Do You See PR's Real Value?

As a business, non-profit or association manager, do you see the value in doing something positive about the behaviors of those important external audiences of yours that most affect your operation?

Do you see the value in persuading those key outside folks to your way of thinking?

Do you see the value in moving them to take actions that allow your department, division or subsidiary to succeed?

Then you must see the value in good public relations that alters individual perception leading to changed behaviors among those key outside people. And further, that helps managers like you achieve your managerial objectives.

If you see those values, you also see PR's REAL value. And you are a lucky manager!

Truth is, you probably should expand your view of public relations to emphasize the behaviors of your unit's key outside audiences rather than publicity placements, special events, brochures and press releases.

Why should you go to that trouble? Because the people with whom you interact every day behave like everyone else - they act upon their perceptions of the facts they hear about you and your operation. Which means you should deal effectively with those perceptions (and their follow-on behaviors) by doing what is necessary to reach and move those key external audiences to action.

Luckily, your own carefully tailored PR plan can make the job a lot easier. I'm talking about a plan like this. People act on their own 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.

Take a few minutes to consider what might result from such activity. Community leaders beginning to seek you out; prospects starting to do business with you; customers making repeat purchases; rising membership applications; fresh proposals for strategic alliances and joint ventures; welcome bounces in show room visits; and new approaches by capital givers and specifying sources not to mention politicians and legislators viewing you as a key member of the business, non-profit or association communities.

Who will do this specialized kind of work? Your own public relations people? Folks assigned to your operation? An outside PR agency team? But regardless where they come from, they need to be committed to you and your PR plan beginning with key audience perception monitoring.

Be certain that the PR people assigned to you are serious about knowing how your most important outside audiences perceive your operations, products or services. They must accept the reality that perceptions almost always lead to behaviors that can help or hurt your operation.

Go over your PR plan with them, especially how you will monitor and gather perceptions by questioning members of your most important outside audiences. For instance, how much do you know about our chief executive? Have you had prior contact with us and were you pleased with the interchange? How much do you know about our services or products and employees? Have you experienced problems with our people or procedures?

If the budget is available, don't hesitate to use professional survey firms in the perception monitoring phases of your program. 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.

With the right PR goal, you should be able to deal handily with the most serious distortions you discovered during your key audience perception monitoring. Your new goal could call for straightening out that dangerous misconception, or correcting that gross inaccuracy, or stopping that potentially fatal rumor dead in its tracks.

Now you must take pains to select the right strategy, one that tells you how to move forward. Keep in mind that there are just three strategic options available to you when it comes to handling a perception and opinion challenge. Change existing perception, create perception where there may be none, or reinforce it. Since the wrong strategy pick will taste like onion gravy on your key lime pie, be certain the new strategy fits comfortably with your new public relations goal. You don't want to select "change" when the facts dictate a "reinforce" strategy.

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

Now it's time to select the communications tactics most likely to carry your message to the attention of your target audience. You can do this after you run the draft by your PR people for impact and persuasiveness. There are dozens available to you. >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.

As you may be aware, a message's believability can depend on the credibility of the means used to deliver it. So you may decide to unveil it before smaller meetings and presentations rather than using higher-profile news releases. Requests for progress reports signal you and your PR team to begin a second perception monitoring session with members of your external audience. Many of the same questions used in the first benchmark session can be used again. But this time, you will be watching carefully for signs that the problem perception is being altered in your direction.

Occasionally, momentum will slow, but you can always speed up matters by adding more communications tactics as well as increasing their frequencies.

Thus, what you really want PR's value to accomplish is to persuade your most important outside stakeholders to your way of thinking, then move them to behave in a way that leads to the success of your unit.

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

Publicity in 45 Days

New Book from Public Relations Pro Reveals Secrets to Solving Tough Publicity Problems

JACKSONVILLE, FL - February 7, 2005 / -- Amy knew her product inside and out. After all, she invented it. She had a great business plan, but when she got to the marketing plan, she was stuck. "How do I explain what my gizmo does without a demonstration?"

Andy is an attorney. He has no trouble explaining to people what business he's in. Networking situations, parties, one-on-one with a client are all a breeze for him. But he's stumped by what to say on his website. A criminal attorney who also practices family law, Andy knows the same wording won't resonate for both of these audiences. So what does he say, and how does he position himself so that his website doesn't give the appearance that Andy is a jack of all trades, master of none?

These are just the sorts of communication challenges addressed in "45 Days to Power Publicity," by Laura L. Link, APR. The digitally delivered book is a comprehensive guide offering proven formulas and specific step-by-step guides to publicity success.

"This is a must-read for every business owner, non-profit director and small-business marketing director approaching that critical first campaign to get the word out about their business, product or cause, and for the experienced small-business communicator looking for some fresh inspiration and a little validation from their colleagues," says veteran public relations counselor, Kare Anderson of Say It Better.com and author of Smart Partnering.

Comprised of specifics leading to a successful, comprehensive publicity effort, 45 Days to Power Publicity tells the reader what other books don't: not just how to get the word out, but what the words should be to get the best response.

This book includes chapters to help the reader:

. Describe her perfect client or customer
. Decide what she wants to be known for
. Explain a complex product or service in ways people can easily understand
. Find the right words for networking situations, introductions and biographies
. Easily write about the business --even for non-writers
. Create boilerplate copy for news releases so reporters know the expert's qualifications to be quoted
. Make it simple for others to spread the word and to generate referrals that stick

45 Days to Power Publicity includes 12 forms, templates, checklists, and tips sheets, plus many other resources, along with guidance from an 18-year veteran of the Public Relations and Journalism world. The companion workbook adds 53 pages, 4 chapters and 16 forms, templates, samples, checklists and detailed guides and how-to info.

"A practical handbook for creating a distinctive introduction for your company and tailoring it to specific audiences, as well as several other basic ingredients for an effective PR program for a company of any size. Highly recommended!" - Marcia Yudkin, author, 6 Steps to Free Publicity (Career Press)

"Business owners sometimes fail to make full use of the media opportunities available to them because they just are not prepared to respond with quotes and data," explains the book's author, accredited public relations professional, Laura L. Link, APR. "These communication basics are not difficult to master, even for the business leader who does not consider herself a professional communicator. My book outlines exactly how to find the right words to use in promotions, news releases, marketing materials, website content and networking situations."

"45 Days to Power Publicity," will soon be available through Amazon.com and others. Available now as an electronic book, it may also be ordered direct from the publisher for $38.00 + $2.75 handling* prepaid, by phone 904-886-1785, or by mail: Strategy Link Public Relations, Inc., 11250 Old St. Augustine Road, Suite 15-245, Jacksonville, FL 32257 or directly through the publisher. Contact 45days@strategylinkpr.com

 Laura L. Link has been a practicing communicator, writer and consultant for more than 18 years, and is accredited by the Public Relations Society of America. She lives in North Florida where she holds conversations and workshops with clients experiencing tough communication challenges.

Top Ten Tips For Great Sound Bites

If you're an online business using public relations (PR) to help increase traffic at your site, you've found a great way to gain exposure at little cost. And before you know it, the day will come when you are invited to do an interview with a reporter. It's exciting, but scary. What do you do? How do you prepare?

