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Hub You - So Many Managers Doubt PR's Value
Building A Better Brand in the New Year ewsletters,
personal meetings and many others. But be sure the
tactics you pick are known to reach folks just like
your audience members.The new year is well underway and many of us have been using the start of the new year to review, refine and/or restart various things in our businesses. For this article I want to concentrate on writing to encourage you to seize the opportunity to look at your branding for this year.First, let’s define branding. Branding is the process of building a favorable image for a product or company that differentiates it, in the minds of prospects and end users, from other competitors. Secondly, I hope you will agree that branding is strategically important to you and your business. And thirdly, if you have not thought about branding, I hope this article will cause you to start thinking about it for you and your business.I suggest we employ some strategic thinking here. I want you to ask yourself some critical questions about your branding efforts last year and this year. Okay – here are my questions to you.Did you co Reminder: the way you communicate your message will bear heavily on its believability, always fragile at best. Which is why, initially, you may wish to unveil your corrective message before smaller meetings and presentations rather than using higher-profile news releases. Obviously, to show how far the program has come in impacting perception, and thus behaviors, a second perception monitoring session will be needed. The result will be your first progress report and, happily, you can use many of the same questions used in your benchmark session. Only difference now, you’ll be watching for signs that the bad news perception is being altered in your direction. No program can keep running at 90 miles per hour, so if yours slows down, either add more communications tactics, or increase their frequencies, or both. No, public relations is not “pretty much all about press releases, broadcast plugs, brochures and special events.” It IS all about achieving an organization’s operating objectives. And in the process doing something really significant about the behaviors of those important outside audiences that MOST affect the organization, then persuading them to the unit’s way of thinking, and moving them to take actions that allow the organization to succeed. Understanding a Niche As business, non-profit, government agency or association
managers, what they’ll tell you they DO know is, “PR is pretty
much all about press releases, broadcast plugs, brochures
and special events.”When reading and watching television shows about such people like Andrew Carnegie, John Rockerfeller, Henry Ford, E.I.DuPont, and Bill Gates I take note that all of them started with a small niche market. And - for some time - when I looked at their beginnings I would fantasize about doing what they did and then realize that most of what I fantasized about was being rich like them. (Not a good thing if it doesn't help you make that first step.)So recently I began to pay attention to the evolution of these niche market Mega-Industries and noticed that over the years the enhancements, improvements, and device add-ons were done by people who weren't trying to re-invent these Industries, but to help make them better. And I might add made a good living at doing it.So, about a couple of months ago, I was watching a television show about a Department store in New York that holds an annual contest for inventors and thei And that’s too bad. Because what those managers are missing is ANY recognition that strategic public relations could lead directly to achieving their unit’s managerial objectives. Presumably their primary concern! They appear unaware that, along the way, they would be doing something really significant about the behaviors of those important outside audiences that MOST affect the department, group, division or subsidiary unit they manage. They seem equally unaware that they would then be in a position to persuade those key external audiences to their way of thinking, moving them to take actions that allow that manager’s own unit to succeed. I suspect those managers have heard about public relations missions biased towards simple tactics, thus denying them the best that public relations has to offer. Again, that’s too bad. What they require is first-class public relations planning that really CAN alter individual perception resulting in changed behaviors among key outside audiences. But that only happens when they demand more than just communications tactics. That’s when they’ll receive the quality public relations results they deserve. When managers adopt such an approach to public relations, the desired end-products usually soon emerge. For instance, prospects begin to do business with you; membership applications start to rise; welcome bounces in show room visits occur; customers start to make repeat purchases; capital givers or specifying sources begin to look your way; new proposals for strategic alliances and joint ventures start showing up; politicians and legislators begin looking at you as a key member of the business, non-profit or association communities; and community leaders start to seek you out. Obviously, there’s a highly proactive premise undergirding this approach to public relations, to wit: 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. The