Things I've Learned About Public Relations

Helpful Information On Various Aspects Of Public Relations And Communications

NOTE: Permission is hereby granted to reproduce any of the following with proper attribution, if it is for educational (or not-for-profit) uses. For commercial use, contact the author, Craig Miyamoto.

Achieving Societal Alignment Business Communications (Realities) Candor (Transparency) Coalitions Communications Audits Community Relations 1 Community Relations 2 Constructive Engagement Counselor Responsibilities Creativity Triad Crisis Management Employee Relations Ethics, Public Relations Environmental Public Relations

Goals vs Objectives Integrated Communications Internet Problems Issues Management Linear & Non-Linear Thinking News Media Credibility News Media Policy News Media Problems (2 Parts) News Media's Tough Questions Online Web Marketing Persuasive Writing Techniques Public Relations Plan, How To Write Public Relations' Roles Public Service Announcements

Push-Pull Strategy Reputational Tracking Some Texas Wisdom Stakeholder Buy-In Strategy vs Tactics Special Events (2 Parts) SWOT Analysis Understanding Radicals Understanding Public Relations Use of Color Values-Image Continuum Website Traffic "Zen" of Public Relations

Achieving Societal Alignment

Servicing the public (servicing society, that is) requires good management of expectations � not OUR expectations, but the expectations of those we serve. But we can�t do that unless we�re �way ahead of the curve, unless we make sure that we know exactly what it is that our society expects of us and what we produce and do for them, and how they expect us to behave in the process.
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Alinsky's Rules For Radicals

If your business or organization ever becomes a target of radical activists, it will be extremely helpful to know what strategies of attack will used against you. Short of having spies infiltrate their organization - a practice that is sure to be found out and exposed to your discredit - it would help to study their methods.
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Candor is Essential in Public Relations

Here�s a word that you�ve been hearing a lot of lately � Transparency. Simply stated, it means an organization should be open and honest about everything it does. The concept is not new. At least 40 years ago in college, the word �candor� appeared in public relations textbooks. It means being honest and open.
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Building And Utilizing Coalitions (An Overview)

Sometimes it doesn't pay to go it alone when addressing legislative, social, economic, health, scientific, or religious issues. There IS strength in numbers. But you don't just go out and find allies. You need to organize your efforts, or the coalition can lose its focus.
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Communications Audits

A communications audit can be a useful tool when it comes to analyzing the effectiveness of an organization's persuasive messages - both within and without the organization. While it is not a panacea, it can identify logjams, interference and excessive message-garbling noise that will dilute communications effectiveness.
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Community Relations: Giving It All You've Got

It's considered to be the backbone of public relations activities. But there's more to good community relations than just being a nice neighbor. Business must accept other responsibilities, because no business operates in a vacuum. Good community relations involves listening, allaying fears, protecting health and safety, and being profitable and ethical -- and more.
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Constructive Engagement

Activists, opponents and causes just don't go away - they will stick to our organizations like chewing gum on the soles of our shoes. They will harden their stance, and the effect they have on us will become harder to neutralize than that once-insignificant, nasty, discarded piece of gum. Unless we engage them and give them ownership in negotiated solutions, they will win the battle of public opinion.
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The Creativity Triad

When faced with creative tasks, both orthodox and unorthodox methods can be utilized in order to get the brain moving and the creative juices flowing. Over the years, this is the personal formula that I have developed � it�s a mixture of science, cuisine, and music.
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Crisis Management: How Not to Run Around Like a Chicken Without a Head

If you've planned well, you at least have a chance of survival when a crisis strikes. But you need to keep the lines of communication open, to act and react properly and in a timely manner. You need to keep your head when those around you are losing theirs.
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Crisis Planning: How to Keep from Running Around Like a Chicken Without a Head

It's not a matter of "If." It's more a question of "When?" Every organization needs to have a crisis plan to prepare for what’s going to happen. Here are some tips on how to get started, questions to ask, and what to look out for.
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Employee Relations: A Different Point of View