First, be prepared when the telephone rings. If you sent out a release recently, have it at your fingertips.

Get some information yourself before you answer any questions: Ask the reporter: * his or her name? * the name of the news outlet? * his or her phone number? * what exactly is the story they are working on? * are they coming on-site to do the interview or will this be a phone interview?

Then buy yourself some time. If this is an onsite interview, it you'll already have time to prepare. If it's a phone interview, you need to ask for the extra time you need to get ready.

Most reporters deadlines aren't immediate but within a couple of hours. Ask the reporter what his or her deadline is. If you have some time tell them you'll call them back in 15 minutes or half-hour, so you can gather what you need.

Here's some tips to get you ready for your 15 minutes (or more) of fame.

Before the interview:

1. Practice your answers to the questions that will most likely be asked - both the easy and the difficult ones. Prepare and practice so your statements will flow smoothly.

2.Consider the main messages that you want the audience to receive. Make a list of three major points, and practice saying these three points to yourself until you can speak them smoothly and confidently, without stumbling.

3. Be prepared to tell brief anecdotes and short stories. Find a way to mix one or more of your three main marketing messages into each anecdote.

4. Avoid trying to be humorous or telling negative stories. Both will most likely backfire, making you look like the fool.

During the interview:

5. Try to include your three main points as much as possible. Your interview is likely to be edited prior to publishing or broadcasting. By repeating your main points, you reduce the possibility that your preferred message will be edited out.

6. Speak in plain English. Remember the average newspaper's reading level is at grade six. Using jargon or trying to sound more important or educated by using big words will only make it hard to use your sound bites or quotes.

7. Don't lie. Ever. If you don't know the answer to a question, say so, but offer to find out the answer and get back to the reporter.

8. Remember, there really is no such thing as 'off the record.' Everything you say to a reporter is fair game to use. Don't say anything to a reporter you wouldn't want everyone in the world to know about!

9. When you've made your point, stop talking. Silence by a reporter could mean two things: either they are taking notes and haven't caught up with what you're saying, or it's a tactic to get you to say more than you want to reveal.

10. Don't ask if you can see the story before it goes to print. It's the most insulting thing you can do to a reporter. After all, they are the experts in their jobs, you are not. How would you feel if someone challenged your expertise?

Copyright 2005 Cherry Communications/Be Heard Solutions

About the Author:

Shannon Cherry, APR, MA helps businesses, entrepreneurs and nonprofit organizations to be heard. She's a marketing communications and public relations expert with more than 15 years experience and the owner of Cherry Communications. Subscribe today for Be Heard! a FREE biweekly ezine and get the FREE special report: "Be the Big Fish: Three No-Cost Publicity Tactics to Help You Be Heard."

Why PR Can be Effective Medicine

When properly applied by business, non-profit and association managers, public relations "medicine" does something positive about the behaviors of those important external audiences of theirs that MOST affect their operations.

It's easy-to-swallow "medicine" when it leads managers to persuade those key outside folks to their way of thinking, then move them to take actions that allow the manager's department, division or subsidiary to succeed.

In other words, effective public relations "medicine" is applied when PR alters individual perception leading to changed behaviors among a manager's target "publics," thus helping achieve his or her managerial objectives.

Here's the underlying essence: 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.

But managers should always remember that their PR effort must demand more than special events, brochures and press releases if they are to come up with the public relations results they paid for.

Here's a sampling of what this "medicine" can deliver: fresh proposals for strategic alliances and joint ventures; capital givers or specifying sources beginning to look your way; customers starting to make repeat purchases; membership applications on the rise; community leaders beginning to seek you out; welcome bounces in show room visits; prospects starting to do business with you; higher employee retention rates, and even politicians and legislators starting to view you as a key member of the business, non-profit or association communities.

Luckily, your PR people are already in the perception and behavior business, so they should be of real use for this initial opinion monitoring project. But you must be certain of several things.

First, who among your PR team really understands the blueprint outlined above and shows commitment to its implementation, starting with key audience perception monitoring?

Second, be certain that your public relations people really accept why it's SO important to know how your most important outside audiences perceive your operations, products or services.

And third, make sure they believe that perceptions almost always result in behaviors that can help or hurt your operation.

Review the bidding with your PR staff. Especially your game plan for monitoring and gathering perceptions by questioning members of your most important outside audiences.

Questions along these lines: how much do you know about our organization? Have you had prior contact with us and were you pleased with the interchange? Are you familiar with our services or products and employees? Have you experienced problems with our people or procedures?

You may wish to use those PR folks of yours in that monitoring capacity since, as noted, they're already in the perception and persuasion business. And further, because it can run into real money using professional survey firms to do the opinion gathering work.

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.

Here, you are aiming at creating a PR goal that does something about the most serious problem areas you uncovered during your key audience perception monitoring. Will it be to straighten out that dangerous misconception? Correct that gross inaccuracy? Or, stop that potentially painful rumor cold?

Where you establish a goal, you must establish a strategy that tells you how to get there. So keep in mind that there are just three strategic options available when it comes to doing something about perception and opinion.

Change existing perception, create perception where there may be none, or reinforce it. The wrong strategy pick will taste like blue cheese on your corn flakes, so be sure your new strategy fits well with your new public relations goal. You wouldn't want to select "change" when the facts dictate a strategy of reinforcement.

It's always a challenge to create an actionable message that will help persuade any audience to your way of thinking. Here, you must do so, and it must be a well-written message target directly at your key external audience.

Identify your strongest writer because s/he must build some very special, corrective language. Words that are not merely compelling, persuasive and believable, but clear and factual if they are to shift perception/opinion towards your point of view and lead to the behaviors you have in mind.

Now it's selection time once again, namely, the communications tactics most likely to carry your message to the attention of your target audience. There are scores available.

From speeches, facility tours, emails and brochures to consumer briefings, media interviews, newsletters, personal meetings and many others. But you must be certain that the tactics you pick are known to reach folks just like your audience members.

By the way, you may wish to keep this kind of message low profile and unveil it before smaller meetings and presentations rather than using higher-profile news releases. Reason is, the credibility of any message is fragile and always at stake, so how you communicate it is a concern.

You'll need preliminary progress reports, which will alert you and your PR team to begin a second perception monitoring session with members of your external audience. You'll want to use many of the same questions used in the first benchmark session. But now, you will be on red alert for signs that the bad news perception is being altered in your direction.

If things are not moving fast enough for you, you always have the option of accelerating the effort by adding more communications tactics as well as increasing their frequencies.

The value of public relations as effective medicine for managers becomes clearer when you realize that the people you deal with behave like everyone else - they act upon their perceptions of the facts they hear about you and your operation.

Which means you really have little choice but to deal promptly and effectively with those perceptions by doing what is necessary to reach and move those key external audiences of yours to actions you desire.

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

 

Become a Star: 10 Do-It-Yourself Publicity Techniques to Build Buzz for Your Online Business

Public relations is popular because it is very cost-effective and it works. If you send out one press release, for example, and it gets into print, it could generate more interest in your product or service.

