Is This What PRs All About

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Is This What PR’s All About?

Simply moving messages from one point to another
using tactics like press releases, special events, brochures
and broadcast plugs?

Good gosh, I hope not!

Not when many business, non-profit, government agency
and association managers badly need to do something
both positive and meaningful about the behaviors of those
important outside audiences of theirs whose behaviors
MOST affect the departmental, divisional or subsidiary
unit they manage.

These are the same managers who need the kind of public
relations effort that leads them directly to achieving their
managerial objectives; in particular by persuading those
key outside folks to the manager’s way of thinking by
helping move audience members to take actions that
help the manager’s department, group, division or
subsidiary to succeed.

As long-ago news commentator Gabriel Heater used to
say, “Ah, there’s good news tonight!” Here, that good
news is the fact that the right public relations planning
really CAN alter individual perception and result in
changed behaviors among key outside audiences.
Achievable, incidentally, only when you as a manager
require more than news releases, special events and
broadcast plugs. When that happens, you should
receive the quality public relations results you deserve.


Here’s the way public relations’ underlying premise
puts it: 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.

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

Look first to your public relations professionals, who
are already in the perception and behavior business,
to handle your data gathering activity, an essential
component of your new opinion monitoring project.
But be certain that the PR staff really accepts why it’s
SO important to know how your most important
outside audiences perceive your operations, products
or services. Essentially, be sure they truly believe that
perceptions almost always result in behaviors that can
help or hurt your operation.

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

Retaining a professional survey firm to do the opinion
gathering work, can strain your budget and end up more
expensive than using your own staff people. 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.

This is where we establish a clearcut and realistic PR
goal calling for action on the most serious problem
areas you uncovered during your key audience
perception monitoring. You may decide to straighten
out that dangerous misconception, bring to an end
that potentially painful rumor, or correct that gross
inaccuracy.

Since goal and strategy go together like Oreo cookies
and milk, you must connect your goal to an action-
oriented strategy that shows how to get to where
you’re going. Actually, you have just three strategic
options available to you when it comes to doing
something about perception and opinion. Change
existing perception, create perception where there
may be none, or reinforce it. Needless to say, the
wrong strategy pick will taste like whipped cream on
your pot roast. So be sure your new strategy fits well
with your new public relations goal. You certainly
don’t want to select “change” when the facts dictate
a strategy of reinforcement.

Now you must task your team’s best writer to prepare
a persuasive message that will help move your key
audience to your way of thinking. It has to be a carefully
-written message targeted directly at your key external
audience. S/he must produce some really corrective
language that is not merely compelling, persuasive and
believable, but clear and factual if they are to shift
perception/opinion towards your point of view and
lead to the behaviors you have in mind.

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

Since the means by which you communicate your
message is always a concern because its credibility
is fragile and always suspect, you may wish initially
to unveil your corrective message before smaller
meetings through presentations rather than using
higher-profile news releases.

Measuring how far you’ve come since the program’s
inception, you’ll want to compare where you are
now against the starting point to show the progress
you’ve made. First, you’ll be demonstrating, in the
form of periodic progress reports, how the monies
spent on public relations can pay off. However, it’s
also an alert to start a second perception monitoring
session with members of your external audience.
Here, you’ll use many of the same questions used
in the benchmark interviews. But now, you will be
on strict alert for signs that the bad news perception
is being altered in your direction.

Without doubt, you will face periodic slowdowns in
the program. Generally, adding more communications
tactics, and/or increasing their frequencies, usually
solves that problem.

As asked up front: Is PR all about moving messages
from one point to another using familiar tactics? I said
Good Gosh, I hope not! And I still say, Good Gosh,
I hope not!

Much preferred are managers who decide they no longer
wish to be denied the best public relations has to offer,
preferring instead to pursue the quality public relations
results they believe they deserve.

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



Is This What PRs All About - To learn more about this author, visit Bob Kelly's Website.

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