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PR Definitions | Public Relations, Marketing, & Customer Service
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Public relations is becoming a catch-all term. In talking with customer service/loyalty experts over this past week, I've learned that what I advocate for people to do in PR, they advocate for their clients to do in the customer service activities. It's also what I've heard marketing professionals tell their clients to do, and there are countless books and posts on why marketing and PR are more and more related today than they've ever been.

Is there a reason the three areas of a business are still divided in most companies? Wouldn't things work better if they were more integrated, if customer service talked to the PR team, and if the marketing team saw what the customer service department was up to? I think so.

"What are you hearing," you ask, "that makes you think PR=Customer Service=Marketing?" The strategies are all the same. The end goals are the same. And the road to which they reach these goals (the tactics) are also the same.

1. The Goal. To increase awareness, mind-share, and overall buy-in for what the company is offering, advocating, selling, etc.
2. The Strategies. To make their brand easily identified, to make their cause easily accepted and identified with, and to create a loyal customer base.
3. The Tactics. Connect with customers on a personal level, offer a two-way line of communication, answer questions, offer solutions, just be there.

The tactics usually include the following:

1. Using social networking platforms. Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, foursquare, etc. These are all online tools companies can use to get more in touch with their customers, create a more personified brand image, and share information about the firm.
   
2. Sending press releases. Though tied to PR for the past few decades, this is also used in marketing. Press releases are great ways to alert people of new things happening, and great ways to pitch the media.
   
3. Having a blog. If companies would rather not pitch the media and communicate with their customers through this and social networking, blogs can be a great outlet for information sharing.
   
4. Hosting forums, chats, chatrooms, etc. This is a way to provide a way for customers to contact you with complaints, concerns, questions, etc. Customers will talk about you anyways, and with the availability of places for them to do so, they have no reason not to. Why not provide the space for them, so you can more easily monitor and respond to potential crises?
5. Being more personable. This can be hard to fake, so it takes actual effort, time, and energy. The company needs to utilize the tools above and actually be available and accessible.
   
6. Going above and beyond expectations. This is something used in customer service, but in PR, you can do the same thing. If you use social media, don't just use it as a way to share your new product, use it to offer great customer service to change the minds of upset customers, creating loyal advocates. Customers are used to companies doing the minimum to satisfy our needs, but satisfying and creating loyal customers are very different tasks.
   

Do these not all sound like solid ways to reach your PR goals? What about your customer service goals? And your marketing goals? Why, then, are we making the distinctions?

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Why Care About Public Relations?
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Because your customers care. Your competition probably care about it, too.

For companies of any size and most life-stages, public relations is something businesses should not ignore. (For reasons I say most life-stages, check out 4 Reasons Public Relations (Not Advertising) Builds a Brand.)

Public relations can do so much for a company, and yet, like social media, larger companies may see PR as an alternative to what they can already afford in advertising. (It is not an alternative to advertising.) PR is better than advertising. (Yes, I'm probably a bit biased.) It may take a bit more creativity and elbow grease, but the rewards and benefits of PR far outweigh advertising or marketing activities.

The tangible evidence of reduced costs is probably the one most used when trying to create advocates for PR, but there are more, intangible results that a PR team/firm can share with it's company/client. Those are:

1. Increased awareness. (For less money.)
2. Increased trust. (For less money.)
3. Increased loyalty. (For less money.)

I think you get the point. How does PR attain the above? By being the contact person of the company. By being aware of customers online. By being responsive to those customers online. And by being truthful, transparent, and engaging. With things like social media use, press releases, websites, blogs, etc., companies can be more connected with their buyers online, be more personable, and more personified.

As has been said time and time again, PR is more trustworthy than advertising. However, with the changes in technology, companies are more in control of their PR and are able to be more involved in the public relations process. In the past, companies were reliant on the media to cover them in a publication, and that was PR. This sort of PR was more credible than advertising because it was coming from another source.

