Public Relations includes a variety of tactics that
strengthen your credibility, enhance your image, develop
goodwill or influence public opinion. As The Public
Relations Institute of Australia defines it - PR is a
two-way communication between an organisation and its
publics.
Put simply PR involves communicating who you are, what you
do, why you do it and how you make a difference.
Forward-thinking organisations know that communicating -
and doing so frequently and effectively - is a very
important aspect to the success of their business.
Public relations tactics used can include investor
relations, crisis communications, community relations,
special events, newsletters, annual reports, sponsorships,
speaking opportunities, news conferences, media relations,
publicity and other activities designed to mould opinion.
Marketing and Public Relations are often confused - what is
the difference?
Marketing covers all aspects of producing, promoting and
distributing goods and services to the consumer. The main
elements of marketing are the product, its price,
distribution and promotion - which includes advertising as
well as publicity. Selling is one of the most vital
functions of marketing and of course advertising is a very
important part of this function. Sales promotions would
also be part of a marketing campaign. An example would be a
competition giveaway on the back of a cereal pack.
Marcomms is also a widely used term these days and stands
for Marketing Communications. This role or department in a
large organisation generally covers both marketing and
public relations. There are also advertising agencies,
marketing agencies and public relations consultancies that
provide an integrated mix of these services.
Often marketing, advertising and sales will work together
in a major corporation while corporate and internal
communications, media relations and public relations will
be part of a separate department.
For the small to medium business owner as well as the
larger organisations, all of these elements must work
together to ensure a coordinated approach to getting your
name, reputation or brand "out there". Advertising,
marketing and PR must work together to ensure the
successful roll out of your message, product, or service
into the market place.
What is Publicity? Publicity is designed to generate media
coverage - it is not public relations. Publicity is part of
media relations which is one of several major public
relations functions. Publicity is a very important tactic
of an overall PR campaign. Media coverage on a product,
service, company or cause is vital for helping the
organisation attain its objectives. Print and broadcast
coverage far surpasses advertising in terms of credibility
and delivering value for money. They say publicity is seven
times more effective than advertising. Skilled publicists
are invaluable and there are many public relations
companies that specialise in this skill only.
To "get good PR" is a common view of public relations as
only being publicity. Put simply publicity is making a
suggestion to a journalist that leads to the inclusion of a
company, person or product in a story. Newspapers,
magazines, TV programs and radio shows have large amounts
of space to fill and depend upon publicists to help provide
story ideas, interview subjects, background information and
other material. But that doesn't mean to say you approach
every journalist there is and suggest yourself or your
business as a possible story idea.
You need to know the stories they want to cover whether
it's a business news story or a "feel good" piece for a
weekend magazine. Do your research; find out the most
appropriate publications or TV or radio programs for your
information. Put yourself in the position of the editor and
ask yourself, "Is this something my readers are interested
in?" People who read Financial Review are not the same
people who read That's Life. You need to give the
journalist a story idea. Think of yourself as an editor
coming up with ideas to fill space. Help the journalist do
their work.
Publicists, PR agencies and journalists need to work
together and develop good working relationships so that
everybody achieves the desired result.
What's a Media Release? A media release is a release of a
story to the media. The most important tool for making a
suggestion to a journalist is the press or media release.
A media release is a like a mini news story that presents
the most newsworthy aspect of your product, company or
service in a format and language familiar to the
journalist. A good media release answers the who, what,
where, when, and why of a story. Start with an attention
grabbing headline followed by an exciting lead paragraph.
Usually media people don't read beyond the first paragraph,
so if you don't capture them quickly, it will be hard to
get their attention after that. If it is well written,
concise, and contains good information - your chances of
getting published are increased. Paragraphs subsequent to
the lead may include background information, spokesperson
quotations and other information that can help put the
newsworthiness of the story in perspective.
I hope this has given you a clearer understanding of the
many different yet essential strategies that a business
needs to implement to successfully tell people about their
product or service. Fundamentally public relations is about
communication and making an impression.
----------------------------------------------------
Sue Currie, the director of Shine Communications
Consultancy and author of Apprentice to Business Ace - your
inside-out guide to personal branding, is a business
educator and speaker on personal branding through image and
media. Sign up for free monthly tips on personal and
professional PR at
http://www.shinecomms.com.au/contactmanager/default.cfm
and learn more about how you can achieve recognition,
enhance your image and shine.
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