Co.; AGM-PR, Texaco Inc.; VP-PR, Olin Corp.; VP-PR, Newport News Shipbuilding & Drydock Co.; director of communi- cations, U.S. Department of the Interior, and deputy assistant press secretary, The White House. He holds a bachelor of science degree from Columbia University, major in public relations.

Visit his website here.

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Tags: public relations research, public relations