Businesses that want a leg up on their competition need to focus on boosting their public relations (PR) efforts. This is especially important for online businesses. It keeps them from going under when the economy is weak, and gets them ahead of their competitors when sales start picking up.

Now is the perfect time to get a fresh start on publicity strategies for your online business.

Here's ten tips using free publicity to kick-start an internet business into high gear:

1. Write articles: Articles don't have to be long; they just need to be informative. Writing articles gives you instant credibility, too. Submitting online, as well as offline, provides another good chance to get your name in print at no cost. Be sure to put your contact information in a contact resource box at the end of the article.

2. Write press releases: Reporters everywhere are looking for stories, and a press release gives them the information to write that story. Just make sure it's newsworthy, not just an advertisement.

3. Develop newsletters: Writing a newsletter is another way to keep your name top-of-mind. This can be online or offline. Both contain content valuable to your target market and many times advertise your products and services. The cost of this is nothing, yet the return potential is infinite.

4. Use your business cards: Think of your business card as a small billboard and start handing them out everywhere. Include them in all your correspondence - even in your bills!

5. Start speaking: Speaking in front of an audience usually makes you an expert. People like to buy from experts. If they're in your audience, then they'll remember your expertise and come to you when they need your product or service. Speaking is free, and it's just like making a sales call to many people at one time.

6. Offer free reports: Offering a free report online is a good way to get an e-mail from prospects so you may market to them later. This is the whole basis of permission-based marketing, or opt-in lists. You can do the same thing offline.

7. Get on the radio: Radio is expensive, you say? Not if you are being interviewed or calling in on a talk show. Getting interviewed is free, except for your continual follow-up with producers. Calling in is free, but sometimes it's hard to relay contact information.

8. Participate in online forums: There are many online newsgroups or forums for a particular subject area. Participating in these is another way to get your name out. Many online forums will let you put an e-mail signature with a link to your site or message with another site linked. Take full advantage of this; these links get clicked often when of interest to the forum participants.

9. Build strategic alliances: Introduce yourself to other businesspeople who don't compete with you but sell products or services to the same target audience. Offer to promote them if they promote you. Make sure they're people you like and trust.

10. Compose letters to the editor: Many times a letter to the editor has a better chance of getting published than the actual press release. You'd be surprised how many people read this column in publications. This is also another way to become friends with the editor. If they see you enough and match you with a newsworthy press release, then your chances of getting a press release in print increases.

Copyright 2005 Cherry Communications/Be Heard Solutions

About the Author:

Shannon Cherry, APR, MA helps businesses, entrepreneurs and nonprofit organizations to be heard. She's a marketing communications and public relations expert with more than 15 years experience and the owner of Cherry Communications. Subscribe today for Be Heard! a FREE biweekly ezine and get the FREE special report: "Get Set For Success: Creative, Low-Cost Marketing Tips to Help You be Heard."

Why Not PR That Gets REAL Results?

And not results you can measure only in terms of magazine circulation, TV audience numbers, or news release pickups.

But rather, results that come from a public relations effort that creates the kind of key stakeholder behavior change that leads directly to achieving your managerial objectives.

In other words, results that come from doing something positive about those important outside audiences whose behaviors most affect your operation. Particularly as you persuade those key external audiences to your way of thinking by nudging them to take actions that allow your department, division or subsidiary to succeed.

When you think about it, public relations boils down to these realities: the right PR really CAN alter individual perception and lead to changed behaviors that help you win. But your public relations effort must involve more than parties, videos, booklets and column mentions if you really want to get your money's worth.

What you need is a basic schematic that gets everyone working towards the same external audience behaviors insuring that the organization's public relations effort stays sharply focused.

Coincidentally, here is such a schematic! 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.

Look at some real results that can come from this approach to public relations. Membership applications on the rise; customers making repeat purchases; capital givers or specifying sources looking your way; new proposals for strategic alliances and joint ventures; prospects starting to work with you; and even bounces in showroom visits.

You may be forgiven for wondering how such managers deliver those kinds of results.

They take the time to analyze who among their most important outside audiences behaves in ways that help or hinder the achievement of their objectives. Then, they list them according to how severely those behaviors affect their organization.

On the point, just how do most members of your key outside audiences perceive your organization? If paying for professional survey counsel isn't in the cards (or in the budget!), your PR colleagues will have to monitor those perceptions themselves. Actually, they should be quite familiar with perception and behavior matters since they're already in that business.

So you meet with some of those outside folks asking questions like "Are you familiar with our services or products? Have you ever had contact with anyone from our organization? Was it a satisfactory encounter?"

And if you are that manager, you must be sensitive to negative statements, especially evasive or hesitant replies. And watch carefully for false assumptions, untruths, misconceptions, inaccuracies and potentially damaging rumors. When you find such, they will need to be corrected, as they inevitably lead to negative behaviors.

Big job now is to pick out the actual, offending perception to be changed, and that becomes your public relations goal. You obviously want to correct those untruths, inaccuracies, misconceptions or false assumptions.

The toughest part of this exercise is that a PR goal without a strategy to show you how to get there, will taste like hot sauce on your yogurt. So, as you select one of three strategies (create perception or opinion where there may be none, or change or reinforce it,) what you want to do is insure that the goal and its strategy match each other. You wouldn't want to select "change existing perception" when current perception is just right suggesting a "reinforce" strategy.

With your strategy in hand, you and your PR staff must create a compelling message carefully written to alter your key target audience's perception, as required by your public relations goal.

An idea to keep in mind: remember that you can always combine your corrective message with another news announcement or presentation which may give it more credibility by reducing the apparent need for such a correction.

The art in preparing such a message lies in the fact that the message you convey must be not only compelling, but quite clear about what perception needs clarification or correction, and why. Of course you must be truthful and your position logically explained and believable if it is to hold the attention of members of that target audience, and actually move perception in your direction.

It's understandable when some folks refer to the communications tactics necessary to move your message to the attention of that key external audience, as "beasts of burden." In reality, they must carry your persuasive new thoughts to the eyes and ears of those important outside people.

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

By the way, you can always speed up things by adding more communications tactics, AND by increasing their frequencies.

Around this time, someone is bound to mention progress reports. But you will already be hard at work remonitoring perceptions among your target audience members to test the effectiveness of your communications tactics. Using questions similar to those used during your earlier monitoring session, you'll now become cross-eyed looking for signs that audience perceptions are beginning to move in your general direction.

You need actual changes in behaviors among your most important external audiences, and that's no small matter. In my view, the quality of your public relations results will, and should be directly dependent on whether you spend your PR budget primarily on communications tactics, or the creation of key stakeholder behavior change that leads directly to achieving your managerial objectives.

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

PR's Big Bang Theory

Lots of theories out there about public relations.

Everything from "publicity's the thing!," "the care and feeding of reputations and "sales support is primary" to "gain and hold public acceptance," and "issue management's the thing." among many, many others.

