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Want_PRs_Full_Value
| Want PRs Full Value?
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. Word count is 860
including guidelines and resource box. Robert A. Kelly © 2003.
Want PR’s Full Value?
Make sure somebody is worrying about those outside audience
behaviors you need to help reach your objectives.
And I mean the kind of behaviors you like: prospective buyers
browsing your services or products; specifying sources or major
donors thinking about you; more frequent repeat purchases; new
proposals for joint ventures or strategic alliances; elected
officials who increasingly view you as a mover and shaker in the
business, non-profit or association communities.
All doable when you base your public relations program on a
reality such as 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
accomplished.
Your payoff is the kind of key stakeholder behavior change that
leads directly to achieving your objectives.
Here’s one way to make it happen.
Consider those outside audiences whose actions you know have a
serious impact on your organization. Then put them in order of
how badly those impacts affect you. We can work right now on the
first audience on that list.
The obvious question is, how do members of that target audience
perceive your organization? To find out, you and your colleagues
are going to have to meet with audience members and ask such
questions as, “Do you have an opinion about our organization?
How much do you know about us? Have you ever had dealings with
us? Were they satisfactory?”
While you monitor those perceptions, be sure to stay alert to
negative comments, and even to suspicious tones of voice in the
responses. Watch carefully for untruths, false assumptions,
inaccuracies, misconceptions or hurtful rumors which, left
unattended, could do you some damage.
With that response data in hand, you can decide exactly which
problem is the most severe, then establish it as your public
relations goal. For instance, correct a false assumption,
clarify a misconception, or spike a rumor that’s just dead
wrong.
Every goal needs a strategy showing what needs to be done, if
that goal is to be achieved. When it comes to matters of
perception and opinion, there are just three strategy choices
available to you: change existing perception, reinforce it, or
create perception/opinion where none may exist. Be careful that
the strategy you select is a good fit with your public relations
goal.
Now, it’s time to sit down at the word processor and prepare the
all-important message to do the heavy lifting and alter the
perception/opinion of that key target audience.
But it can’t be a simple declarative sentence. It must be both
compelling AND persuasive. At the same time, it must be
crystal-clear as to exactly which untruth, false assumption or
misconception you wish to correct, and why. The facts you use
must be not only truthful and solid, but logical and believable
if the message is to be seen as credible by members of the
target audience, and move their perception in your direction.
In case of special sensitivity, you may wish to piggyback the
message on other communications tactics so as to avoid the
showcase effect of a separate announcement.
So, the perception monitoring phase is complete, the public
relations goal is set, and the proper strategy applied. Now, you
need a delivery system to carry your message to the right eyes
and ears among your target audience. And that’s what
communications tactics do. Luckily, there are dozens of them
ready to help you. They range from community briefings, press
releases, emails and speeches to letters-to-the-editor, personal
contacts, open houses, broadcast and newspaper interviews and so
many others. Only caveat is, make certain each tactic you choose
has a proven record for reaching people like those in your
target audience.
You’ll soon be on the lookout for signs that your public
relations effort is succeeding. Those signs will be found by
once again monitoring target audience perceptions. You’ll ask
questions similar to those you asked during the first perception
monitoring session. But now, you want to see signs that audience
perceptions have moved as you planned.
Of course you can accelerate the process, and increase the
impact, by expanding the number and variety of communications
tactics you’re using. And, to the same end, you can also
increase their frequency.
You can best realize public relations’ full value when, in fact,
somebody DOES worry about managing the effort around key
stakeholder behavior change that leads directly to achieving
your organizational objectives.
end
About the author:
Bob Kelly counsels, writes and speaks to business, non-profit
and association managers about the fundamental premise of public
relations. 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.
mailto:bobkelly@TNI.net Visit:http://www.prcommentary.com
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