Employees are more than just a means to a profitable year. In physiological terms, they are the vital organs of the company. So is two-way communication enough, or do we owe them more than that? Can we fulfill our responsibility to them as mere technicians, or do we need to be strategists?
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Ensuring Stakeholder Buy-In

It is essential for an organization or a company to gain the support of its stakeholders (i.e., employees, shareholders, clients, purveyors and others who depend on the organization in one form or another) through communication � everybody knows that. But will this support open and dependable?
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Foundations of a Relevant Community Relations Program

Sound community relations programming is predicated on three basic elements � (1) how it serves the business mission aspect of the organization, (2) how it serves the neighborhood, and (3) how it serves the organization�s employees.
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Goals vs Objectives

Just as there is confusion between a �strategy� and a �tactic,� there is also confusion between a �goal� and an �objective.� Although the terms are sometimes used interchangeably, there are differences between the two.
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How To Write A Comprehensive Public Relations Plan

In public relations, you can't just shoot from the hip. Do that, and you're going to fail -- Big Time. If you want to do your job of influencing public opinion and creating favorable behavior, you've got to proceed in a measured fashion. Shoot from the hip and you'll end up with powder burns on your butt.
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Integrated Communications: A Concept So Old That It's New

Integrated marketing communications, integrated communications, total communications -- no matter what you call it, it all boils down to making sure your message is communicated to the right audiences. And no matter how much the marketing discipline tries to usurp the function from public relations, neither it nor advertising can do what public relations can do for an organization.
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Issues Management: The Crystal Ball

Good issues management identifies early the critical issues that will affect organizations. Once identified, the issues must be influenced in order to prevent them from becoming major problems. Becoming a good issues manager requires the ability to step outside accepted paradigms, forcast trends, and change an organization's practices.
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Journalism's Diminishing Credibility

Oh boy . . . when the news media hits the skids, it really hits the skids. A new poll by the Center for Media and Public Affairs reveals the public's general disdain for the work being done by news people in America. And if public perception really is reality, then journalism has a lot of soul-searching to do.
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The News Media, Part 1

THEY REALLY NEED SOME HELP. The news media . You gotta hate 'em, you gotta love 'em. Whether they know it or not, they really need our help.
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The News Media, Part 2

HOW TO GIVE THEM THE NEWS THEY WANT. Here are 5 steps that will help you publicize your organization or business' accomplishments and events. They aren't easy, but they will increase your chances of influencing the news.
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News Media Policy: The Three A's

Written policies serve as lighted paths to an organization�s success, they help us focus on what we believe and need to do, and finally, they are hostages to performance. Consequently, it is imperative that every organization adopt a policy or set of policies that properly determine how the news media will be acknowledged and treated.
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Online Web Marketing

Marketing online is no different than traditional marketing; the tools are just a little different. Web marketing uses traditional marketing techniques. You still need to develop and communicate from the customer�s perspective, not yours. You need to communicate with them so that THEY can communicate with others.
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Potholes Along The Infobahn

The so-called "information highway" is full of potholes that need to be fixed and filled. As the Internet matures and evolves, these issues are continuing to emerge and are being identified. The basic categories of concern are business, social, and personal freedom issues.
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The Professional Responsibilities Of A Public Relations Counselor

It's awesome. Clients put you in charge of huge budgets and expect you to spend their money wisely and efficiently. How do you live up to the responsibility? With trust, honesty and candor, attention to detail, creativity and team work.
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Proven Techniques for Persuasive Writing

The art of public relations demands that we perfect the craft of our writing. It is with words and action that we are able to persuade groups of people to do what we wish them to.
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Public Relations Ethics

CHALLENGES WE JUST CAN'T IGNORE. The Ethics Police are out there, just waiting for you to trip up. Presented at Mega Comm '96 in Honolulu, this essay examines ethics, truth, and guidelines that might help you make those tough ethical decisions.
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Reflections on Business Communications

Every now and then, one should review some realities of business communications. Start with these.
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Reputational Tracking

�Reputation� reached its heights as a buzz word in the late 1990s, and established itself as a relevant business and public relations strategy. This has not changed. Those with good reputations fare much better than those without.
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Six Steps To Effective PSAs

