Mind Your Own Business!

And the best way to mind your own business is to insure that those audiences whose behaviors have the greatest effect on your enterprise keep thinking about you in the most positive way. Reason is, bad behaviors often follow bad perceptions, so what your external audiences think about you can mean success or failure.

It's not hard to do, but it's something you must attend to on a regular basis. How? Try this.

Nobody can do it all, so put those outside audiences in order-of-importance with the REALLY key audience at the top-of-the-list.

Once prioritized. and beginning with #1, learn more about what's on the minds of that audience. In other words, monitor their feelings and perceptions about you and your business. Ask questions. While you will appreciate positive input (and take it into account), it's absence of awareness, misconceptions, inaccuracies and hard feelings that you're really after because that's what can cause you grief. Also, stay alert for similar indicators coming from print and broadcast media, emails, and business and community speeches and pronouncements.

In public relations, we know that people act on their own perception of the facts before them, which leads to predictable behaviors about which something can be done. So, when we create, change or reinforce that opinion by reaching, persuading and moving-to-desired-action those people whose behaviors affect the organization, the public relations mission is accomplished.

O.K., you've now gathered a lot of information about how your key target audience feels or doesn't feel about you and/or your business. What do you do with it?

You establish your public relations goal. For example, correct this inaccuracy; straighten out that misconception; reinforce and strengthen a slightly positive perception; change a view of your business that's just plain wrong.

But now, you need a strategy to help you achieve that goal. In public relations, that means you get to choose one of three basic strategies: create opinion (perceptions) where none may exist; change existing opinion; or reinforce it.

Take another look at the public relations goal you've established and make certain that the strategy you've selected is a logical match.

Which brings you to "the message." Exactly what meaning and what remedial understanding do you want to convey to members of that key target audience? Your message must be crystal-clear about the misconception, rumor, inaccuracy or wrong-minded belief you discovered while interacting with, and gathering information from members of that audience.

The corrective message must be persuasive and believable - not aggressive or overbearing - as it outlines in plain language the simple truth of the matter.

How do you move messages from your business to the eyes and ears of members of your key target audience? You use communications tactics, or "beasts of burden" as I like to call them. There are a ton of them and their job is to carry your message directly to the attention of key audience members.

Tactics range from Internet communications, facility tours, editorial board meetings and press releases to broadcast interviews, promotional contests, brochures, face-to-face meetings and many others.

But how do you know whether the effort is succeeding or not? You remonitor members of that key target audience, watching carefully for signs that perception (opinion) is moving in your direction. In other words, do you see progress towards achieving the public relations goal you established at the beginning of the program? For example, increasing numbers of people appear to understand why the rumor was wrong, or what they believed about your business was simply inaccurate.

If your goal and strategy make sense, and if your message is persuasive and your communications tactics aggressive and well-targeted, signs of public understanding and acceptance will steadily increase.

In which case minding one's business in this manner will prove especially rewarding as the public relations program achieves success.

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.

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

kitchen deep cleaning Deerfield ..

In The News:

X Square Robot unveils Wall-OSS open-source AI model that helps robots adapt to unpredictable real-world tasks beyond narrow scenarios.

Airport workers report surge in fake lost luggage claims as scammers retrieve discarded baggage tags containing passenger names and travel information.

Unlike robotaxi competitors, Tensor focuses on consumer-owned self-driving cars that adapt to highways and urban roads with full redundancy systems for safety.

Medicare scams cost $54 billion in 2024 as fraudsters target beneficiaries with fake calls demanding payments and personal information to steal benefits.

Scammers create fake Evite invitations that mimic legitimate event emails, requiring users to verify senders and use antivirus software for protection.

The new Apple Watch hypertension feature passively monitors blood pressure patterns over 30 days using sensors to detect chronic high blood pressure signs.

Chrome extension spyware disguised as a free VPN service highlights security risks after it captured private browsing data from trusted sites.

New research shows how fatty acids in cooking oil can safely dissolve and recover silver from circuit boards without harmful chemicals or environmental damage.

The Fox News AI newsletter gives you information on the latest AI technology advancements, and about the challenges and opportunities AI presents now and for the future.

Anthropic investigates alarming AI abuse case where hacker automated entire cybercrime campaign using Claude, stealing sensitive data from defense and healthcare firms.

TikTok, Meta and YouTube restrict Charlie Kirk shooting videos with age gates and warnings while X faces criticism for allowing continued circulation.

Cybercriminals use fake troubleshooting websites to trick Mac users into running terminal commands that install Shamos malware through ClickFix tactics.

San Francisco startup Fable launches Showrunner, an AI platform dubbed the 'Netflix of AI' that generates animated episodes from text descriptions with Amazon support.

Apple raised iPhone prices for some models despite receiving tariff relief from President Donald Trump, with the new lineup starting at $799 for the base model.

A two-story 3D concrete printed home in Western Australia demonstrates faster construction methods that could reshape American housing amid rising costs.

Credit scores remain important during retirement for insurance rates and housing applications, while seniors become prime targets for identity theft and financial scams.

Scammers now send unexpected packages with QR codes that redirect victims to fraudulent websites or download malicious software to steal sensitive information.

Meeting AI tools record private conversations alongside work discussions, creating privacy risks that can be managed with proper settings and awareness.

Hotel privacy concerns are valid but rare, with methods to detect hidden tech using smartphone flashlights, mirror tests and scanning apps.

Improve your Wi-Fi speed and reliability with 10 simple router optimization tips that don't require special apps or expensive subscriptions.

A Columbia University breach exposed names, Social Security numbers and academic records of nearly 869,000 people, with notifications beginning in August.

Rental car drivers use AI-powered apps like Proofr to protect themselves from unfair damage fees as major companies deploy automated inspection tools.

Fox News' AI newsletter brings you the latest on technology advancements around artificial intelligence.

OnTrac data breach between April 13-15, 2025, exposed personal information of over 40,000 people including Social Security numbers and medical records.

Mind Your Own Business!

Public Relations