But for business, non-profit and association managers, the big, bang theory of public relations trumps them all when it alters individual perception leading to changed behaviors among their key outside audiences, thus helping them achieve their managerial objectives.

As a manager, you can do exactly the same by doing something positive about the behaviors of those important external audiences of yours that MOST affect your operation.

In particular when you persuade those key outside folks to your way of thinking, then help move them to take actions that allow your department, division or subsidiary to succeed.

If there's a secret behind such "big bang" performance, it probably goes this way: people act on their own perception of the facts before them, which leads to predictable behaviors about which something can be done.

When we create, change or reinforce that opinion by reaching, persuading and moving- to-desired-action the very people whose behaviors affect the organization the most, the public relations mission is accomplished.

A grab-bag of results can occur. The payoff can make your day: fresh proposals for strategic alliances and joint ventures; customers starting to make repeat purchases; membership applications on the rise; community leaders beginning to seek you out; welcome bounces in show room visits; prospects starting to do business with you; higher employee retention rates, capital givers or specifying sources beginning to look your way, and even politicians and legislators starting to view you as a key member of the business, non-profit or association communities.

But you'll need more then zippy special events, slick brochures and punchy press releases if you really want to get the PR you paid for.

At the same time, as you no doubt realize, a key plank in your PR platform requires that your most important outside audiences really perceive your operations, products or services in a positive light. This is so vital that your PR people must buy into the effort from the get-go. Be especially careful that they accept the reality that perceptions almost always lead to behaviors that can help or hurt your unit.

How you will gather and monitor opinion by questioning members of your most important outside audiences will be of interest to everyone on the team. So take the time to review the PR blueprint in detail with your staff.

Discuss questions that will be asked: 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?

Professional survey people can always gather opinion data for the perception monitoring phases of your program, IF the budget is available. But always 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.

We must say a few words about your all-important public relations goal. It must speak to the problems that cropped up during your key audience perception monitoring. Probably, it will require correcting that gross inaccuracy, straightening out that dangerous misconception, or doing something about that damaging rumor.

Because any goal must have a strategy to show you how to get where you want to go, you get to pick from just three strategic choices available to handle a perception or opinion challenge: create perception where there may be none, change the perception, or reinforce it.

By the way, the wrong strategy pick will taste like onion gravy on your sea scallops, 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.

To persuade an audience to your way of thinking, you need words that are compelling, persuasive and believable, as well as clear and factual. In other words, the right, corrective phrases. This must be done if you are to correct a perception by shifting opinion towards your point of view, leading to the desired behaviors.

And to carry your words to the attention of your target audiences, you need communications tactics likely to reach them. First sit down again with your communications specialists and read your message for impact and persuasiveness.

Then select from dozens of available tactics such as speeches, facility tours, emails, brochures, consumer briefings, media interviews, newsletters, personal meetings and many others. But again, be certain that the tactics you use are known to reach folks just like your audience members.

Because the credibility of any message can be called into question because of its delivery method, think about introducing it to smaller gatherings rather than using higher-profile communications such as news releases or talk-show appearances.

At the first mention of progress reports, think of it as your reminder that the PR team should return to the field for a second perception monitoring session with members of your external audience.

Asking many of the same questions used in the first benchmark session, you'll now be alert for signs that your communications tactics have worked and that the negative perception is being altered in your direction.

When things seem to be dragging, and you decide to move things along a little faster, do so by accelerating your PR program with a wider selection of communications tactics AND increased frequencies.

The public relations big bang theory has at its core, the behaviors of those important outside audiences of yours that most affect your operation. Namely, the creation of external stakeholder behavior change leading directly to achieving your managerial objectives.

And the fastest way to accomplish that is to persuade those key outside folks to your way of thinking, thus moving them to take actions that allow your business, non-profit or association to succeed.

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

 

She Who Has the Gold

..makes the rules, of course.

But when the gold takes the form of top-notch public relations, she AND he get to make rules like these:

Our PR concentrates on delivering what we really need.

Our PR does something positive about the behaviors of those outside audiences that MOST affect our organization.

Our PR persuades those key outside people to our way of thinking, then moves them to take actions that allow our department, division or subsidiary to succeed.

In other words, our PR uses its fundamental premise to deliver external stakeholder behavior change, the kind that leads directly to achieving our managerial objectives.

And that fundamental premise? Here's what it looks like: People act on their own perception of the facts before them, which leads to predictable behaviors about which something can be done. When we create, change or reinforce that opinion by reaching, persuading and moving-to-desired- action the very people whose behaviors affect the organization the most, the public relations mission is accomplished.

If you do just what we've covered so far, what kind of results might come your way? How about welcome bounces in show room visits; community leaders beginning to seek you out; membership applications on the rise; customers starting to make repeat purchases; fresh proposals for strategic alliances and joint ventures; prospects starting to do business with you; higher employee retention rates, capital givers or specifying sources beginning to look your way, and even politicians and legislators starting to view you as a key member of the business, non-profit or association communities.

But you had best get your public relations people involved by getting them on board this kind of approach to PR. Be sure everyone buys into why it's so important to know how your outside audiences perceive your operations, products or services. Be especially certain they accept the reality that negative perceptions almost always lead to behaviors that can damage your organization.

Reason together about how you will monitor and gather perceptions by questioning members of your most important outside audiences. Questions like these: how much do you know about our organization? Have you had prior contact with us and were you pleased with the interchange? How much do you know about our services or products and employees? Have you experienced problems with our people or procedures?

And do remember that your PR people are already in the perception and behavior business and can be of real use for this opinion monitoring project. Of course you can always use professional survey firms, but that can be a budget buster. However, whether it's your people or a survey firm who handles the questioning, the objective is to identify untruths, false assumptions, unfounded rumors, inaccuracies, and misconceptions .

Your next chore is identifying which of the problems outlined above becomes your corrective public relations goal - clarify the misconception, spike that rumor, correct the false assumption or fix a variety of other possible inaccuracies?

Fact is, you can meet that goal only when you select the right strategy from the three choices available to you. Change existing perception, create perception where there may be none, or reinforce it. Picking the wrong strategy is about as cool as serving a meat and potatoes guy an asparagus and broccoli casserole with braised celery on the side. So please be certain the new strategy fits comfortably with your new public relations goal. You wouldn't want to select "change" when the facts dictate a "reinforce" strategy.

And now the toughest part of this job -- create a persuasive message aimed at members of your target audience. Always a challenge to put together action-forcing language that will help persuade any audience to your way of thinking.

Because s/he must create some very special, corrective language, be certain you have your best writer on the assignment. You need words that are not only compelling, persuasive and believable, but clear and factual if they are to shift perception/ opinion towards your point of view and lead to the behaviors you have in mind.

Happy to say that things get easier. Identify the communications tactics you need to carry your message to the attention of your target audience. Insuring that the tactics you select have a record of reaching folks like your audience members, you can pick from dozens that are available. From speeches, facility tours, emails and brochures to consumer briefings, media interviews, newsletters, personal meetings and many others.

As often is the case, the credibility of the message can be dependent on the credibility of its delivery method, you may wish to deliver it in small getogether-like meetings and presentations rather than through a higher-profile media announcement.

