Tweet

Good Communication Starts With Communicating What You Want

Guest post by: Harvey Farr

Article Overview: Marketing terms such as public relations, publicity, communications, advertising, marketing, social media are often used interchangeably. While there are similarities, they are different, and it is critical the differences are understood.

Good Communication Starts With Communicating What You Want

In our firm, we often get calls from organizations that say, “we need better PR.” Well, we think, you’ve called the right place. But then as we delve deeper into what it is they really are talking about, we often come to realize that what they call PR is not what we call PR.

It is helpful for organizations and companies to understand that there are differences between the basic terminologies that are regularly used in the marketing world. When working with a marketing consultant, it is critical that these differences are understood so everybody is on the same page.

Here is a brief primer on terms:

Marketing – This is the overall process of taking a product or service to market. Included in marketing are tactics and systems that make it happen. But marketing alone means nothing without the specifics of how you plan to do the marketing.

Public Relations – PR is also a broad term. Some say PR and they really mean an advertising campaign because they are trying to get a message across. Usually, PR refers to creating an environment that is conducive to a product or service to be sold. PR creates buzz and conveys a certain strategic message. The driving force of PR is what we call publicity….

Publicity is simply getting the media to write or report on your product or service, hopefully positively. Much of what appears on news programs and the newspaper is the product of a publicist providing information about a product or service. Getting positive publicity is great because it is not paid for and therefore has the tacit approval of the media. By the same token, getting positive publicity is not easy, especially for a product or service that is unknown. One can judge how effective a PR consultant is by how he/she creates a publicity campaign that gets the press to write and talk about a product or service in a positive manner.

Advertising – Believe it or not, people misuse this term. Advertising is paid for. Very simple. You design an advertisement and pay for a newspaper or magazine to publish it. Or you record a radio commercial or film a television commercial and pay for it to air. You control the message, but people know you control the message so it inherently has less credibility.

Social Media is the new buzz word because social media is supposed to create buzz. Instead of a company or organization telling the world how great it is, social media is intended for people to tell their circle of friends how great it is. Isn’t it more credible when a friend says he/she likes a product than a commercial saying it? Social media is viral in that people pass the message along to their friends and associates. It is amazing just how quickly a message can be spread via Facebook and YouTube. In a matter of days a YouTube video can garner a million views. How much money does it take to get a million people to watch a commercial, and isn’t it more effective coming from a friend?

Understanding the differences between marketing terminologies is a first step to create a workable and effective marketing plan and certainly to work with a marketing consultant. Saying “we need better PR” just doesn’t cut it. It is important to be specific so your consultant can devise a strategy that meets your marketing needs.

Related Articles
  A Shining Example of Communication and Conflict
  Don’t Be a Trash Talker
  Mirror Mirror On The Wall - Great Executive Coaches Know How To Reflect
  The Art of Effective Communication in the Small Business World
  What Is Your Communications Strategy?
  Communication is Important
  The Tower of Babble
  Leadership Communication
  The Art of Communication: The Wealth Creation Is In Your Words
  Communicating for Success!
  How To Communicate Better With A Business Partner
  Communicating and Connecting Are Keys to Success
  How to avoid the platitudes and simple solutions
  Lesson #5: Communicate Success
  Interpersonal Skills
  Twelve Tips For Strategic Business Communications According To Your Strategic Thinking Business Coach
  Best MLM companies - why people are still failing!
  How You Walk Your Talk Directly Affects The Money You Make
  Effective Communication in the Workplace
  Communication A.P.P.E.A.L.

Article Tags: advertising, marketing, marketing consultant, marketing los angeles, pr consultant, pr los angeles, prpublic relations, social media



Related Forum Posts
Re: Essential Leadership skills - Vision Values Mission Strategic Thinking Decision Making Communication Team Bonding People Development Coaching / Mentoring / Guiding / Grooming Presentation Thanks Robert
Re: LEADERS - Nice post, i like the Doers and the listeners comments from my handbook 8.5 HOW MUCH DO YOU KNOW ABOUT LEADERSHIP? Planning Problem Solving Vision Innovation Leadership Emotional Intelligence Delegation Communication Self-Development Relationship Building Commercial Financial skills Personal Energy Ethics Transparency Even there I see that we are missing "PASSION"
Business Coaching Internship Review - I joined in during the first phase of the internship and at this point we are committed to doing research and development of RSC Business Group operating in Toronto. RSC Business Group already has products and services in Coaching Small businesses in Los Angeles but we didn't want to assume that the same products were wanted and needed in the Toronto market. Our goal at this point is to commit to interviewing 1000 business owners to capture this data. Through the teleconference internship I've been involved in we've been focusing on Communication Skills and on active listening which are practiced when we conduct our interviews and Coach our clients when they come on board. This is a lot harder than it sounds! Part of the internship is also creating the Toronto RSC Business Group's departments, job descriptions, Marketing and Communication plans etc that a business owner would create for their own company. This trains us in the way we would coach a company as well. The internship is phased in two parts and there is compensation plan involved as well for the clients you personally bring in. These clients are coached directly by Robert Chun as you begin but you are given a chance to learn his techniques. I haven't gone through this experience yet though. It's hard to explain Robert Chun's method of Coaching as it happens at a psychological level in his ability to listen and question the person being coached into the next steps they need to take. The Teleconferences are 2 hours long but it's very interactive. If you have a desire to explore this area of Business I'd recommend contacting Vwodek listed above and get invited to a Coaching Conference call. You can decided then if it's for you. Note: it is a commitment but the skills you walk away with whether you plan on working with RSC Business Group or not is invaluable.
Franchise Support. What is it to you? - I do a lot of due diligence on franchises that we work with. Most of the time I call up existing franchisees and act like I am interested in buying a franchise in their system. I ask a ton of questions just like any normal buyer, they do not know that I am an experienced franchise consultant. My question for this forum is: What do you consider support from the franchisor? Is it: - Communication? - Brand growth? - Advertising? - Assistance? - Or something else? The reason I ask this is that some franchisees tell me that they don't get enough support from the franchisor and when I ask them what support they would want, they don't have an answer outside of "helping me get more business". So I thought I would throw this out to the group and ask you what you consider would be support to a franchisee. .
Re: Networking - Good work, just remember to continue to plug away and dont stop. Good luck, Matt Belock


Share this article with your friends. Fund someone's dream.

Leave a comment below or share on the left and you'll help support entrepreneurs in Africa through our partnership with Kiva. Over $50,000 raised and counting - Please keep sharing! Learn more.

Newsletter

Get advice & tips from famous business
owners, new articles by entrepreneur
experts, my latest website updates, &
special sneak peaks at what's to come!

Name:
Email:

Popular Articles

Unspoken Yet Important Rules for Book Proposals

Qualities of Leadership Part 1

10 Golden rules to survive the Global Crisis

Suggestions

Email us your ideas on how to make our
website more valuable! Thank you Sharon
from Toronto Salsa Lessons / Classes for
your suggestions to make the newsletter
look like the website and profile younger
entrepreneurs like Jennifer Lopez.