When looking at PR from a nonprofit perspective, it is usually much easier to promote goodwill and gain positive feedback from your publics. As a corporation, it’s harder to promote goodwill as your main objective is to gain profit. However, the industry with the most PR challenges is government.
The government, no matter where you’re from, is the system by which the state and community are controlled by a group of people with executive authority (usually) to positively benefit those living in that state. However, with factors such as politics, religion, business and trade, government policies and legislations gain be swayed to fulfil certain needs at certain times.
The challenge in government PR is there are so many divisions within the state that it’s difficult to gain public acceptance for everything. For example, the controversial Canadian Bill C-51 is under major scrutiny especially within the immigrant and dual citizenship population. PR is to promote goodwill between the government and its publics but in this situation it’s extremely difficult to control their messages for something so widely unaccepted.
Another major challenge for PR professionals is representing government officials who are usually at the center of the media spotlight. Being able to handle issues/crises (such as mishandling taxpayers’ dollars for their own benefit) in a timely manner is a necessary skill. Citizens depend on their government to regulate and to uphold the law them same way as they do. However, humans are flawed and when the opportunity to take advantage of their power over others arises, most aren’t hesitant to submit to greed and corruption.
These are just some challenges that PR professionals face in government and there are certainly more avenues to explore such as elections and current trends. However, I’m interested in what you have to say.
Despite your opinions on Apple’s technology innovation (or lack thereof), there’s no denying that they’re taking the world by storm. (Apple Storm = Potential smoothie name? No? OK.)
However, when the technology giant lost their prized possession (in this case, iPhone 4 prototype), Apple went from unstoppable to unforgivable.
Apple’s Whoopsie
In 2010, Gray Powell (a young Apple Software Engineer) misplaced the iPhone 4 prototype when he celebrated his birthday at an Irish pub. Apple got hold of this information and chose to keep the issue private. Their efforts to locate the phone were unsuccessful when someone called into Apple customer care looking to return the lost phone. However, the representative knew nothing about the lost prototype and thought it was a hoax or knockoff—so they ended the call.
The person who found the phone later went to Gizmodo and sold the phone for $5,000. Gizmodo tore it apart to reveal its specs and later confirmed it was authentic. A week later, Gizmodo released an exclusive iPhone 4 leak article unleashing pandemonium in the tech world. Apple lost major free media from this debacle from what it would have gained at their iPhone 4 launch.
Apple formally requested to recover the prototype from Gizmodo if they confirm that it was the lost iPhone 4. Apple grudgingly confirmed and was finally reunited with their beloved prototype. However, Apple did not stop there. With a warrant, police raided Gizmodo editor’s home, seizing his computer. Lets just say, media had a lot to cover.
What They Should Have Done
Apple failed on many accounts: succumbing to secrecy, lack of informing key people, and just plain not playing fair.
Hopefully Apple learned from their mistakes but if they didn’t, then I have a few suggestions *smirk*. Of course, it’s too late to change the past; however, there’s always an opportunity to improve the future.
In this case, Apple should have been more open to receive help. A small group of people looking for a small, handheld device in a big city (or country) seems hopeful but unlikely. They should have admitted they made a mistake and had some fun with it. They’re all about innovation and change, right? Inform your employees, create a challenge/campaign, be creative. That way, maybe when the lost iPhone was called into Apple’s customer service centre, the problem could have been solved there.
Another suggestion is to not be so protective. Now that information is more accessible than ever before, people crave for authenticity. No one likes a snotty two-shoes. Business should be more meaningful and “human”. Create genuine relationships. Be supportive. Don’t raid other people’s houses when the fault is yours!!
Who knows. Maybe this was a PR stunt between Apple and Gizmodo. Maybe Gray Powell never had the phone in the first place. Whatever the truth is, Apple made big waves in the media. Unfortunately, mostly negative.
Besides coming up with lame attempts to reference this famous movie, everyone should know PR professionals are superheroes.
We face challenges left and right, equipping ourselves with the utmost, state-of-the-art tools when utilizing our unfathomable writing and communicating skills. We take time to draft plans looking for the best strategic approach to defend our world (or, at least, our brand).