Requests for progress reports will probably be heard from various quarters. Let that signal to you that you and your PR team had best undertake a second perception monitoring session with members of your external audience. You'll want to use many of the same questions used in the first benchmark session. But now, you will be watching very carefully for signs that the bad news perception is being altered in your direction.

And rest easy when things seem to be slowing down. These matters usually can be accelerated by adding more communications tactics as well as increasing their frequencies.

The bottom line is, this workable public relations blueprint will help you persuade your most important outside stakeholders to your way of thinking, then move them to behave in a way that leads to the success of your department, division or subsidiary.

So, no matter who has the gold, the public relations rules that will best serve any business, non-profit or association manager read this way: the people you deal with do, in fact, behave like everyone else - they act upon their perceptions of the facts they hear about you and your operation. Leaving you not much choice but to deal promptly and effectively with those perceptions by doing what is necessary to reach and move your key external audiences to actions you desire.

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

How Public Relations Changes Minds

Public relations changes minds in the process of delivering what business, non-profit and association managers need more than almost anything else - the kind of key stakeholder behavior change that leads directly to achieving their managerial objectives.

It happens when the right kind of public relations alters individual perception, thus doing something positive about the behaviors of those outside folks that MOST affect a manager's organization.

Minds end up changed when managers follow a blueprint something 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 usually accomplished.

Sure, as a manager, your goal is to show a profit for your business unit, or meet certain expectations of your association membership, or achieve your non-profit's operating objectives. A blueprint like this can make it clear to you that the right public relations really CAN alter outside audience perception and lead to the kind of behaviors that help any manager win.

The payout for the manager can be very satisfying. For instance, prospects reappearing; customers making repeat purchases; rebounds in showroom visits; new proposals for strategic alliances and joint ventures; membership applications on the rise; new community service and sponsorship opportunities; enhanced activist group relations, and expanded feedback channels, not to mention capital givers or specifying sources looking your way.

But you need a quality PR team behind you, one that pursues more than special events, brochures and news releases as you seek your PR money's worth. The reason being, you want your most important outside audiences to really perceive your operations, products or services in a positive light.

So be certain that your PR staff has bought into the whole effort. Convince yourself that they accept the reality that perceptions almost always lead to behaviors that can help or hurt your unit.

Talk with your public relations people about how you will gather and monitor 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 how things went? Have you experienced problems with our people or procedures?

The perception monitoring phases of your program can always be handled by professional survey people IF the budget is available. However, you are fortunate that your own 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, you'll need to spend some time considering what the goal of this activity should be. You need one that addresses the problems that cropped up during your key audience perception monitoring. Chances are, it will call for straightening out that dangerous misconception, or correcting that gross inaccuracy, or doing something about that damaging rumor.

Obviously you'll need the right strategy to show you how to reach that goal. But you have just 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. Unfortunately, selecting a bad strategy will taste like mint sauce on your eggs Benedict, 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.

Preparing the right, corrective language is a must. Especially when you need to persuade an audience to your way of thinking. You need words that are compelling, persuasive, believable AND clear and factual. This really is a must if you are to correct a perception by shifting opinion towards your point of view, leading to your desired behaviors. So, meet again with your communications specialists and review your message for impact and persuasiveness.

Here, you need vehicles certain to carry your words to the attention of your target audience, so you select the communications tactics most likely to reach them. Happily there are dozens of available tactics. From speeches, facility tours, emails and brochures to consumer briefings, media interviews, newsletters, personal meetings and many others. Just be sure that the tactics you pick are known to reach folks just like your audience members.

Here's an alert: because the credibility of your message can depend on its delivery method, consider introducing it to smaller gatherings rather than using higher-profile communications such as news releases or talk show appearances.

In due course, the subject of progress reports will come up strongly suggesting that it's probably time for 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, stay alert for signs that your communications tactics have worked and that the negative perception is being altered in your direction.

If you feel the program is dragging, things can always be accelerated with a broader selection of communications tactics AND increased frequencies.

As your program inevitably changes individual perception, and thus minds among your important target audiences, you will, just as inevitably, create behavior change among those key outside audiences that leads directly to achieving your managerial objectives.

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

Be a Resource to a Reporter

You know you need the media, especially if you run an online business. If you, or what you offer, is a news story, you'll be perceived as an expert and gain credibility and drive potential customers to your website.

Before getting into public relations and marketing, I was a television reporter. People would call me all the time, trying to pitch a story for me to cover. So how did I choose?

Unless the news was a hot story, I went with the people I relied upon as a resource. And it turns out, I went back to them again and again, because I could trust them.

The key is to know how to play the game: you need to be in a position to help the media do their jobs - providing news. Here are some tips for you to do it:

1) The bottom line is this: YOU - and your product or service - don't deserve anything from the media. Being deserving isn't news. You've got to give news in order to get it.

2) Make sure you're targeting the right journalist at the right station or publication. You need to analyze your target media and write your release just the way they write the news.

3) Reporters are always working on some sort of deadline. That means they usually need information immediately.You need to be accessible.

4) Reporters have a keen BS detector. So stop insulting them with how great something is when it isn't. Always be honest - most reporters value this above all else.

5) Provide the information a reporter needs to do a good job. Find additional sources (people to be interviewed) and resources (books, articles, etc.) to help them get the complete picture of a story. Be helpful by providing useful information to help make a journalist's job easier.

Copyright 2005 Cherry Communications/Be Heard Solutions

About the Author:

Shannon Cherry, APR, MA helps businesses, entrepreneurs and nonprofit organizations to be heard. She's a marketing communications and public relations expert with more than 15 years experience and the owner of Cherry Communications. Subscribe today for Be Heard! a FREE biweekly ezine and get the FREE special report: "Get Set For Success: Creative, Low-Cost Marketing Tips to Help You be Heard." Go to: http://www.cherrycommunications.com/freereport.htm

Be A Big Fish In A Small Pond With Local Publicity

Everyone wants to have her news covered by the "Big Guys." But if your media relations efforts are focused only towards the national media, you're missing one of the best opportunities to get your name in the news.

Local TV stations and cable channels, radio stations, newspapers, magazines, trade publications, and newsletters - both print and electronic - have huge amounts of time and space to fill. And most of the time, these media outlets don't have the staff or the resources of the Big Guys, so if you can truly help them do their jobs, you'll be repaid with some great publicity.

Here are my top ways to develop a great local media relations program:

1) Write press releases with a local angle.

One of the easiest ways to do this is what the people in the news business call 'piggybacking.' Piggybacking simply means putting a local spin on a national story. You can piggyback on news items, trends, holidays, or national events. Let me give you an example of a great piggyback story from my days as a TV reporter.

It was during the time when anthrax and chemical warfare were big on the national news. A local army-navy store owner called saying that, because of the scare, gas masks were flying off the shelves. The store owner got great coverage, and my story was used in local broadcasts across the state - and covered as a print story by the Associated Press.

2) Hot guest sheets.

Want to be a local radio show guest? DJs and talk show hosts are always looking for interesting local people to interview. But you just can't send them a news release in the hopes that they'll see you as a good guest. After all, they're really not in the news business, but the entertainment business.