public relations people on your staff are positioned to help you achieve your managerial objectives. They’re already in the perception and behavior business and can be of real use for your new opinion monitoring project. But be certain those PR folks really accept why it’s SO important to know how your most important outside audiences perceive your operations, products or services. And this is really important: be sure they believe that perceptions almost always result in behaviors that can help or hurt your operation. Better take the time to sit down and review your new PR plan with those public relations professionals, be they agency, staff or parent. Discuss how you will monitor and gather perceptions by questioning members of your most important outside audiences. Suggest asking questions like these: how much do you know about our organization? Have you had prior contact with us and were you pleased with the exchange? Are you familiar with our services or products and employees? Have you experienced problems with our people or procedures? You may conclude that you should pursue your key audience data with a professional survey firm. But be cautious because that course of action may require more expense than using those PR folks of yours in that monitoring capacity. However, regardless of whether it’s your people or a survey firm asking the questions, the objective remains the same: identify untruths, false assumptions, unfounded rumors, inaccuracies, misconceptions and any other negative perception that might translate into hurtful behaviors. Of course you must set a realistic public relations goal which addresses the most serious problem areas uncovered during your key audience perception monitoring. And it must be both realistic and achievable. For example, will your goal be to straighten out a dangerous misconception? Correct a gross inaccuracy? Or, stop a potentially painful rumor before it does more damage? A matching strategy will be just what the doctor ordered. But you have just three strategic options available to you when it comes to solving perception and opinion problems. Change existing perception, create perception where there may be none, or reinforce it. Because the wrong strategy pick will taste like pork gravy on your white bean salad, be certain your new strategy fits well with your new public relations goal. You certainly don’t want to select “change” when the facts dictate a strategy of reinforcement. If there’s any magic to public relations, it’s writing persuasive messages. And the goal is almost always moving a key audience to your way of thinking, so that the resulting behaviors will be to your liking. But such a message must be carefully written, and aimed directly at that key external audience. Get your best writer on this job because s/he must produce language that is not merely compelling, persuasive and believable, but clear and factual if it is to shift perception/opinion towards your point of view and lead to the behaviors you have in mind. Now that your perception-moving message is ready to go, you and your people must wade through a wide selection of communications tactics. They range from speeches, facility tours, emails and brochures to consumer briefings, media interviews, newsletters, personal meetings and many others. But be sure the tactics you pick are known to reach folks just like your audience members. Reminder: the way you communicate your message will bear heavily on its believability, always fragile at best. Which is why, initially, you may wish to unveil your corrective message before smaller meetings and presentations rather than using higher-profile news releases. Obviously, to show how far the program has come in impacting perception, and thus behaviors, a second perception monitoring session will be needed. The result will be your first progress report and, happily, you can use many of the same questions used in your benchmark session. Only difference now, you’ll be watching for signs that the bad news perception is being altered in your direction. No program can keep running at 90 miles per hour, so if yours slows down, either add more communications tactics, or increase their frequencies, or both. No, public relations is not “pretty much all about press releases, broadcast plugs, brochures and special events.” It IS all about achieving an organization’s operating objectives. And in the process doing something really significant about the behaviors of those important outside audiences that MOST affect the organization, then persuading them to the unit’s way of thinking, and moving them to take actions that allow the organization to succeed. Fundraising With a Mardi Gras ThemeLooking for a fun fundraising event to raise money for your nonprofit, church, or favorite cause? A Mardi Gras Fundraiser could be just the thing.The basic premise is fairly simple - a fun night where adults can enjoy good music and great food while letting their hair down with some outrageous costumes and the requisite major bead necklaces.Getting started You'll need a large meeting hall with room for live music or at least a DJ booth. Use a local party rental shops for tables and chairs, etc. and book everything you need well ahead of time.Contact a local restaurant with New Orleans style food with a partnership offering - they provide the food at a reasonable cost and get some great exposure to potential patrons. You might also want to look into conducting a live