However, when we’re faced with “battles” that can tarnish your brand’s reputation, it’s important to remember these five tips:
5 Superhero Tips to Defend Your Brand
Respect Concerns
It’s important to defend your brand’s views whilst respecting concerns because you want to maintain a positive image. Genuinely listening to concerns and being open to differing opinions is an amazing ability all PR superheroes should have. Simple, positive acknowledgement can go a long way. Your brand becomes reputable in valuing the opinions of other. Respect should be given and when you’re honouring another person, you become respectable.
Protect the Brand’s Vision/Mission/Values
It’s also important to uphold your brand’s vision, mission and values. These principles are the core of your business and if controversy easily persuades you, then you may want to revisit your beliefs.
Whether a concern is positive or negative, your brand should align with it’s principles. Of course, if it’s a grave concern and your brand is liable, then it’s probably time to take a step back and re-evaluate your organization.
Listen to Your Stakeholders
Extremely important. Cannot stress this enough. The #1 rule of PR is toknow your audience. Your stakeholders are the driving force of your organization. Without them, where would you be?
There’s incredible value in listening to your stakeholders and applying their feedback to your organization. You want them to know that you genuinely care about their views. Your goals should always be to build positive relationships, retain trust and gain support.
Be Transparent
Concerns will arise no matter your level of transparency. However, more concerns will arise due to uncertainty. If you’re not actively communicating with your stakeholders, then you’re on your way to losing their trust.
People respect integrity and (especially in the age of social media) tend to question organizations more often than before. There’s a plethora of information right at our fingertips. You don’t want to hide valuable information because, in one way or another, the truth will come out.
Don’t Come Off Too Defensive
Lastly, don’t be that person who needs to defend every single point just to prove they’re right. Sometimes, you’re probably wrong. Coming off as too defensive leaves a negative impression. You don’t want to be seen as rude, stubborn or suspicious.
Be polite. Acknowledge the person. Formulate key messages, for any sort of concern, prior to responding. Be timely and be sure to address concerns with respect and honesty whilst maintaining a positive brand image.
Every organization is different. There may be differing opinions to this blog post; however, one important takeaway is to be human. Humanize your brand—don’t be a robot. People relate more to genuine traits than traditional “push selling” ways of doing business.
What are your thoughts? Do you agree/disagree? Can you add one more tip?
Communication is just as much receiving a message as it is sending one. Human interaction is a need most cultures value, and we mostly speak to be heard. Unfortunately, there are many factors that result in miscommunication.
unclear message
unable to decode message as intended
alternative perceptions
language barriers
external/internal noise
Some factors we can’t control. To be a smarter communicator, we need to know which factors we can control and how to effectively control them.
How can we be better communicators?
1) Know your audience.
If you are (or will be) studying public relations (PR), this often comes up, but it’s so essential to everything you do! A part of being a smarter communicator is understanding who your audience is, what they like/dislike, and how they think and behave.
2) Know which platform to use.
Utilize channels that make sense for your target audience and message, and know when the use them.
Different Types of Communication in PR
In 1984, James E. Grunig developed the ‘Four Models of Public Relations’ in his book (with Todd Hunts) modelling different forms a communication between an organization and its stakeholders. Below is the model that helped shaped what the public relations industry is today. (Source)
Press/Agent Publicity — One-Way Communication “Uses persuasion and manipulation to influence audience to behave as the organization desires.”
Public Information Model — One-Way Communication “Uses press releases and other one-way communication techniques to distribute organizational information. The public relations practitioner is often referred to as the in-house journalist.”
Two-Way Asymmetrical Model — Two-Way Communication “Uses persuasion and manipulation to influence audiences to behave as the organization desires. Differs from the press agentry model through the use of research to find out how best to persuade stakeholders.”
Two-Way Symmetrical Model — Two-Way Communication “Uses communication to negotiate with the public, resolve conflict and promote mutual understanding and respect between the organization and its stakeholders.”
3) Tailor your message.
Be simple and clear.
Based on your research, configure a message that your audience will hear and have some sort of response to. Good writing skills are important in PR (I’m definitely learning everyday). It’s an art (but certainly challenging) to express an idea(s) and have your audience understand and believe the message. Knowing your audience and which platform to use helps in combating miscommunication, but tying that all together with a clear and simple message is the cherry on top. Practice your craft: write, write, write.
