May, 2009

Do-It-Yourself Public Relations By Stacy Taylor

Public relations (PR) can generate media and public awareness for any type of business and its products and services. Ask several people to describe PR and youll probably receive varying definitions. Thats because: 1. Many people dont understand the difference between advertising and PR; and, 2. PR is tailored for each specific business. Following is an outline of PR basics you can use for your business.

What is PR? The difference between advertising and PR is that advertising is a guaranteed paid placement arranged through a media outlets ad sales representative, while PR involves a story that is pitched to a reporter working for the outlets editorial department. With an ad, you buy the space (in print or on air), you control the content (by producing the ad), and it runs exactly as you wishwith PR, theres no guarantee how, when, or where your story will run.

Why do PR? If done correctly, PR is capable of reaching a large audience on a small budget. PR and advertising work well together — along with branding — as part of your overall marketing mix. Whats best about PR is that it communicates in a way that advertising cantPR is like a third party endorsement of your business, products, and services by a credible, independent source (the media).

Tailor your PR! For maximum results, PR should be tailored to fit your business unique brand and identity/image, your products/services, pricing and distribution, promotions and events, the industry youre in, and where your business is located. A written business plan — or better, a customized marketing plan for your business — can help define this positioning to serve as your tailored PR plans foundation.

Target your PR! Key to PR success is defining your target market (consumers you want to reach) and target media (outlets that reach your target market). Compiling a media list can be time-intensive and costly, but there are ways to streamline this effort. First, ask your customers which news publications, Web sites, and broadcast news shows they peruse. Also, limit your research to local media, and/or media that cover the products/services you offer, and/or trade media that cover your industry and trends. Become familiar with media outlets and reporters, and the types of stories they run — especially related to your business — and when/how/where these stories are reported.

Be Newsworthy. Create press materials (e.g., press releases, etc.) that are timely, factual and informative, interesting to your audience AND relevant to the media outlet (and reporter) youre targetingthis characterizes your newsworthiness which is core to all PR campaigns. Write your press materials from an objective third-party viewpointthis can be challenging for many entrepreneurs, so search online for free press kit templates and press release examples.

Spread The Word. Distribute your press materials to your media list and follow up. This too can be time-intensive, and it involves some rejection but dont take it personally if media arent interested. Keep in mind that reporters work on deadlines and they need sufficient lead-time to cover a story.

Track Results. Note media responses you receive during your follow-upthis will help you further tailor your PR. Also, be sure to archive media coverage of your businessthese clips go into your press kits and can be displayed in your business, posted to your Web site, used in marketing mailers/emails, and as bragging rights among family and friends!

Stacy Taylor is principal of Taylor Public Relations (http://www.TaylorPublicRelations.com/), a Huntington Beach consultancy specializing in media relations, writing, and events. Stacy has more than 15 years of PR experience, working with consumer product and service businesses, nonprofits, restaurants, retailers, and more.

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Recently, a colleague of mine told a story about how management at his organization had arbitrarily decided to change the title of his department from “Public Relations Department” to “Marketing Communications Department.” Surprised? You should be, but not just because they changed the department title on a whim.

What’s surprising here is that management failed to realize that marketing and public relations are really two very distinct management functions, each ultimately having a significant effect on the organization as a whole. It’s an all-too common mistake in today’s business environment, and an easy one to make. Both are very similar in structure: they work to identify audiences, segment those audiences and set objectives. The purpose of public relations is not, however, to promote goods or services to increase sales, as marketing does.

This isn’t to say that public relations and marketing don’t work together. In fact, to achieve organizational goals, organizations should make use of both functions. Each makes its own special, but complimentary, contributions to building and maintaining the relationships necessary for an organization to thrive.

The Differentiating Factor Marketing always aims at an exchange, usually one that involves money. It is the management function that identifies needs and wants (consumer demand), offers products and services to satisfy those demands and causes some kind of transaction that delivers those products and services in exchange for something of value. It’s the exchange between two parties bit that distinguishes this function from PR.

It’s All Relative. Of course, public relations may, and should, assist in this process, but does so in a different way. Effective PR assists the overall marketing effort by maintaining relationships through gauging awareness, attitude, mitigating crises, controlling damage, enhancing opinions or through other specific objectives not directly linked to sales.

The Whole Picture. Organizationally, marketing is usually a line management function, the first level of management, with supervisory or team responsibility for individuals and tasks. Line management operates in real-time and works closely with the workforce to contribute to the goals of the organization. Public Relations, on the other hand, is a staff management function and one that provides counsel and other services to support line functions.

Not All PR Practitioners Are Spin Doctors. I know that when I said “enhancing opinions” you thought “Ah-ha! They really are only letting us hear what they want us to hear.” The fact is that most PR professionals subscribe to a code of ethics, one that truly values and promotes honesty. What true PR professionals do is work at establishing and maintaining mutually beneficial relationships between an organization and its audiences, those folks on which the success or failure of the organization depends.

In the end, it’s easiest to say that while marketing focuses on exchange relationships with one public (customers), public relations covers a broad range of relationships and goals with numerous audiences, such as employees, investors, governments and special interest groups.

The point is, whether you think you need some really good marketing or a great public relations campaign, you can’t get away without using both.

Introducing Public Relations By Kadence Buchanan

Effective public relations are a process and its essential first step is research. Nowadays, research is widely accepted by public relations professionals as an integral part of the planning, program development, and evaluation process. Before a public relations program is undertaken, information must be gathered, data collected, and interpretation done. Only after the first step is performed, organizations can begin to make policy decisions and map out strategies for effective communication programs.