Cajun cooking demonstration if local regulations permit it.Arrange for music with a Mardi Gras flavor and if you can find a live act, Obviously, there’s a highly proactive premise undergirding this approach to public relations, to wit: 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. The public relations people on your staff are positioned to help you achieve your managerial objectives. They’re already in the perception and behavior business and can be of real use for your new opinion monitoring project. But be certain those PR folks really accept why it’s SO important to know how your most important outside audiences perceive your operations, products or services. And this is really important: be sure they believe that perceptions almost always result in behaviors that can help or hurt your operation. Better take the time to sit down and review your new PR plan with those public relations professionals, be they agency, staff or parent. Discuss how you will monitor and gather perceptions by questioning members of your most important outside audiences. Suggest asking questions like these: how much do you know about our organization? Have you had prior contact with us and were you pleased with the exchange? Are you familiar with our services or products and employees? Have you experienced problems with our people or procedures? You may conclude that you should pursue your key audience data with a professional survey firm. But be cautious because that course of action may require more expense than using those PR folks of yours in that monitoring capacity. However, regardless of whether it’s your people or a survey firm asking the questions, the objective remains the same: identify untruths, false assumptions, unfounded rumors, inaccuracies, misconceptions and any other negative perception that might translate into hurtful behaviors. Of course you must set a realistic public relations goal which addresses the most serious problem areas uncovered during your key audience perception monitoring. And it must be both realistic and achievable. For example, will your goal be to straighten out a dangerous misconception? Correct a gross inaccuracy? Or, stop a potentially painful rumor before it does more damage? A matching strategy will be just what the doctor ordered. But you have just three strategic options available to you when it comes to solving perception and opinion problems. Change existing perception, create perception where there may be none, or reinforce it. Because the wrong strategy pick will taste like pork gravy on your white bean salad, be certain your new strategy fits well with your new public relations goal. You certainly don’t want to select “change” when the facts dictate a strategy of reinforcement. If there’s any magic to public relations, it’s writing persuasive messages. And the goal is almost always moving a key audience to your way of thinking, so that the resulting behaviors will be to your liking. But such a message must be carefully written, and aimed directly at that key external audience. Get your best writer on this job because s/he must produce language that is not merely compelling, persuasive and believable, but clear and factual if it is to shift perception/opinion towards your point of view and lead to the behaviors you have in mind. Now that your perception-moving message is ready to go, you and your people must wade through a wide selection of communications tactics. They range from speeches, facility tours, emails and brochures to consumer briefings, media interviews, newsletters, personal meetings and many others. But be sure the tactics you pick are known to reach folks just like your audience members. Reminder: the way you communicate your message will bear heavily on its believability, always fragile at best. Which is why, initially, you may wish to unveil your corrective message before smaller meetings and presentations rather than using higher-profile news releases. Obviously, to show how far the program has come in impacting perception, and thus behaviors, a second perception monitoring session will be needed. The result will be your first progress report and, happily, you can use many of the same questions used in your benchmark session. Only difference now, you’ll be watching for signs that the bad news perception is being altered in your direction. No program can keep running at 90 miles per hour, so if yours slows down, either add more communications tactics, or increase their frequencies, or both. No, public relations is not “pretty much all about press releases, broadcast plugs, brochures and special events.” It IS all about achieving an organization’s operating objectives. And in the process doing something really significant about the behaviors of those important outside audiences that MOST affect the organization, then persuading them to the unit’s way of thinking, and moving them to take actions that allow the organization to succeed. Goal Setting Before You Investigate Franchises believe that
perceptions almost always result in behaviors that can