Tips on Reaching Your Audience On Social Media
There are many available channels to help you broadcast yourself/organization on social media. Here are the three main channels used today:
Facebook
You can create ads and boost posts for different purposes (eg: page likes, website clicks, offers, etc.).
This example is the Page Likes ad option for an organization I moderate, Tangles4U. What’s great is you can customize your target audience’s location, age, interests, behaviours, etc. and on the right hand side, it also shows your potential reach based on your specifications. After this step, you determine your budget for this particular campaign. Facebook automatically broadcasts it for you until the budget or potential reach is met.
Twitter
ads.twitter.com is another great tool that I use for @Tangles4U. You’ll need to link an existing Twitter account in order to utilize the features, but once you’re in it’s much like Facebook. You have the options to create different campaigns for tweet engagements, website clicks, followers, etc. Twitter Ads is a little more complicated than Facebook Ads where it’s not a simple input form process and you have to select through a series of options.
This example is Targeting for a tweets engagement ad. Your specifying options are through keywords, television, interests and followers, and target audiences. Budget setting is similar to Facebook. Personally, I like Facebook’s process better, but it depends on your audience and message. Here’s a quick snapshot:
LinkedIn
Lastly, we have LinkedIn’s campaign manager. Here you can create an ad or sponsor content (that’s already existing). I prefer this process over Twitter because it’s much simpler to use. You also set budgets for each campaign.
When you click “More targeting options” it reveals the options below:
Each channel has its own metrics tracking system which is great for evaluating the success of your campaign. This was a very brief run through of how to target your audiences using ad options on social media, but there’s so much more to venture through. I’m hoping the more I get comfortable with knowing my audience, picking different channels and developing messages that I can utilize these great features on social media.
RACE is an acronym used widely by many PR professionals throughout decades. Breaking down the letters and delving into the different concepts instills analytical thinking and focuses on developing strategic approaches rather than racing to the action.
Over the years, other acronyms were developed but each one ultimately provides the same outcome: a step-by-step process to achieve effective PR plans. Below is a brief overview of RACE to get you started.
Research
In the world of PR, research is absolutely key. It’s prudent to invest of a lot of time into this first step — because it’s the most important. Research is the foundation to which we develop strategies and tactics to execute successful PR plans.
Begin with a situation analysis. Identify a problem/issue and analyze the situation. What information is needed? Who has a stake in this situation? What is the current public opinion? Do a SWOT analysis. Develop your understanding by asking the right questions and delving deep into the necessary research.
Assessment
With the information you gathered in ‘R’, it’s time to develop your objectives; plan your next course of action. What do you want to achieve? (Eg: build awareness of brand to university students) Who is your target audience and what do you want them to think, feel or do?
Developing strategies is the next essential step — how will you achieve your objectives? Identify your publics, stakeholders, key messages and communication channels. (Eg: utilize social media)
Create the message and get it to the public. What tools will you use to communicate key messages? (Eg: Facebook, Twitter) What is your timeline of execution? What is your budget?
Evaluation
Lastly, in everything that we do in PR, we need to determine our successes using metrics. This happens during and after the plan’s execution. Measure your results against your objectives. Set benchmarks throughout the execution to see whether or not the plan is on track.
Did your target audience understand the messages? Was the plan on schedule and within budget? Were there any surprises? How can we improve next time?
Will RACE Work for You?
RACE is a new concept for many (myself included). To familiarize ourselves with this process, apply the above steps to your organization. In addition, refer to PR plan examples to develop your understanding of RACE. Here are a couple of great examples:
Everyone has their preferences. RACE adapted from mixing many different elements into an simple step-by-step process.
I’m interested in hearing what works and doesn’t work for you! Do you think RACE will help you in your future PR plans? What processes do you take in planning for PR? What are your suggestions?
Happiness is one of the most valuable traits we wish to possess — but why are some of us not happy?
