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A Powerful PR Strategy

Written by: Bob Kelly

Article Overview: Hopefully, this will convince some business, non-profit, public entity and association managers to use public relations to alter the individual perceptions of members of their key outside audiences, thus kicking off the process of changing their behaviors.

A Powerful PR Strategy

Please feel free to publish this article in your ezine, newsletter,
offline publication or website. Only requirement: you must
use the Robert A. Kelly byline and resource box. Word count
is 1180 including guidelines and box. Robert A. Kelly © 2006.

A Powerful PR Strategy

It really is powerful when a business, non-profit public entity
or association manager uses public relations to alter the
individual perception of members of its key outside audiences,
thus beginning the process of changing their behaviors.

And truly powerful when s/he actually persuades many of
those key outside folks to the manager’s way of thinking,
helping to move them to take actions that allow the manager’s
department, division or subsidiary to succeed.

What’s happening in our example, is that managers are using
public relations to do something positive about the behaviors
of the very outside audiences of theirs that MOST affect their
operation.

ESPECIALLY “warm and fuzzy” when such power creates
the kind of external stakeholder behavior change that leads
directly to achieving the manager’s most important objectives.

Wouldn’t it be nice, you say, if managers had available the
precise public relations blueprint they need designed to get
all their team members and organizational colleagues working
towards the same external stakeholder behaviors?

Yes it would, so here is a PR blueprint plan along those lines:
People act on their own perception of the facts before them,
which leads o predictable behaviors about which something
can be done. When we create, change or reinforce that opinion
by reaching, persuading and moving- to-desired-action the very
people whose behaviors affect the organization the most, the
public relations mission is usually accomplished.

The word powerful seems appropriate when results like these
start to crop up: new proposals for strategic alliances and joint
ventures; capital givers or specifying sources looking your way;
a rebound in showroom visits; membership applications on the
rise; fresh community service and sponsorship opportunities;
new thoughtleader and special event contacts; improved relations
with government agencies and legislative bodies; prospects
starting to work with you; customers making repeat purchases;
and even stronger relationships with the educational, labor,
financial and healthcare communities.

The division of labor will be a prime concern to you. Just
who is going to do the work anyway? Will it be regular public
relations staff? Or people sent to you by a higher authority?
Or possibly a PR agency crew? Regardless of where they come
from, they must be committed to you as the senior project
manager, to the PR blueprint and its implementation, starting
with key audience perception monitoring.

Something to keep your eye on. Be sure that your team members
really believe deeply why it’s SO important to know how your
most important outside audiences perceive your operations,
products or services. Be certain they buy the reality that
perceptions almost always lead to behaviors that can help or
hurt your unit.

Invest some time in reviewing your PR blueprint with your
PR team, especially your 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? 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 your budget will allow, you can use professional survey
counsel for 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.

Now you must establish your public relations goal. This is
your chance to do something about the most serious distortions
you discovered during your key audience perception
monitoring. Your public relations goal might call for
straightening out that dangerous misconception, or correcting
that gross inaccuracy, or stopping that potentially fatal rumor
in its tracks.

To achieve success, you need a solid strategy, one that clearly
shows you how to proceed. To keep things simple, note that
there are only three strategic options available to you when it
comes to handling a perception and opinion challenge. Change
existing perception, create perception where there may be none,
or reinforce it. Of course, the wrong strategy pick will taste like
spoiled rhubarb pie so be certain the new strategy fits well with
your new public relations goal. Naturally, you don’t want to
select “change” when the facts dictate a “reinforce” strategy.

This is your chance to share a powerful corrective message
with members of your target audience. But persuading an
audience to your way of thinking is no easy task. Which is
why your PR folks must come up with words that are not only
compelling, persuasive and believable, but clear and factual.
Only in this way will you be able to correct a perception by
shifting opinion towards your point of view, leading to the
behaviors you are targeting.

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

You might consider unveiling the message in presentations
before smaller gatherings rather than using higher-profile
tactics such as news releases. Reason is, the credibility of a
message can depend on the credibility of its delivery method.

The subject of progress reports will come up soon enough.
And this should alert you and your PR team to get back out
in the field and start work on a second perception monitoring
session with members of your external audience. You’ll want
to use many of the same questions used in the first benchmark
session. Difference this time is that you will be watching very
carefully for signs that the bad news perception is being
altered in your direction.

If things slow down, try speeding them up with more
communications tactics and increased frequencies.

By now you should know this powerful reality at the core of
public relations: the right PR can alter individual perception
leading to changed behaviors which, in turn, can lead directly
to achieving your managerial objectives.

end

Bob Kelly counsels and writes for business, non-profit and
association managers about using the fundamental premise of public
relations to achieve their operating objectives. He has authored
245 articles on the subject which are listed at EzineArticles.com, click
Expert Author, click Robert A. Kelly. He has been DPR, Pepsi-Cola
Co.; AGM-PR, Texaco Inc.; VP-PR, Olin Corp.; VP-PR, Newport
News Shipbuilding & Drydock Co.; director of communications, U.S.
Department of the Interior, and deputy assistant press secretary, The
White House. He holds a bachelor of science degree from Columbia
University, major in public relations.
mailto:bobkelly@TNI.net Visit:www.PRCommentary.com

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