Effective public service announcements are not easy to write. Picking the right words to fit a 30-second hole of silence could be the hardest thing you ever do.
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Some Texas Wisdom

Once in a while, good stuff comes along in email, like this list of �down-on-the-ranch� wisdom that apparently has been making the rounds for quite some time. As I read through them, it dawned on me that the wisdom they carried could be applied to public relations.
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Special Events: Getting All The Pieces To Fit Together, Part 1

You step out of the boss' office, dripping in a cold sweat. You've just been put in charge of the annual employee dinner. You've never done anything like this before. Your arms are weak. You're wheezing. You are definitely in trouble. Where do you start? Whom do you call? How do you get from today to the day after the dinner?
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Special Events: Getting All The Pieces To Fit Together, Part 2

You've come to grips with your challenge and have moved forward with great vigor. And now that things are well underway, here are the final steps you need to lead your team to a successful company employee dinner event.
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Strategic Roles of Public Relations

Since its early development in the late 19th Century, the public relations function has evolved the roles that it plays in society. Throughout the years, four basic roles that define implementation of public relations strategy have emerged: Educator, facilitator, persuader, and partner.

The Strategic Use of Color

The correct usage of color can help create moods that help establish our audiences� states of mind and influence their predilection to a specific behavior on our behalf.

Strategic SWOT Analysis

The familiar and oft-utilized SWOT scan of an organization�s operating environment also can be used during a communications audit to determine the effectiveness and efficacy of the organizations efforts to influence its stakeholders.
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Strategy vs Tactics

There is often confusion about the difference between a �strategy� and a �tactic.� Occasionally, they are used interchangeably, and of course, this is a mistake.
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Tough Media Questions and How to Answer Them

There are questions the news media will ask you that definitely aren't softball. In spite of their seemingly innocent fa�ade, they are designed to put you off-guard and lead you down a path of conversation that you might not otherwise wish to take.
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U.S. Corporate Environmental Policy: Philosophy vs. Practice at the Dawn of a New Millennium

American business knows the environmental issue will not go away but will be an important concern as we near the 21st Century. Business is addressing the environmental issue head-on, adopting policies to protect the environment through responsible action and improved non-polluting business practices. "Words are hostages to performance," so do businesses "practice what they preach," or do philosophy and practice collide?
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Using Push-Pull Strategy In Public Relations

Push-Pull Strategy is not a new concept; it's been around for a while. Its two components - Push Strategy and Pull Strategy - can be utilized either exclusively or in combination. The principles fit very well into the public relations model and are used in strategic campaigns to determine the efficacy of persuasive methods.
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Values-Image Continuum, The

What is an organization�s image? It is a public perception of what an organization is, what it stands for, and what it does. It is in effect a fleeting sense in peoples� minds of what you are. An image can be formulated with very little information, but the most positive images are preceded by a series of phenomena.
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Wandering the Straight and Narrow (Linear & Non-Linear Thinking)

All sound public relations programs, campaigns, and decisions are the combined result of three similar, yet widely divergent phenomena � highways, tributaries, and bunny trails. Each is a path from here to there, yet each has its own elemental uniqueness.
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Website Traffic

The Web was built (and operates) as a "By Invitation Only" entity. If you don't invite an audience, nobody will come. We all know how to register in and use search engines, but are they enough? You can advertise your site, but it is expensive. Here are two strategies you can utilize immediately to increase your web traffic TODAY.
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Why the Public Doesn't Understand Public Relations (Or, Where Did We Go Wrong?)

If you've ever tried to explain in simple language what public relations is all about, than you have an inkling of why the public doesn't understand the importance of the work public relations professionals do. The profession needs to do a better job of communicating this.
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The "Zen" of Public Relations: Applying The Military Strategy of Miyamoto Musashi

Is public relations analogous to war? Perhaps. Seventeenth-Century military strategist Miyamoto Musashi put his thoughts down on rice paper in 1643. The principles he set forth are easily applied to public relations in the modern world.
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