I used to be (actually, still am at times) a very anxious person, and when my mind is clouded by doubt and fear, I’m no longer at peace. My peers and I are a month into our year-long, intensive program in PR and Marketing, and have many other responsibilities that we’re trying to juggle (such as working, caring for family, and volunteering). For me, it’s getting to a point where my strength and patience are being tested.
My classmate posted five great ways to manage stress that surely come in handy, and along with managing stress, I also feel the need to care for my mental and spiritual being.
I love to watch Soul Pancake’s ‘The Science of Happiness’ series because it really tugs on the heart. It shows how adopting different aspects of life (like forgiveness, kindness, gratitude and positivity) influence our happiness.
A life of happiness is a one full of meaning and purpose. Being the anxious person that I was, and not happy with where my life was going, I turned to these points:
1) Ask important questions.
Learn to understand you! If we want change in our lives, how can we know where to go if we don’t know where we are?
Who am I? What/Who do I love? What motivates me? What is important to me? Why do I do the things I do? Why am I concerned with certain things? Find the meaning behind your actions.
2) Reflect. Reflect. Reflect.
I don’t journal as often as I should, but it’s a great way to help you reflect on your day/week or on certain aspects of your life. It’s also a great way to document your personal journey. Often times, when I’ve felt discouraged, I’d look back on past journal entries to remind me that progress is slow, but still happening.
3) Be thankful.
When we appreciate our surroundings and the people that touch our lives, our attitudes change dramatically. Be thankful for what you have, and don’t be fixated on what you don’t have.
4) Think positively.
“Pain is inevitable. Suffering is optional”.
― Haruki Murakami, What I Talk About When I Talk About Running
Dr. Darryl Cross illustrates how to eliminate negative self-talk if we change our thinking. We will always experience external and internal triggers (whether good or bad) that transcends into how we think about that particular trigger. If our thoughts are positive, our mood/emotions will reflect those positive thoughts, which in turn influences our actions. If our thoughts are negative, our moods and actions will reflect a different outcome.
5) Learn to let go.
Trust. Most of us tend to want control of our situations because we dislike uncertainty, but we can’t control everything. Strength draws from accepting uncertainty and understanding that we don’t have the power to control every situation.
6) Do not be afraid.
“Take chance, make mistakes, get messy!”
— The Magic Schoolbus
It’s okay to make mistakes; perseverance is key. The point is to learn from our wrongdoings, in hopes of not repeating the same mistakes.
You are capable of much more than you think you are, and when you realize this, your challenges become less and less of a nuisance. You put value into someone’s life, whether you think you do or not.
7) Be in the present.
It’s important to reflect on your past, but not live in it. It’s also important to think about your future, but don’t let it control and define every moment you have now. There’s beauty all around us that we sometimes fail to notice because we’re so busy moving — we forget to just stop and savour the moment. Being in the stillness of the moment is one of the best remedies for a troubled soul.
8) Surround yourself with like-minded people.
The world can pull us in so many different directions, and when you’re trying to go a certain way, it’s helpful to have a support system of people with the same thinking as you to keep you on your path.
We weren’t created to be alone, and we can help each other in many ways. You and I are different, and when when bring those differences together, we can achieve great things!
9) Give.
Don’t focus your attention on material wealth — your possessions don’t define you. Spreading love is one of the greatest gifts we can ever give. There will always be someone in need of help, and we can give in so many ways. Giving someone your time is truly an act of love.
“Let us not be satisfied with just giving money. Money is not enough, money can be got, but they need your hearts to love them. So, spread your love everywhere you go.”
— Blessed Mother Teresa
10) You are your best you.
Self-worth is important. Realizing who you are, and who you were created to be is one of the best epiphanies anyone can ever experience. Be truthful to yourself. If you constantly compare yourself to other people, where does that leave you? They are not you — you are you. Learn to understand and appreciate your person.
“You is kind. You is smart. You is important.”
― Kathryn Stockett, The Help
Life should be simple, and I hope some of these points help you as much as they’ve helped me.
Do you have any to add? What do you think of these points? I’m interested in hearing your thoughts and what helped you!
Authenticity is a big factor on social media. With the ‘rise of the internet’ (I feel like this can be a movie title), we are more conscious of our surroundings. Now, we receive information at rapid speeds, and this puts pressure on organizations to respond/react in a timely manner.
