If I Were Your Coach, You Would Be Written By Robert A. Kelly.
If I Were Your Coach, You Would Be Written By Robert A. Kelly.
Applying the first principle of public relations, you can influence the actions of external stakeholders in a way that advances your managerial goals. Financial, marketing, crisis resolution, reputation management, and other areas of public relations often have the power to influence behavior change from the outside.
Doing so will have a beneficial impact on the actions of the external audiences that have the greatest bearing on your business. The key is to win over influential outsiders to your point of view, and then to get them to do what you ask so that your division, subsidiary, or department can thrive.
If you want your public relations budget to go as far as it needs to, it's going to take more than just news releases, brochures, and events.
This is the core idea of public relations, which states that individuals behave in predictable ways because they act based on their own interpretation of the facts. Reaching out to the individuals whose actions have the most impact on the company and influencing them to take the desired action is the ultimate goal of public relations.
Capital providers and specifying sources may be more amenable to working with you if you take a public relations approach. Other benefits include better relations with activist groups, more avenues for feedback, suggestions for new partnerships and collaborations, chances to volunteer and be sponsored, an uptick in membership applications and a rebound in showroom visits, and connections with thought leaders and special event organizers.
The educational, labor, financial, and healthcare groups may all benefit from even better partnerships, as could the government and legislative bodies; prospects could begin to collaborate with you; customers could make repeat purchases; promotional contest overtures could be seen; and so on.
Whoever makes the blueprint actually work is the remaining question. Are your employees going to be part of the regular PR team? Alternatively, individuals dispatched to you by a corporate body? Also, a group from a public relations firm... They should be dedicated to the PR plan and its execution, beginning with monitoring the impressions of the target audience, and to you, the senior project manager, no matter where they are from.
Just because a public relations professional calls themselves a PR specialist doesn't guarantee they fully subscribe to the theory. Persuade yourself and your team that understanding how your most valuable external audiences view your operations, products, and services is absolutely critical. Make sure they accept the fact that their views will nearly always influence their actions, which can benefit or harm your unit.
Review the public relations strategy with your PR staff, paying close attention to the section on how you will observe and collect opinions from your most influential external audiences. Such as: what is your level of familiarity with our company? What is your level of familiarity with our company, its offerings, and its personnel? Have we communicated with you before, and how satisfied were you with that exchange? Were our employees or processes problematic for you?
If you have the means to do so, you may always enlist the help of expert survey advisors to manage the program's perception monitoring. However, keep in mind that public relations professionals are also involved in the field of perception and behavior and can work toward the same goal: exposing inaccurate information, harmful assumptions, rumors, misinformation, and other forms of poor perception.
In this case, you should address the outliers that surfaced during your monitoring of important audience perceptions by setting a public relations objective to strive for. And that aim might be to put an end to that possibly deadly rumor, rectify that egregious error, or clear up that harmful misunderstanding.
It goes without saying that having a plan to reach your destination is essential. When faced with a dilemma involving public opinion or perception, you are fortunate in that you only have three strategic options. Alter one's current viewpoint, establish one when none exists, or strengthen an existing one. Be careful that the new plan meshes nicely with your revised PR objective; otherwise, it will be like drinking hot tea with an overabundance of teabags. If the evidence calls for a "reinforce" approach, you shouldn't choose "change" as your method.
A strong message is likely to elicit an emotional response from your intended audience. Still, it takes effort to convince someone of your point of view. That is why your public relations team needs to craft some unique remedial wording. The use of precise, factually accurate language that is also captivating, convincing, and credible. The only way to change someone's mind and get them to do what you want them to do is to do it in this specific method.
Have the experts in public relations look over your message to make sure it makes an impression. Make any necessary adjustments before deciding on the communication strategies that will grab the attention of your intended readers. There are hundreds from which to choose. From briefings for consumers and media interviews to facility tours, emails, brochures, and personal encounters, there is a wide range of communication formats. Make sure the strategies you choose have a track record of success with people who are similar to your target demographic.
It's wise to remember that how a message is delivered might affect its credibility. Instead of employing more public strategies like press releases, you may try presenting it to smaller groups. In conclusion, it is important to acknowledge that progress reports are well-received. This should prompt you and your public relations team to return to the field and initiate a second session of perception monitoring with members of your external audience. It is recommended that you utilize a number of questions from the initial benchmark session. Only this time, you'll be on the lookout for indications that people's perceptions of terrible news are being skewed in your favor.
For the rest of us who struggle with patience, here's a suggestion. Add more strategies and frequencies to your conversations if you feel that things aren't moving quickly enough.
If I were to coach you as a manager on making the most of your public relations budget, I would simply ask that you accept one truth and work backwards from there, following the steps mentioned before.
Those important external audiences whose actions have the greatest impact on your company and your role as manager should be your first priority. The next step is to turn them around by influencing those influential people to see things your way and take the necessary steps to assist you reach your managerial goals.
end You are allowed to use this piece and the resource box in any online or offline newsletter, magazine, or newspaper. Bob Kelly at bobkelly@TNI.net would be grateful for a copy. Including the guidelines and resource box, the word count is 1220.
Copyright 2004 Robert A. Kelly.
Post a Comment for " If I Were Your Coach, You Would Be Written By Robert A. Kelly."