So you need to develop a 'hot guest sheet' that outlines why you're topic is interesting and why you're a great guest. Also put in a list of suggested questions to help them generate the best interview from you.

3) Start meeting reporters and editors.

One of the best ways to get your name known by the local media is to set up informational interviews with the journalists who cover subjects relevant to your business. Now this isn't a pitching session for you to tell the journalist how great your business is.

The purpose is to find out what the reporter looks for in a story; how he or she likes to receive information; when is the best time to contact him or her. After the meeting, follow up with a nice thank you note.

4) Letters to the editor.

Did you know that the letters to the editor are one of the most read sections of the entire newspaper? Yet very few business people take advantage of this. When you see a story that has some relevance to your own business, write your letter to the editor agreeing or disagreeing with the piece or adding some perspective the writer didn't mention.

Writing as a business owner often gives you a way of adding a unique perspective to a subject at the same time as publicizing your business. Just keep your letter to no more than 300 words, as shorter letters are more likely to be printed than longer ones.

I've often had a reporter call a client, after reading several letters to the editor from them, to interview them for a story. They feel the person has publicly established themselves as an expert - and is eloquent enough to be interviewed.

So just remember the secret behind the word "publiCITY" - city (that is, the place where YOU live) is part of its name!

Copyright © 2005 Shannon Cherry, APR, MA
Cherry Communications

About the author: Shannon Cherry, APR, MA helps businesses, entrepreneurs and nonprofit organizations to be heard. She's a marketing communications and public relations expert with more than 15 years experience and the owner of Cherry Communications. Subscribe today for Be Heard! a FREE biweekly ezine and get the FREE special report: "Get Set For Success: Creative, Low-Cost Marketing Tips to Help You be Heard."

What Some Pros Know About PR

They know they had better do something positive about those outside audiences that MOST affect their organizations. Especially business, non-profit or association managers, who also know they must persuade those key external "publics" to the manager's way of thinking, then move those people to actions that allow that manager's department, division or subsidiary to succeed.

It all works because public relations applies its underlying premise to deliver external stakeholder behavior change, the kind that leads directly to achieving those managerial objectives.

That's why the pros let the tacticians handle the special events, brochures and press releases. The pros have better things to do.

Like implementing the underlying premise of public relations that makes it all possible. 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.

Pros usually know that a variety of operating results can flow from such an approach to public relations: customers starting to make repeat purchases; prospects starting to work with you; capital givers or specifying sources beginning to look your way; welcome bounces in show room visits; membership applications on the rise; fresh proposals for strategic alliances and joint ventures; community leaders beginning to seek you out, and even politicians and legislators starting to view you as a key member of the business, non-profit or association communities.

Your PR staff will be key whether they are your employees, agency specialists or from a parent organization. You must get them on board this particular approach to PR as soon as possible.

Ideally, they will already support why it's so important to know how your outside audiences perceive your operations, products or services. Specifically, be sure they accept the reality that negative perceptions almost always lead to behaviors that can damage your organization.

During your strategy meetings with PR staff, explain how you plan to monitor and gather perceptions by questioning members of your most important outside audiences.

Questions such as: how much do you know about our organization? Have you had prior contact with us and were you pleased with the interchange? How much do you know about our services or products and employees? Have you experienced problems with our people or procedures?

You should be comforted by the fact that your PR people are already in the perception and behavior business and can be of real use for the initial opinion monitoring project. Professional survey firms are always available, of course, but that can be very expensive.

However, whether it's your people or a survey firm who handles the questioning, the objective is the same. Identify untruths, false assumptions, unfounded rumors, inaccuracies, misconceptions and any other negatives.

Establishing your corrective public relations goal - that is, correcting or clarifying those negatives - is next. Here you identify which negative is most serious, for example, spike that rumor, clarify the false assumption or correct the untruths.

Never forget that you can meet that PR goal only when you select the right strategy from the three choices available to you. Change existing perception, create perception where there may be none, or reinforce it.

Picking the wrong strategy will taste like meat sauce on your oatmeal. So be sure your new strategy fits comfortably with your new public relations goal. You wouldn't want to select "change" when the facts dictate a "reinforce" strategy.

While it's always a challenge to put together action-forcing language that will help persuade any audience to your way of thinking, you must, nevertheless, create a persuasive, corrective message aimed at members of your target audience.

Which is why you must have your best writer on this job. You must have 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 desire.

Now you get to supervise a much easier task - assembling the communications tactics you need to carry your message to the attention of your target audience. Double check that the tactics you and your PR staff select have a record of reaching folks like your audience members. You can pick from dozens that are available, from speeches, facility tours, emails and brochures to consumer briefings, media interviews, newsletters, personal meetings and many others.

Remember that the believability of the message can depend to some extent on the credibility of its delivery method. Which means you may wish to deliver it in smaller meetings and presentations rather than through a higher profile media announcement.

Calls for progress reports are really calls for you and your PR team to undertake a second perception monitoring session with members of your external audience. You'll want to use many of the same questions used in the first benchmark session. But now, you will be watching very carefully for signs that the bad news perception is being altered in your direction.

Should you decide to pick up the pace a bit, your PR program usually can be accelerated by adding more communications tactics as well as increasing their frequencies.

The really key point about this public relations approach is that this particular blueprint will help you persuade your most important outside stakeholders to your way of thinking, then move them to behave in a way that leads to the success of your department, division or subsidiary.

Which means you can say goodbye to doing public relations the hard way.

Here's a public relations rule suitable for a place of honor on your computers or your refrigerators. The people you deal with do, in fact, behave like everyone else - they act upon their perceptions of the facts they hear about you and your operation.

A strong suggesting that you should deal promptly and effectively with those perceptions by doing what is necessary to reach and move your key external audiences to actions you desire.

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

You've Done PR the Hard Way Long Enough

As a business, non-profit or association manager, let the tacticians handle the special events, brochures and press releases from now on.

You have better things to do.

Like demanding the real results you're entitled to, and for which you've paid good money! Results, that is, that will come about when you do something positive about the behaviors of those important external audiences of yours that most affect your operation. In particular, when you persuade those key outside folks to your way of thinking, then help move them to take actions that allow your department, division or subsidiary to succeed.

In other words, good public relations can alter individual perception and lead to changed behaviors among key outside audiences. And that can help business, non-profit and association managers like you, achieve their managerial objectives.

How do I know? Because 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.

Luckily, here's what can materialize from this approach: prospects starting to work with you; capital givers or specifying sources beginning to look your way; welcome bounces in show room visits; membership applications on the rise; customers starting to make repeat purchases; fresh proposals for strategic alliances and joint ventures; community leaders beginning to seek you out, and even politicians and legislators starting to view you as a key member of the business, non-profit or association communities.

Clearly, your first priority will be involving your public relations people by getting them on board this particular approach to PR. They must buy into why it's so important to know how your outside audiences perceive your operations, products or services. Be especially certain they accept the reality that negative perceptions almost always lead to behaviors that can damage your organization.