help or hurt your operation.I am always shocked by how many potential Franchisees go and start the discussions with Franchisors and start to carry out due diligence without first having set some goals for their new business.Imagine going and looking at new cars to buy, test driving them, discussing the finance options before you even decided your basic needs for a car. For instance how many seats do you need, what kind of driving will you be doing long distance or short commuting.So before you start to look at which will be the best buy franchise, you really need to set out some high level goals for your new business venture.Do a home budget (this is worth doing even you are not looking at starting a business). What are your monthly fixed out goings, fixed are thing like mortgage, insurance etc. Then list out your variable outgoings such as food, entertainment and so on. You should now have an idea of exactly how mu Better take the time to sit down and review your new PR plan with those public relations professionals, be they agency, staff or parent. Discuss how you will monitor and gather perceptions by questioning members of your most important outside audiences. Suggest asking questions like these: how much do you know about our organization? Have you had prior contact with us and were you pleased with the exchange? Are you familiar with our services or products and employees? Have you experienced problems with our people or procedures? You may conclude that you should pursue your key audience data with a professional survey firm. But be cautious because that course of action may require more expense than using those PR folks of yours in that monitoring capacity. However, regardless of whether it’s your people or a survey firm asking the questions, the objective remains the same: identify untruths, false assumptions, unfounded rumors, inaccuracies, misconceptions and any other negative perception that might translate into hurtful behaviors. Of course you must set a realistic public relations goal which addresses the most serious problem areas uncovered during your key audience perception monitoring. And it must be both realistic and achievable. For example, will your goal be to straighten out a dangerous misconception? Correct a gross inaccuracy? Or, stop a potentially painful rumor before it does more damage? A matching strategy will be just what the doctor ordered. But you have just three strategic options available to you when it comes to solving perception and opinion problems. Change existing perception, create perception where there may be none, or reinforce it. Because the wrong strategy pick will taste like pork gravy on your white bean salad, be certain your new strategy fits well with your new public relations goal. You certainly don’t want to select “change” when the facts dictate a strategy of reinforcement. If there’s any magic to public relations, it’s writing persuasive messages. And the goal is almost always moving a key audience to your way of thinking, so that the resulting behaviors will be to your liking. But such a message must be carefully written, and aimed directly at that key external audience. Get your best writer on this job because s/he must produce language that is not merely compelling, persuasive and believable, but clear and factual if it is to shift perception/opinion towards your point of view and lead to the behaviors you have in mind. Now that your perception-moving message is ready to go, you and your people must wade through a wide selection of communications tactics. They range from speeches, facility tours, emails and brochures to consumer briefings, media interviews, newsletters, personal meetings and many others. But be sure the tactics you pick are known to reach folks just like your audience members. Reminder: the way you communicate your message will bear heavily on its believability, always fragile at best. Which is why, initially, you may wish to unveil your corrective message before smaller meetings and presentations rather than using higher-profile news releases. Obviously, to show how far the program has come in impacting perception, and thus behaviors, a second perception monitoring session will be needed. The result will be your first progress report and, happily, you can use many of the same questions used in your benchmark session. Only difference now, you’ll be watching for signs that the bad news perception is being altered in your direction. No program can keep running at 90 miles per hour, so if yours slows down, either add more communications tactics, or increase their frequencies, or both. No, public relations is not “pretty much all about press releases, broadcast plugs, brochures and special events.” It IS all about achieving an organization’s operating objectives. And in the process doing something really significant about the behaviors of those important outside audiences that MOST affect the organization, then persuading them to the unit’s way of thinking, and moving them to take actions that allow the organization to succeed. 5 Tips on How to Deal with Jobs Fairs ion? Correct a gross
inaccuracy? Or, stop a potentially painful rumor before it
