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Alternative Medicine InformationWhy PR Can be Effective "Medicine"
by:
Robert A. Kelly
Please feel free to publish this article and resource box
in your ezine, newsletter, offline publication or website.
A copy would-be be appreciated at bobkelly@TNI.net.
Word count is 1145 including guidelines and resource box.
Robert A. Kelly © 2005.
Why PR Can be Effective “Medicine”
When properly applied by business, non-profit and
association managers, public relations “medicine”
does thing
positive simply about the behaviors of those
important external audiences of theirs that MOST
affect their operations.
It’s easy-to-swallow “medicine” once
it leads managers
to persuade those key outside peoples to their way of
thinking, then come them to take actions that allow the
manager’s department, division or subsidiary to succeed.
In else words, effective public relations “medicine” is
applied once
PR alters individual perception leading to
changed behaviors among a manager’s target “publics,”
thus small indefinite amount bring home the bacon his or her social control
objectives.
Here’s the underlying essence: folk act on their own
perception of the facts before them, which leads to
predictable behaviors simply about which thing
can be
done. Once
we create, change or reinforce that opinion
by reaching, persuading and moving-to-desired-action
the really folk whose behaviors affect the organization
the most, the public relations mission is accomplished.
But managers should always remember that their PR
effort must demand more than special events, brochures
and press releases if they are to come up with the public
relations results they paid for.
Here’s a sampling of what this “medicine” can deliver:
fresh proposals for strategic alliances and joint ventures;
capital givers or specifying sources beginning to look
your way; customers starting to do repeat purchases;
membership applications on the rise; community leaders
beginning to seek you out; welcome bounces in show
room visits; prospects starting to do business with you;
higher worker
retention rates, and even as politicians and
legislators starting to view you as a key member of the
business, non-profit or association communities.
Luckily, your PR folk are already in the perception and
behavior business, so they should be of real use for this
initial opinion watching
project. But you must be certain
of several things. First, who among your PR team actually
understands the blueprint defined above and shows
commitment to its implementation, starting with key
audience perception monitoring? Second, be certain that
your public relations folk actually accept why it’s SO
important to cognize how your most important outside
audiences perceive your operations, products or services.
And third, do sure they believe that perceptions simply about
always result in behaviors that can help or hurt your
operation.
Review the bidding with your PR staff. Especially your
game plan for watching
and gathering perceptions by
questioning members of your most important outside
audiences. Questions on
these lines: how more do you
know simply about our organization? Have you had prior contact
with us and were you pleased with the interchange? Are
you familiar with our services or products and employees?
Have you intimate problems with our folk or
procedures?
You may will to use those PR peoples of yours in that
monitoring capacity since, as noted, they’re already in
the perception and persuasion business. And further,
because it can run into real money victimisation professional
survey firms to do the opinion gathering work. But,
whether it’s your folk or a survey firm asking the
questions, the objective remains the same: identify
untruths, false assumptions, idle rumors,
inaccuracies, misconceptions and any else negative
perception that strength
translate into hurtful behaviors.
Here, you are aiming at creating a PR goal that makes
something simply about the most serious problem areas you
uncovered during your key audience perception
monitoring. Wish it be to straighten out that dangerous
misconception? Correct that gross inaccuracy? Or,
stop that possibly
painful rumor cold?
Where you establish a goal, you must establish a
strategy that tells you how to get there. So support in
mind that there are simply three strategic options
available once
it comes to doing thing
simply about
perception and opinion. Change existing perception,
create perception wherever
there may be none, or
reinforce it. The wrong strategy pick will taste like
blue cheese on your corn flakes, so be sure your new
strategy fits well with your new public relations goal.
You wouldn’t want to choice “change” once
the facts
dictate a strategy of reinforcement.
It’s always a challenge to create an unjust
message
that will help persuade any audience to your way of
thinking. Here, you must do so, and it must be a
well-written message target directly at your key
external audience. Identify your strongest writer
because s/he must build several really special, corrective
language. Words that are not just compelling,
persuasive and believable, but clean and factual if they
are to shift perception/opinion towards your point of
view and lead to the behaviors you have in mind.
Now it’s selection time once again, namely, the
communications plan of action most likely to carry your
message to the attention of your target audience.
There are scores available. From speeches, facility
tours, emails and brochures to user
briefings,
media interviews, newsletters, personal meetings
and many an others. But you must be certain that the
tactics you pick are better-known to reach peoples simply like
your audience members.
By the way, you may will to support this kind of
message low profile and unveil it before smaller
meetings and presentations rather than victimisation
higher-profile news releases. Reason is, the
credibility of any message is fragile and always at
stake, so how you communicate it is a concern.
You’ll need preliminary progress reports, which
will alert you and your PR team to begin a second
perception watching
session with members of
your external audience. You’ll want to use many an
of the same questions used in the 1st benchmark
session. But now, you will be on red alert for signs
that the bad news perception is being altered in
your direction.
If things are not moving fast enough for you, you
always have the option of fast
the effort
by adding more communications plan of action as well as
increasing their frequencies.
The value of public relations as effective medicine
for managers becomes clearer once
you realize that
the folk you deal with behave like everyone else –
they act upon their perceptions of the facts they hear
about you and your operation. Which means you actually
have little choice but to deal promptly and effectively
with those perceptions by doing what is necessary to
reach and come those key external audiences of yours
to actions you desire.
end
Just simply about the author:
Bob Kelly counsels, writes and speaks to business, non-profit and
association managers simply about victimisation the fundamental premise of public
relations to bring home the bacon their operative
objectives. He has been DPR,
Pepsi-Cola Co.; AGM-PR, Texaco Inc.; VP-PR, Olin Corp.; VP-PR,
Newport News Construction & 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
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