The second step in the public relations process, after research, is program planning. Prior to the implementation of a public relations activity, it is essential that considerable thought must be given to what should be done and in what sequence to accomplish an organization’s objectives.

A good public relations program should be an effective tool to support an organization’s business, marketing, and communications objectives. In other words, public relations planning should be strategic. A practitioner must think about a situation, analyze what can be done about it, creatively conceptualize the appropriate strategies and tactics, and determine how the results will be measured. Planning also involves the co-ordination of multiple methods to achieve specific results.

Developing a systematic planning prevents haphazard, ineffective communication that may result in unexpected outcomes. Thus, public relations managers need to follow a well-designed program plan that will help them execute their programs effectively and provide the desired results after the completion of the public relations program.

Moreover, business communications, especially those introduced by public relations departments, can present ethical questions. False and misleading advertising is illegal and unethical, and it can infuriate customers. Sponsors and advertisements aimed at children must be very careful to avoid misleading messages. Advertisers of health-related products must also take precautions to guard against deception when using such descriptive terms as low fat, fat free2, and light. In fact, the Federal Trade Commission has issued recent guidelines on the use of these labels.

Finally, public relations companies have introduced the notion of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), which is the recognition that business activities have an impact on society and the consideration of that impact in business decision-making. Obviously, social responsibility costs money. It is perhaps not so obvious that social responsibility is also good business. Customers eventually find out which firm is acting responsibly and which does not. Young public relations professionals should always keep in mind, that just as easily as consumers decide to cast their dollar votes for a product produced by a company that is socially responsible, they can vote against the firm that is not.

Kadence Buchanan writes articles on many topics including Education, Arts, and Science

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By Brian Scott

Public relations is an involved field of work for freelance writers. Freelance public relations usually entails writing reports, designing presentations, putting together ad campaigns, creating press releases, writing speeches, coaching, informing employees/clients/regulatory agencies about what’s going on at the office, and so on.

In short, if you want to freelance as public relations writer, you need a diverse set of skills. This includes exceptional writing ability, a knack for marketing, superior computer skills (with knowledge of presentation and desktop publishing software), and exceptional customer service.

If you don’t have these skills, you can probably outsource some of your work. However, hiring others to do your job for you will seriously dwindle your profits.

Who offers freelance public relations jobs?

Every publicly traded company needs PR people, including many private businesses. Marketing and communications firms are popular examples. In addition, government and non-profit organizations always seek the services of freelance PR pros. Museums, charities, and hospitals are just a few examples that encompass the endless list of organizations needing someone to handle their public relations.

To find public relations jobs, check out employment sites like workopolis.com and Yahoo! HotJobs. It’s also smart to sign up with websites like workinpr.com that specialize in connecting PR jobseekers with employers.

Don’t forget to check out websites like IFreelance and Guru. These freelance job auction sites allow you to bid on projects that suit your timeline, scope of abilities, and desired income level.

How much money can I make in freelance public relations?

That depends on the PR work that you’re doing. Freelance public relations encompass many “sub-jobs,” and consequently, each client will have different tasks that he or she wants you to oversee. A PR client may hire you to do everything from employee newsletters to nationwide marketing campaigns; or the client may hire you to type, copyedit, and proofread press releases. You and your client will have to agree on the list of expectations.

If you’re a jack-of-all-trades public relations writer, then don’t charge less than $40 an hour. If your client wants you to charge by project (which is more common for large PR campaigns), estimate the number of hours you will need and then multiply it by your hourly rate. As your list of happy PR clients grows, you may want to charge more. Many PR freelancers make $150 an hour and up.

In public relations, it is also common to charge by the day. PR professionals usually charge in the range of $300 to $1000 per day or more.

How do I properly respond to a public relations job ad?

Again, it depends on the work the client wants you to do. It also depends on the company it is. If a kids’ soccer league were looking for a PR freelancer, you’d hope to quote them a far smaller fee than you would an oil and gas company!

To ensure you create the best response possible, follow these guidelines:

1. Identify yourself as an extremely capable and professional PR freelancer.

2. Assure the client that you can handle each of the items he or she listed in the ad.

3. Mention how satisfied your previous clients have been with your work.

It’s obviously much easier to get this complex job with prior experience. However, if you don’t have previous PR clients, remember that any job experience with any required job skill is useful. For example, you may have written website content before. It’s not PR experience technically, but it shows you can handle that aspect of the job.

Sample ad

Below is a sample ad for a public relations freelance writer. What would you include in your response?

We are a mid-sized software company that needs a public relations specialist to add energy to our existing ad campaigns. We want to be well positioned within our market to reach out to new customers and generate more sales. You will rewrite our marketing material, design slideshows, and create two press releases per month about our products.

First, let the advertiser know you’re enthusiastic about this job opportunity. The company is looking for someone to reenergize their marketing efforts, so you should convey yourself as an energetic, dynamic person.

Second, address their task list. If you have relevant experience and satisfied past clients, discuss it here. If not, focus on how solid your skills are.

That’s all there is to it! Getting the client excited about your abilities is the key to success in public relations.

Brian Scott is a full-time freelance writer with over a decade of experience. He finds many of his paid freelance public relations jobs at Online Writing Jobs ( http://www.online-writing-jobs.com ), a free jobboard that lets you search thousands of freelance writing jobs.
Source: www.isnare.com

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