Home
>
Public Relations
>
Managers: Do You Trust Your PR?

Managers: Do You Trust Your PR?

You can if, as a business, non-profit or association manager, you can honestly say you are doing something positive about the behaviors of those important external audiences of yours that most affect your department, group, division or subsidiary.

And particularly so when you persuade those key outside folks to your way of thinking, and move them to take actions that allow you to succeed.

In its simplest form, of course, what you are doing is helping achieve your managerial objectives by the simple tactic of altering perception leading to changed behaviors.

And there's a reliable guideline that supports that notion: 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.

I call that guideline the fundamental premise of public relations from which a variety of satisfying results can emanate. For instance, community leaders beginning to seek you out; capital givers or specifying sources starting to look your way; overdue bounces in show room visits; prospects starting to work with you; membership applications on the rise; customers starting to make repeat purchases; fresh proposals for strategic alliances and joint ventures; and even politicians and legislators starting to view you as a key member of the business, non-profit or association communities.

First things first, you'll need to get your public relations people on board this public relations bandwagon. They must agree with the vital necessity to know how your outside audiences perceive your operations, products or services. Be especially certain they accept the reality that negative perceptions almost always lead to behaviors that can damage your organization.

Schedule a special sitdown with PR staff to run through just how you plan to guage perception and monitor opinion among your key outside audiences. Go over the questions to be asked: 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?

It's fortunate for you and I that our PR people are already in the perception and behavior business and can be of real use for the opinion monitoring projects. You always have the option of using professional survey firms, but that can wind up costing real money. But, whether it's your people or a survey firm who handles the questioning, the objective is to identify untruths, false assumptions, unfounded rumors, inaccuracies, and misconceptions.

One of the aberations you discover will stand out clearly as your corrective public relations goal ? it could easily be to clarify the misconception, spike that rumor, correct the false assumption or fix a variety of other possible inaccuracies.

Simplifying matters is the reality that you can meet that goal only when you select the right strategy from the three choices available to you. Change existing perception, create perception where there may be none, or reinforce it. Using the wrong strategy is about as satisfying as using horseradish on your grits! So please be certain the new strategy fits comfortably with your new public relations goal. You wouldn't want to select "change" when the facts dictate a "reinforce" strategy.

Here, you may come to see this chore as the toughest part of the job -- write a persuasive message aimed at members of your target audience. Yes, it's always a challenge to put together action-forcing language that will help persuade any audience to your way of thinking.

By all means, pick your best writer for this assignment. You need words that are not only 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 desire.

With message writing behind you, you need to identify the communications tactics you need to carry your message to the attention of your target audience. Insuring that the tactics you select have a record of reaching folks like your audience members, you can select from speeches, facility tours, emails and brochures to consumer briefings, media interviews, newsletters, personal meetings and many others.

Another reality in this business is that the credibility of the message can depend on the credibility of its delivery method. Which could lead you to deliver it in smaller meetings and presentations rather than through a higher- profile media announcement.

As it becomes obvious that a progress report will be needed, you and your PR team will want to undertake a second perception monitoring session with members of your external audience. Many of the same questions used in the first benchmark session can be used again. Now, however, you will be on alert for indications that the bad news perception is being altered in your direction.

In the event of a slowdown in program momentum, PR program such as this usually can be accelerated by adding more communications tactics as well as increasing their frequencies.

Trusting your PR program to deliver the bacon is really a matter of persuading your key external stakeholders to your way of thinking, then moving them to behave in a way that leads to the achievement of your managerial objectives and the success of your operation.

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 communi- cations, 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:http://www.prcommentary.com

best cleaning company Highland Park ..

In The News:

The ClickFix campaign disguises malware as legitimate Windows updates, using steganography to hide shellcode in PNG files and bypass security detection systems.

Researchers from Osaka Metropolitan University designed a 21-foot dome that combines aquaculture and hydroponics to create a self-sustaining urban food system.

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

ChatGPT data breach exposes personal info of users through partner Mixpanel. OpenAI confirms names, emails compromised in security incident.

Android rolls out Emergency Live Video for 911 calls, letting dispatchers see real-time scenes during emergencies. Great for holiday travel safety.

Malicious Chrome and Edge extensions collected browsing history, keystrokes and personal data from millions of users before Google and Microsoft removed them.

Google's new Call Reason feature lets Android users mark calls as urgent before dialing, displaying an urgent label to recipients using Phone by Google app.

Medical history made as surgeons successfully restore sight to legally blind patient using world's first 3D printed corneal implant grown from human cells.

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.

Managers: Do You Trust Your PR?

Public Relations