does more damage?A job fair represents a good opportunity for job seekers to meet with the job offers in persons, meaning with the employing companies representatives. If you are looking for a job, a job fair is an event you shouldn’t miss. You will have the chance to interact personally with the employers and you will get a glimpse on the companies inside. You will also have the opportunity to meet a lot of employers in a short time and in the same place. And you may even get an interview right there if you are exactly what the employer is looking for.In order for you to best benefit from a job fair, here are some tips you should take into consideration.First of all, always do your homework before attending a job fair. Study the list of the companies participating to the job fair and select those you are interested in applying for a job. Keep in mind that you will have limited time at the job fair and you will not be able to meet al A matching strategy will be just what the doctor ordered. But you have just three strategic options available to you when it comes to solving perception and opinion problems. Change existing perception, create perception where there may be none, or reinforce it. Because the wrong strategy pick will taste like pork gravy on your white bean salad, be certain your new strategy fits well with your new public relations goal. You certainly don’t want to select “change” when the facts dictate a strategy of reinforcement. If there’s any magic to public relations, it’s writing persuasive messages. And the goal is almost always moving a key audience to your way of thinking, so that the resulting behaviors will be to your liking. But such a message must be carefully written, and aimed directly at that key external audience. Get your best writer on this job because s/he must produce language that is not merely compelling, persuasive and believable, but clear and factual if it is to shift perception/opinion towards your point of view and lead to the behaviors you have in mind. Now that your perception-moving message is ready to go, you and your people must wade through a wide selection of communications tactics. They range from speeches, facility tours, emails and brochures to consumer briefings, media interviews, newsletters, personal meetings and many others. But be sure the tactics you pick are known to reach folks just like your audience members. Reminder: the way you communicate your message will bear heavily on its believability, always fragile at best. Which is why, initially, you may wish to unveil your corrective message before smaller meetings and presentations rather than using higher-profile news releases. Obviously, to show how far the program has come in impacting perception, and thus behaviors, a second perception monitoring session will be needed. The result will be your first progress report and, happily, you can use many of the same questions used in your benchmark session. Only difference now, you’ll be watching for signs that the bad news perception is being altered in your direction. No program can keep running at 90 miles per hour, so if yours slows down, either add more communications tactics, or increase their frequencies, or both. No, public relations is not “pretty much all about press releases, broadcast plugs, brochures and special events.” It IS all about achieving an organization’s operating objectives. And in the process doing something really significant about the behaviors of those important outside audiences that MOST affect the organization, then persuading them to the unit’s way of thinking, and moving them to take actions that allow the organization to succeed. Advertising - Should You Be Advertising Your Services? ewsletters,
personal meetings and many others. But be sure the
tactics you pick are known to reach folks just like
your audience members.You offer a reliable, quality service. You know that if more people knew what you can do, you'd increase sales. So you advertise in the most likely media for potential clients to read about you. But there's no response. Why?If this scenario is familiar to you there's a few likely causes.1. Maybe your ad's aren't designed well - poor layout, inappropriate offer, etc.2. Maybe you have selected the wrong media, placement or timing.3. Maybe you shouldn't be advertising your services.Now I know there's a lot to consider when writing advertisements - creating "killer headlines", long copy versus short copy arguments, using white space, etc - and I could give you some tips on how to buy media. But I'm not getting into that today. I'm going to talk about the third point - maybe you shouldn't advertise.But wait! (I hear you ask)... Why shouldn't I advertise my business?Put simply, some servi Reminder: the way you communicate your message will bear heavily on its believability, always fragile at best. Which is why, initially, you may wish to unveil your corrective message before smaller meetings and presentations rather than using higher-profile news releases. Obviously, to show how far the program has come in impacting perception, and thus behaviors, a second perception monitoring session will be needed. The result will be your first progress report and, happily, you can use many of the same questions used in your benchmark session. Only difference now, you’ll be watching for signs that the bad news perception is being altered in your direction. No program can keep running at 90 miles per hour, so if yours slows down, either add more communications tactics, or increase their frequencies, or both. No, public relations is not “pretty much all about press releases, broadcast plugs, brochures and special events.” It IS all about achieving an organization’s operating objectives. And in the process doing something really significant about the behaviors of those important outside audiences that MOST affect the organization, then persuading them to the unit’s way of thinking, and moving them to take actions that allow the organization to succeed. In that way, you get both the quality public relations results you deserve, and the best that public relations has to offer
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