Dont Use PR

?lose the confidence of your key target audiences? discourage them from taking actions that lead to your success?fail to achieve your department, division or subsidiary objectives.

A sad scenario that should not occur. In fact, as a manager in a business, non-profit or association, the exact opposite can occur based on a simple premise you can adopt and make happen starting today.

And here it is: 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.

Then, follow through!

Meet with the PR people assigned to your unit, sit down and list those outside audiences with the greatest impact on your operation. Then prioritize them and we'll use #1 on the list as our example for this article.

What do you know about the perceptions of that key external audience whose behaviors can affect the success or failure of your unit's operation? Probably not as much as you should despite the reality that existing perceptions almost always lead to predictable behaviors.

Make some time for you and your PR colleagues to monitor those key audience perceptions by interacting with audience members and asking a lot of questions: Do you know anything about us? Might you have need for our services or products? If you've ever had contact with our organization, was it satisfactory? Do you have an opinion about us?

Keep your antenna up for hints of negativity, and your eyes peeled for misconceptions, inaccuracies, untruths, rumors or exaggeration.

What you will have gathered is the data you need to identify the most severe perception problem alive and kicking in that #1 external audience of yours. This becomes your corrective public relations goal. For example, clear up that unfortunate misconception; correct that inaccuracy; or tone down that exaggeration.

Now, the question persists, how do you get to that goal? You need a strategy. But, when it comes to altering perceptions or opinions you have just three strategic choices: create perception where none exists, change existing opinion/perception, or reinforce it.

Be careful here that your new strategy is a natural fit with your new goal. Obviously, if you discovered negative perceptions, you wouldn't select the "reinforce" strategy.

Next step is a writing challenge. Prepare a message bearing a real burden ? alter the offending perception. That means the message will have to change what a lot of people have come to believe. However, it can not be done unless your message is very clear about what is wrong with the current perception. In addition, it must be truthful if it is to be persuasive, and compelling if it is to be believable. Spend some time on this step in the problem-solving sequence and try it out for its effectiveness on folks whose opinions you value.

If you goof the message, the entire effort may fail.

In most cases, you won't want to call too much attention to this perception-altering message by using a high-profile news announcement. Rather, include it as part of another announcement, a speech or related presentation.

Now, it's message delivery time. Here, you select the right communications tactics to carry your message to the attention of members of your target audience. You're in luck because there are so many tactics waiting to help you reach those audience members. They range from speeches, brochures, op-eds and radio/newspaper interviews to newsmaker events, newsletters, press releases and many more.

And double-check the tactics you select to make certain they actually reach people similar to those you want to reach.

In short order, all concerned, including you, will want to see signs of progress. Only way to nail this down is to once again monitor audience member perceptions with many of the same questions you used during your benchmark opinion monitoring exercise.

If you decide the effort must move faster, you can always fine-tune the message, add new communications tactics to the battle and increase their frequencies.

So, the message of the article NOW becomes, "Use PR," gain the confidence of your key target audiences, persuade them to take actions that lead to your success, and achieve your department, division or subsidiary objectives.

About The Author

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. mailto:bobkelly@tni.net. Visit: mailto:bobkelly@tni.net

disinfecting cleaning services Winnetka ..

In The News:

Data brokers aggressively collect your holiday shopping data to fuel scams and targeted ads. Learn how to delete your digital profile before 2025 starts.

Scammers are sending fake MetaMask wallet verification emails using official branding to steal crypto information through phishing links and fraudulent domains.

Learn what background permissions, push notifications, security updates, auto-join networks and app refresh mean to better manage your phone's privacy settings.

Criminals test stolen data by applying for deposit accounts in victims' names to prepare bigger attacks. Learn why banks won't share fraud details.

New study of 10,500+ kids reveals early smartphone ownership linked to depression, obesity, and poor sleep by age 12. Earlier phones mean higher risks.

A phone phishing attack compromised Harvard's alumni and donor database, marking the second security incident at the university in recent months.

AutoFlight's zero-carbon floating vertiport uses solar power to charge eVTOL aircraft while supporting emergency response, tourism, and marine energy maintenance.

A new phone return scam targets recent buyers with fake carrier calls. Learn how criminals steal devices and steps to protect yourself from this fraud.

New Anthropic research reveals how AI reward hacking leads to dangerous behaviors, including models giving harmful advice like drinking bleach to users seeking help.

The Fox News AI Newsletter gives readers the latest AI technology advancements, covering the challenges and opportunities AI presents.

Holiday email scams, including non-delivery fraud and gift card schemes, spike in November and December, costing victims hundreds of millions, the FBI says.

Holiday visits offer the perfect opportunity to help older parents with technology updates, scam protection and basic troubleshooting skills for safer digital experiences.

Swiss scientists create grain-sized robot that surgeons control with magnets to deliver medicine precisely through blood vessels in medical breakthrough.

Researchers exploited WhatsApp's API vulnerability to scrape 3.5 billion phone numbers. Learn how this massive data breach happened and protect yourself.

Travel companies share passenger data with third parties during holidays, but travelers can protect themselves by removing data from broker sites and using aliases.

Xpeng's humanoid robot moves so realistically that crowds believed it was fake, marking a major advancement in robotics technology ahead of 2026 commercial launch.

Researchers discover phishing scam using invisible characters to evade email security, with protection tips including password managers and two-factor authentication.

iPhone and Android users can reduce battery drain and data usage by restricting Background App Refresh to Wi-Fi connections instead of mobile networks.

Scammers nearly stole an Apple account by exploiting the support system with authentic-looking tickets and phone calls, users can protect themselves with safety steps.

FoloToy restored sales of its AI teddy bear Kumma after a weeklong suspension following safety group findings of risky and inappropriate responses to children.

Threat intelligence firm Synthient uncovers one of the largest password exposures ever, prompting immediate security recommendations.

Viral video shared by Elon Musk shows Tesla's Optimus humanoid robots performing tasks from cooking to construction, garnering over 58.5 million views on social media.

Chinese hackers used Anthropic's Claude AI to launch autonomous cyberattacks on 30 organizations worldwide, marking a major shift in cybersecurity threats.

Apple's new Sleep Score feature gives you a rating for your nightly rest quality. Learn how to set it up on your Apple Watch and iPhone today.

Essential phone settings to enable before losing your device, including Find My network, location services and security features for iPhone and Android.

Dont Use PR

Public Relations