Leaders in the business world need public relations big time, and they show it every day.
How? By staying in touch with their most important external
audiences and by carefully monitoring their perceptions about the
company, audience member feelings about hot topics at issue, and the
behaviors that inevitably follow.
Could there be an angle here for your business?
What I mean is, once you interact with, then learn what that key
target audience of yours believes about you and your organization, a
corrective public relations goal – a specific behavior change -- can be
established.
Which then requires that you identify a strategy. There are just
three choices here, create opinion where none exists, change existing
opinion, or reinforce it.
It’s a logical sequence. With your goal and strategy now set, you
need persuasive messages with a good chance of moving perceptions (and
thus behaviors) in your organization’s direction. But you must make sure
the messages talk not only to the current topic at issue, but to any
misconceptions or inaccuracies encountered during your information
gathering, and to any problems that might be brewing.
What will you do with your new message? You will carry it to the
attention of your priority audience. You’ll use communications tactics
that are credible in the eyes of the receiver, and effective in reaching
him or her. You’ll also want tactics that stand a good chance of moving
opinion in that target audience, on the topic at issue, in your
direction.
Fortunately, there are many communications tactics to choose from:
newsworthy announcements, letters-to-the-editor, news releases, radio
and newspaper interviews, brochures, speeches and on and on.
Now, you’re back to the monitoring mode as you interact once again
with members of the key target audience. With your communications
tactics hammering away, you keep one eye peeled for signs of target
audience opinion shifts in your direction. The other eye, (and ears)
stay alert for any references by print and broadcast media, or other
local thoughtleaders to your carefully prepared message.
The bottom line is, are perceptions and behaviors within the target
audience being modified? If not, adjustments to your communications
tactics – often a big increase in, and wider selection -- must be made.
Your message may also need to be sharpened and its factual basis
strengthened.
Gradually, you’ll begin to notice changes in opinion starting to
appear along with a growing receptiveness to those messages of yours.
This is real progress.
Should you still need encouragement to hang in there with your brand
new public relations program, consider this. A single issue – for
example, a potentially dangerous, unattended perception among a key
audience -- can spread like wildfire nudging any business closer to
failure than success.
That statistic alone should make you feel pretty good about public relations.
by: Robert A. Kelly
About the Author:
Bob Kelly counsels, writes and speaks 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 |