Where ‘content is king‘ used to prevail, has now become ‘contribution is king‘ on social media. Your level of contribution influences your social media engagement (sharing, replying, liking, etc.), which in turn, adds value. But as much as organizations need to focus on contribution, we should never undermine the quality of content we produce.
We are not robots.
Humans crave connection, and so we must connect on a relational level (What Does It Mean to be Human on Social Media). But what about authenticity — what are the intentions behind our actions?
A recent example that comes to mind when dealing with authenticity on social media is how corporations weighed in on the 9/11 anniversary (Brands Miss the Mark with 9/11 Tweets).
There are the obvious cringeworthy tweets (and some moderately okay) but many corporations received backlash considering how sensitive 9/11 is to US citizens (and people around the world). Personally, these tweets are too strategic in the placement of their logos, choice of images and wording (9+11=20% Off? *cringe*) that it makes you question their intentions. Many corporations were practicing the art of ‘newsjacking’ but these tweets didn’t ride well with the public — in turn, damaging brand identity.
“People do not buy goods and services. They buy relations, stories and magic.”
— Seth Godin
As PR specialists, we must never forget our humanity. After all, we are humans relating to other humans! Social media is about socializing, and not so much selling. If we think of our audiences as commodities, then how will that affect brand loyalty, influence and relationships in the long run?
I’m interested in hearing your thoughts!
What do you think about these tweets? Do you think their actions were appropriate, or could they have gone a different route? Do you have other examples of inauthenticity on social media?
Lastly, to leave off with a possible ‘Rise of the Internet’ movie poster 😉
Research is key. It is the first essential step of executing effective public relations. Before developing objectives or planning for events, a foundation must be put in place by gathering information and listening. This initial step is where we need to distinguish and understand our targeted publics.
What is a public?
A public is a distinguished group of people within the general population. These publics are identified based on demographic such as age, income, social strata, education, existing ownership or consumption of specific products; residency; lifestyle; and characteristics. Establishing your publics will help reach your message to the appropriate audience effectively.
Considering the age factor, I best fit into the youth category, being born between 1981 and 2003. Other terms for this age group include Generation Y (Gen Y), Millennials or the E-Generation. Most people born into this age group will spend about 1/3 of their lives online. We are the E-Generation because of our consumption of electronic media. Our lifestyles are geared towards the online community when interacting with friends through social media, text, email, etc. We are a tech savvy generation. We develop attitudes towards certain products, and act as mentors to towards buying decisions. We’ve become extremely resourceful and independent.
Ethnically, I belong into the Filipino community (although my nationality is Canadian). My parents moved into Canada from the Philippines, and in the way that I was brought up, I inherited the characteristics and lifestyles of a Filipino. Some of these characteristics include food choices, music, religion, and language. This lifestyle separates us from other ethnicities in how we present ourselves, in our traditional celebrations, and interactions with people. Although I was born in Canada, I am highly influenced by the Filipino culture.
Lastly, I’m a woman! Gender plays a huge role in distinguishing publics. We may share similar traits with men, but women behave differently. Our buying habits, opinions, and interests may not be the same, and in the way we communicate/express our emotions are also different. We have needs that men don’t, and it’s important to address what those are.
Researching is strenuous work, but defining your public is integral. The more you develop and narrow your understanding of who your public is, the better your campaign objectives will be.
A common mistake when developing a public relations plan is confusing strategy with tactic (and vice versa). They are alike and go hand-in-hand with each other, but have different purposes.
What is the difference?
A public relations strategy describes the overall plan of HOW you will achieve your program’s objectives. This process determines your key publics, your overall approach, and the communication channels you will use. What strategy is not, is specifying WHAT the activities/actions are to implement your strategy into operation — these are your tactics. These may include garage sale fundraisers, press conferences, newsletters, etc.
Here are some in-depth examples of PR plans to further your understanding between strategy and tactic:
As a PR person, we tend to jump right into the tactics, skipping the strategic process. So we come to the question of asking if strategy is really necessary?