Take the time necessary to lay out how you will monitor and gather perceptions by questioning members of your most important outside audiences. Questions like these: how much do you know about our organization? Have you had prior contact with us and were you pleased with the interchange? How much do you know about our services or products and employees? Have you experienced problems with our people or procedures?

Take comfort from the fact that your PR people are already in the perception and behavior business and can be of real use for the initial opinion monitoring project. Professional survey firms are always available, of course, but that can be a budget buster. But, whether it's your people or a survey firm who handles the questioning, the objective is to identify untruths, false assumptions, unfounded rumors, inaccuracies, and misconceptions.

Now, you identify which of the problems outlined above becomes your corrective public relations goal - clarify the misconception, spike that rumor, correct the false assumption or fix a variety of other possible inaccuracies?

The truth of the matter is, you can meet that goal only when you select the right strategy from the three choices available to you. Change existing perception, create perception where there may be none, or reinforce it. Picking the wrong strategy is about as cool as using cajun spices in your Tiramasu! So please be certain the new strategy fits comfortably with your new public relations goal. You wouldn't want to select "change" when the facts dictate a "reinforce" strategy.

Some regard this as the toughest part of the job -- create a persuasive message aimed at members of your target audience. Yes, it's always a challenge to put together action-forcing language that will help persuade any audience to your way of thinking.

And so, since s/he must create that very special, corrective language, be certain you have your best writer on the assignment. You need words that are not only compelling, persuasive and believable, but clear and factual if they are to shift perception/opinion towards your point of view and lead to the behaviors you desire.

>From here on in, things get easier. For example, identify the communications tactics you need to carry your message to the attention of your target audience. Insuring that the tactics you select have a record of reaching folks like your audience members, you can pick from dozens that are available. From speeches, facility tours, emails and brochures to consumer briefings, media interviews, newsletters, personal meetings and many others.

Stay alert to the fact that the credibility of the message can be dependent on the credibility of its delivery method. Which means you may wish to deliver it in small getogether-like meetings and presentations rather than through a higher- profile media announcement.

When you receive requests for progress reports, consider yourself alerted to the need for you and your PR team to undertake a second perception monitoring session with members of your external audience. You'll want to use many of the same questions used in the first benchmark session. But now, you will be watching very carefully for signs that the bad news perception is being altered in your direction.

Don't fret if things seem to be slowing down. Your PR program usually can be accelerated by adding more communications tactics as well as increasing their frequencies.

When all is said and done, the bottom line is, this workable public relations blueprint will help you persuade your most important outside stakeholders to your way of thinking, then move them to behave in a way that leads to the success of your department, division or subsidiary.

So, stop doing public relations the hard way.

The public relations rules that will best serve any business, non-profit or association manager, read this way: the people you deal with do, in fact, behave like everyone else - they act upon their perceptions of the facts they hear about you and your operation. Strongly suggesting that you deal promptly and effectively with those perceptions by doing what is necessary to reach and move your key external audiences to actions you desire.

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

Secrets to Writing Powerful Press Releases

Using press releases for marketing purposes has become increasingly popular lately.

There has been an increase of firms springing up online offering optimized press release services for individuals or firms wanting to get the word out about their web sites, newsletters, products or services.

Using press releases can be a very effective marketing tool if constructed properly. Learning to write a powerful optimized press release can often drive tons of targeted traffic to your web site.

The real secret behind writing any effective press release is to plan your release out carefully before publishing it.

A poorly constructed or planned press release is just a waste of your time and resources. You want to target the message of your press release for the purpose it was meant for.

So, the first thing you must do before writing your press release is to figure out just what do you want to accomplish with it?

-- Do you want to create some brand awareness for your site or products?

-- Do you want to add additional subscribers to your newsletter or ezine?

-- Or are you trying to promote a new product or service you have developed or are marketing?

Once you've decided what the most compelling reason is for your press release, you can then get down to the business of writing it.

The first thing you may want to do is sketch out a rough draft of your press release to see how it flows. Does it provide the needed information to get the word out and has it been properly formatted?

Most press releases have a certain format that they follow. If you're unsure of how to format your press release correctly you can view a sample press release template here at http://www.prweb.com/pressreleasetips.php#template .

The number one most important aspect of your press release is your headline.

Get it wrong and you will limit the effectiveness of your release.

Your headline is what the search engines are going to pick up on first. So make sure you use it advantageously. List any key points here, using your keywords or a catchy headline so that it will grab your reader's attention.

Again planning is essential. If promoting a new site include the URL in the headline. If promoting a product or service then include some keywords in the headline.

Some press release services use a summary box. I normally write a catchy one-paragraph recap of my press release using some of my targeted keywords.

Without being spammy, I will normally optimize my press release by using some of my targeted keywords in the first and last paragraph. I will also include some of them throughout the release for a keyword exposure of approximately 2-3% saturation.

Tip: if you're promoting a web site, I will normally mention my URL around three times within the release for the maximum benefit.

One of the first questions I had when I first started writing press releases was what was considered a great release? What did it consist of and how was it constructed?

Being curious, I emailed my contact at http://www.prweb.com/ and asked them if they could show me a few press releases that they considered as excellent examples.

These releases have received their editorial scores of 5 on their scale of 1 to 5; with five being the highest.

They sent me three of them for review and you can see each one of them here:

http://prweb.com/releases/2005/2/prweb136748.htm

http://prweb.com/releases/2005/2/prweb149213.htm

http://prweb.com/releases/2005/2/prweb203448.htm

Study each one of these against the press release template to see what is required for an effective release.

Note: to get additional exposure for your press release via www.emediawire.com you have to have an editorial score of 4 or higher. So it is to your benefit to write the best release you can the first time around.

Once you have studied the examples and want to try submitting you own press release you need to know which ones are the most popular ones being used.

Here are some of the press release services I have used and found to be effective:

http://prweb.com/

http://www.pressbox.co.uk/index.html

http://www.webwire.com/default.asp

http://www.24-7pressrelease.com/

With most of press release services you can submit your press release for free or via paid inclusion. Paying for inclusion gives you the benefit of faster indexing into the search engine news services and natural search engine result pages.

Normally your release will be picked up by Google news within a few hours after its release. From there it will normally show up in the natural search results within a few days or a week.

I have used both of these services in the past but have found that paying them at least the minimum amount allows me to view my stats online. It also allows me to choose different categories for my press release to be displayed in, giving my release a chance for wider coverage.

So using press releases can and is a very effective marketing tool that you can use for promoting your web site or affiliate products if done correctly.

By using press releases, I have been able to create a steady flow of targeted visitors to my web site and affiliate programs while generating dozens of back links to my web site.

Even though the effects of each individual press release may be short lived, they still have provided me with both free and inexpensive ways for getting hundreds of new visitors to my site and quite a few top ten positions in Google for my targeted keywords.

So get to it and write a few press releases your self and see what they can do for you!

