Yes indeed! If you are a young person who has decided that a career in public relations will be your Caviar and Champagne in life, here are four situations in which you do not want to find yourself:
1. You confuse the basic function of public relations with sub-parts that make up the whole like publicity, crisis management or employee communications.
2. You feel unsure in approaching public relations problems, then uncertain about what counsel to give your employer/client.
3. As the years pass, you rely on career-long misconceptions about public relations but forge ahead anyway advising the employer/client ineffectively sometimes with damaging, if not dangerous counsel.
4. You realize too late that you have gone through your entire career without a firm grasp of what public relations is all about.
Newcomers can avoid those pitfalls by grasping early-on The Rosetta Stone of public relations, i.e., a guide to understanding the discipline and its core strength. Namely, people act on their perception of the facts; those perceptions lead to certain behaviors; and something can be done about those perceptions and behaviors that lead to achieving an organization's objectives.
Which is why, when public relations goes on to successfully create, change or reinforce that opinion by reaching, persuading and moving-to-desired-action those people whose behaviors affect the organization, it accomplishes its mission.
NO organization - business, non-profit or public sector - can succeed today unless the behaviors of its most important audiences are in-sync with the organization's objectives. And that means public relations professionals must modify somebody's behavior if they are to help hit the employer/client's objective and earn a paycheck. All else are but means to that end.
And here's one way to get there:
-- identify the problem or challenge
-- identify target audiences
-- set the public relations goal
-- set the public relations strategy
-- prepare persuasive messages
-- select/implement key communications tactics
-- monitor progress
-- and the end game? Meet your own behavior modification goal.
A bonus: you are using a near-perfect public relations performance measurement. I mean how can you measure the results of an activity more accurately than when you clearly achieve the goal you set at the beginning of that activity? You can't. It's pure success
So, as a beginner, can you expect to avoid the four pitfalls listed above? Yes, and here's why:
-- With proper preparation, you will not confuse action tactics with the basic mission of public relations because you will know precisely what each is and just what fits where in the public relations problem solving sequence.
-- You will feel more confident about providing counsel to the employer/client because the public relations problem at hand can be clearly identified allowing you to select solutions that obviously fit into the action sequence outlined above. You will identify your target audiences because you will know exactly who your employer/client wants to reach, and the necessary action tactics will then be self-evident.
-- You realize that you have gone through your entire career WITH a firm, successful grasp of what public relations is all about.
Of course, on the way you will also nurture the relationships between your target audiences and your employer/client's business by burnishing the reputation of the organization, its service and products. You will do your best to persuade those target audiences to do what your employer/client wants them to do. And while seeking public understanding and acceptance of that employer/client, you'll insure that your joint activities not only comply with the law, but clearly serve the public interest. Then, you will pull out all tactical stops to actually move those individuals to action. And your employer/client will be pleased that you have brought matters along to this point.
But when will that employer/client of yours be fully satisfied with the public relations results you have produced? Only when your "reach, persuade and move-to-desired-action efforts have produced that visible modification in the behaviors of those target audiences you, and they wish to influence.
In my view, this is the fundamental premise of public relations, its central, strategic function and the basic context in which you must operate in your pursuit of a successful and satisfying public relations career.
Please feel free to publish this article and resource box in your ezine, newsletter, offline publication or website. A copy would be appreciated at bobkelly@tni.net.
Robert A. Kelly ? 2005.
Bob Kelly counsels, writes and speaks to business, non-profit and association managers about using the fundamental premise of public relations to achieve their operating objectives. He has been DPR, Pepsi-Cola Co.; AGM-PR, Texaco Inc.; VP-PR, Olin Corp.; VP-PR, Newport News Shipbuilding & Drydock Co.; director of 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.
Visit: bobkelly@tni.net; bobkelly@tni.net
shuttle from Midway Glen Ellyn ..Yes indeed! If you are a young person who has... Read More
At the core of any successful public relations campaign is... Read More
You may remember Forrest Gump's Vietnam pal ? the one... Read More
Whether you are a business, non-profit or association manager, your... Read More
It can bite you and waste your public relations budget... Read More
Just happens to be public relations activity that alters individual... Read More
If you own a franchise and have company vehicles, be... Read More
When developing a publicity campaign for their business many owners... Read More
Managers ? the business, non-profit and association sort ? really... Read More
Southern grandmothers have often said, "there are only three... Read More
To get someone's name in the newspaper or a product... Read More
When a reporter is wowed, intrigued, surprised or captivated by... Read More
Most small businesses have logo'ed shirts, usually polo shirts with... Read More
If you want to know the best way to approach... Read More
There's a dirty little secret about press releases that the... Read More
It behooves you to know and remember the names of... Read More
One portion of your marketing plan that you probably don't... Read More
True, because department, division or subsidiary managers for a business,... Read More
Lights...camera...ACTION.That's what often happens when people think of using media... Read More
Your public relations effort really should involve more than press... Read More
Receiving free advertising is the dream of most business people.... Read More
And here it is: public relations alters individual perception leading... Read More
The call came into my office and the voice on... Read More
Why, public relations that stays true to its fundamental premise,... Read More
Early in my career as a public relations consultant, I... Read More
shuttle from O'Hare North Chicago ..You're trying to recruit a downline into your program, you've... Read More
When I talk with business people, they tend to believe... Read More
Publicity is an important and often overlooked tool of creative... Read More
Does the thought of knowing your verbs from your adjective... Read More
Have you ever heard of the saying, "One person's trash... Read More
Have you ever noticed how the same people's names always... Read More
As a business, non-profit or association manager, do you see... Read More
You worked hard to get a story on your business... Read More
For those business, non-profit and association managers committed to PR... Read More
If you're trying to promote your store, but you don't... Read More
Ever wonder why papers devote a page or more to... Read More
It is virtually impossible to succeed professionally and personally without... Read More
Small businesses have always known the importance of word of... Read More
Here's the point: people act on their own perception of... Read More
When a group of outsiders behaves in a way that... Read More
The real public relations geniuses might be managers. You know,... Read More
There's an old African proverb:"If you think you are too... Read More
Photographs are essential for getting good publicity in the print... Read More
Since the major part of a small business typically comes... Read More
There's still time to review your public relations program like... Read More
Things are pleasant for many business, non-profit or association managers... Read More
When outside audiences important to your operation do not understand... Read More
Did you Know That Even TV Remote Control Units... Read More
Parties, videos, booklets and column plugs?Or public relations that does... Read More
It's not unusual for clients of service providers to insist... Read More
Public Relations |