Importance of Developing a Strategy Scott Fogg mentioned in his blog post on Two Common Communication Mistakes that “we marry the tactics and date the strategy.We get so welded onto how we are doing it, even when it loses it effectiveness we still insist on doing it the same way.” As PR people, we need to be experts in our tools such asevent planning, social media and writing. But in order to have an effective campaign, we need to develop a plan to determine which tools are best to deliver our key messages.
In my understanding, our tools are like ingredients. You have your spices, vegetables, protein — everything you need to prepare a meal. But where do you start? What’s on the menu? Who are you feeding and for how many people? What do they like to eat? What impression are you trying to make? We need a plan to help narrow the scope. Before going straight to cooking/preparing, we need to answer these questions to ensure we are in line with our objectives. When we develop our strategies, our tactics should flow naturally.
I do have to admit, I get confused between strategy and tactic every now and then but it’s important to know the theory. When you’re struggling to understand their differences, it helps to apply them into real situations (and maybe create cheesy analogies along the way).
Working in the non-profit sector is my goal upon graduating from the Public Relations Marketing Management program and I was fortunate to meet with Donna-Lynn Baskin (Communications Coordinator at Siloam Mission) to learn the ins and outs of public relations.
Donna-Lynn recently moved o Winnipeg having been in the work force for almost 30 years. She graduated from Dalhousie University, Halifax in 1987 and received her teaching license. She loved to work with people, but later found that teaching was not her passion. Throughout her career, Donna-Lynn found herself moving more towards a communications role. From being an instructor, to becoming a learning designer in the early 90’s, she created web/computer based learning content. With her knowledge in education and being comfortable in front of people, she was put into PR positions.
Life as a PR Professional
Working in public relations is about “staying ahead”, says Donna-Lynn. There is a need to be proactive and ready for change. Keeping up with emails, phone calls, social media and the news is a daily requirement. Most of the time you’re listening and looking for that buzz.
Donna-Lynn also explains that we don’t work and live by the calendar, and this is true because anything can happen. Sticking to a regular work week is needed in a nonprofit organization, but working in communications you are likely to accumulate overtime hours. Clear communication between PR professionals in non-profit is needed to work out logistical time balances, to avoid overlaps, and to uphold the responsibility of their donors.
Writing is also a key component in public relations. As a PR person, you must be a writer. You need versatility because of the constant switches between writing for print and web. It’s important to be “mentally agile to make those switches while maintaing the brand’s consistency,” Donna explains, but isn’t an easy thing to do. For Donna-Kyn, writing is the highest level of creativity — her happy-time. When she’s not writing for Siloam Mission, she’s writing web based media for columns and as a ghost writer.
One project she’s especially proud of was the CEO Sleepout held last September. The event garnered a lot of attention from various media outlets, and was the most successful Winnipeg CEO Sleepouts in its three year history. Donna-Lynn had to step up and help organize the media frenzy despite being new to Winnipeg. The pressures of having to meet deadlines, juggle between people wanting an interview with Siloam Mission, and free Tim Horton’s coffee all before 10 pm was an opportunity rather than a setback for Donna-Lynn. In that 2 to 3 hour span, she met about 300 people that night.
Professional networking. Building positive relationships is important in PR. She says, “no matter the industry, connect with those who are in the same profession.” These interactions keep you enthusiastic. It’s a great way to give and gain different ideas/views towards challenges.
Build an online portfolio. Showcase your work. Save everything! Add blog content, and any written material including school work to your portfolio. Also, screenshot and include blog posts that you are most especially proud of. Wix and Weebly are resources to you build your online portfolio with drag-and-drop ease.
Create your brand — you! You are your own product. Donna-Lynn states that “90% of communication involves no words, and happens within the first few seconds.” It’s about the visuals and first impressions, everything should flow from that. Your brand is your voice — your outlet to the public. It’s important to invest in improving your brand, but be aware of the way you live your personal life as it affects your professional life. Whether you are on-the clock or off, you are still your brand.
Meeting with Donna-Lynn was a definite eye-opener into the field of public relations.I’ve gained so many insights into PR that my textbook could never prepare me for — and most importantly — a mentor who provided me with great tips. PR is not as glamourous as it seems, but more and more I find myself looking forward to what is to come!
Mercy-Anne Guevarra 