About the Author:

Ted Kushner of AffiliateRevenueSources.com can show you the powerful benefits of writing press releases for promoting any product, service or affiliate program. Learn how you too can get multiple top ten positions in Google using press releases at: http://www.affiliaterevenuesources.com/powerful-press-releases.htm

PR: Your 500 Pound Gorilla

What else, for goodness sake, could you as a business, non-profit or association manager, call a heavy-duty helper who does something REALLY positive about the behaviors of those outside audiences of yours that most affect your organization?

And that uses the fundamental premise of public relations to deliver the kind of external stakeholder behavior change that leads directly to achieving your managerial objectives?

And does it all by persuading those important outside folks to your way of thinking, moving them to take actions that help your department, division or subsidiary succeed?

Man, that's one heavy workload for a very large monkey!

And here's the core message he brings to you. Your public relations effort must involve more than news releases, special events and brochures if you really want to get your money's worth. And, the right PR really CAN alter individual perception and lead to changed behaviors that help you succeed.

Both points well-supported by a public relations blueprint that 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 your organization the most, the public relations mission is accomplished.

What kind of payoff can you expect from such an approach to public relations? How about capital givers or specifying sources making inquiries; stronger relationships with the educational, labor, financial and healthcare communities; prospects starting to work with you as well as customers making repeat purchases; and improved relations with government agencies and legislative bodies.

Keep your pedal to the metal and you could see results like new proposals for strategic alliances and joint ventures; new thoughtleader and special event contacts; membership applications on the rise; enhanced activist group relations, and expanded feedback channels; rebounds in showroom visits; and almost certainly, community service and sponsorship opportunities;

Like most managers, you want your most important outside audiences to have positive perceptions of your services and operations or products. Which is why every member of your PR support team must believe in what you are doing. It will also be very helpful if they accept the reality that perceptions almost always lead to behaviors that can help or hurt your unit.

Review the PR plan with them, especially how you will go about 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?

Certainly, the perception monitoring part of the effort can be handled by professional survey people IF you have the budget. Fortunately, however, you can always use your PR people who 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.

With preparations complete, you need to set your public relations goal, one that deals with perception problems that developed during your key audience perception monitoring. The new goal will require that you straighten out that dangerous misconception, or correct that gross inaccuracy, or do something about that damaging rumor.

To show you how to reach the goal, you need a strategy. And there are three choices when it comes to doing something about a perception or opinion challenge: create perception where there may be none, change the perception, or reinforce it. By the way, if you select the wrong strategy, it will taste like fish sauce on your rhubarb. So be certain the new strategy fits well with your new public relations goal. For example, you don't want to select "change" when reality dictates a "reinforce" strategy.

Some heavy writing needed here. In brief, some carefully targeted, corrective language. Language that is compelling, persuasive and believable AND clear and factual. There is little choice here. You must correct a damaging perception by shifting opinion towards your point of view, leading to the desired behaviors.

It's pick-your-own time when you and your PR group select 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.

By the way, experience shows that the credibility of a message can depend on how it's delivered. So you might want to introduce it to smaller gatherings rather than using higher-profile tactics such as news releases or talk show appearances. Experience shows that, by this time, all concerned will be chomping at the bit for a progress report. Which will signal you and your PR staff 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 alert for signs that the bad news perception is being altered in your direction.

Occasionally, momentum will slow in which event you can always accelerate matters by using more communications tactics supported by increased frequencies.

Your 500 pound gorilla will be one happy simian when your data show that you have achieved the kind of key stakeholder behavior change that leads directly to achieving your department, division or subsidiary objectives.

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

Imagine PR Like This Helping You

As the kids say, how cool is this?

You're a business, non-profit or association manager and, finally, you decide to do something positive about the behaviors of those important outside audiences of yours - behaviors that MOST affect your operation.

What you're doing, of course, is creating the very external stakeholder behaviors that will help achieve your managerial objectives. Best part is, you'll actually pull it off when you persuade those key outside folks to your way of thinking, then move them to take actions that help your department, division or subsidiary reach its goal.

What it comes down to is this. Your public relations effort must involve more than news releases, special events and brochures if you really want to get your money's worth. The right PR really CAN alter individual perception and lead to changed behaviors that help you succeed.

Here's a public relations blueprint that functions like your own PR Global Positioning System: 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 your organization the most, the public relations mission is accomplished.

There's no end to the kinds of results that can flow from that fundamental premise. For example, prospects starting to work with you as well as customers making repeat purchases; improved relations with government agencies and legislative bodies; capital givers or specifying sources making inquiries. And even stronger relationships with the educational, labor, financial and healthcare communities.

And don't rule out such results as enhanced activist group relations, and expanded feedback channels; rebounds in showroom visits; community service and sponsorship opportunities; new proposals for strategic alliances and joint ventures; membership applications on the rise, and almost certainly, new thoughtleader and special event contacts.

Because your most important outside audiences really must come to regard your services, operations or products in a positive way, every member of your PR support team A variety of results can flow from this managerial approach to public relations. It can generate follow-on activity like customers making repeat purchases; stronger relationships with the educational, labor, financial and healthcare communities; improved relations with government agencies and legislative bodies; prospects starting to work with you, and even capital givers or specifying sources looking your way.

You can even see results such as community service and sponsorship opportunities; new proposals for strategic alliances and joint ventures; enhanced activist group relations, and expanded feedback channels; rebounds in showroom visits; and membership applications on the rise, not to mention new thoughtleader and special event contacts.

Because you obviously want your most important outside audiences to regard your services and operations or products in a positive manner, every member of your PR support team must be sold on what you are doing. Be especially cautious that they accept the reality that perceptions almost always lead to behaviors that can help or hurt your unit.

Go over the PR blueprint with them, in particular 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?

As you might suspect, the perception monitoring part of the effort can be handled by professional survey people IF the budget is there. However, you can always use your PR people who are also in the perception and behavior business and can pursue the same objective: identify untruths, false assumptions, unfounded rumors, inaccuracies, misconceptions and any other negative perception that might translate into hurtful behaviors.

Here, you need to set your public relations goal, one that addresses the aberrations that cropped up during your key audience perception monitoring. No doubt your new goal will strive to straighten out that dangerous misconception, or correct that gross inaccuracy, or do something about that damaging rumor.

Every goal needs a strategy to show you how to get there. There are three strategic choices when it comes to doing something about a perception or opinion challenge: create perception where there may be none, change the perception, or reinforce it. By the way, if you select the wrong strategy, it will taste like horseradish sauce on your brownies. 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 reality dictates a "reinforce" strategy.

Since there is never any rest for the weary, you must now task your PR team to prepare some carefully targeted, corrective language. Language that is compelling, persuasive and believable AND clear and factual. There is little choice here. You must correct a damaging perception by shifting opinion towards your point of view, leading to the desired behaviors.

Now, work with your communications specialists to select 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.

Because the credibility of a message can depend on how it's delivered, you might introduce it to smaller gatherings rather than using higher-profile tactics such as news releases or talk show appearances. When you no longer can resist calls for a progress report, you will have to respond by returning to the field with your PR team 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 alert for signs that the bad news perception is being altered in your direction.

In the event the program loses momentum, you can always accelerate matters by using more communications tactics along with increased frequencies.

Again as the kids