The same is true today: advertising doesn't instill credibility or trust. In fact, it can often do the opposite. See the comments here about Toyota's attempts to rebuild its brand after their safety fiasco. What was a valiant effort to say "we're making a change" came across as a rather money-wasting endeavor. Had they simply shared with others, done interviews, and communicated with their customers online about this change in spending to increase safety, WOM (word of mouth) may have done more for them than a costly TV ad.

Even though Toyota (and BP) can afford advertisements, showing us the difference in ways other than a TV ad (like through PR) can be much more successful, and much more trustworthy. (BP's ads don't make me trust them more; it makes me wonder, "why tell me you're doing something, instead of simply doing it?")

As can be seen above, public relations today involves more things than simply getting mentioned in a publication. It involves social media, where a company can represent itself and be its own identity there. Companies can also have a blog, where they write about their company, their industry, etc., and try to set themselves apart from the crowd as a trusted source of information. This is also referred to as the process of positioning oneself as an authoritative figure. Over time, if you write on a subject, share information, or offer advice, people being to trust you and see you as a knowledgeable, go-to source.

Take this blog, for example. I often get emails asking for advice because of the success I've had in PR. I have little experience in PR, but my knowledge base is rather large due to the fact that I've been writing on the subject for so long. Surprised? Don't be. I don't pretend to be a PR expert with years and years of experience, but I do accept my role as a source of PR information.

So, as a company looking to increase followings, entice buyers to switch to your brand or become a loyal customer, or to simply share what you have to say, know that PR can be a great outlet because of the many, many places you can talk, communicate, and converse.

What's your take? Why care about PR if you can afford advertising?

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Public Relations Myths | Any PR is Good PR
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False. (I also think the image is false, but it makes a point.) Public relations of the negative variety can be destructive, brand tarnishing, and irreversible. As can be seen in recent developments with a little company known as BP, any PR is definitely not good PR.

Now, I suppose this myth could hold some truth if you (as a company, brand, person, etc.) are not concerned with people liking you, buying your products or services, or advocating you to others. If you are concerned with those things, not all PR is good PR (and I assume you're in this latter category because you're here).

As I mentioned in a recent post, negative PR can spread far and wide (and quickly, for that matter) with the new and improved methods of communication the internet provides. Everyone and anyone can be an advocate for your brand, or an opponent. This negative PR makes the public relations team work harder to not only preserve a brand but to also anticipate and try to diffuse a crisis online.

This is precisely the reason that not all PR is good PR. The reason for this myth being true in the past was that, despite the information going around being negative, people were still aware of you. (If awareness was all that mattered, we'd all be PR pros.) In order to generate interest in your company, to create buyers and loyal customers, your PR has to be positive. Negative PR may get people to your site, but it won't make them jump on board with whatever you're selling (product, idea, or otherwise).

Public Relations may differ from sales or marketing in a few ways, but the main reason may be that PR is concerned with the end result of the entire campaign. If the end result is not positive, though you may have had marginal success in some of the tactics employed throughout the plan, the campaign was not successful. The end result needs to be positive and successful. (To gauge that success, be sure to create benchmarks to set your plan's results against.)

So, how do you ensure that most PR is good PR for you and your company? Take responsibility, and act. (It's all the way you react and respond to a crisis.) If you see some negative PR buzzing around cyberspace, do something about it. Can you remedy the situation by offering an opposing thought? Can you change the minds of the negative WOM (word of mouth) spreaders by sharing information/facts/data? Can you offer a solution to an unhappy customer? I'm sure you can do all of the above.

The most important thing to do, however, is that first step aforementioned: take responsibility. No one cares if it's not your fault; if the media is building you up to be the big bad wolf, that's what you'll be. Apologize regardless of ownership of the problem, and get to work on telling of and creating a solution.

What do you think, is any PR good PR? They're talking about you at least, right?

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Public Relations Materials | 3 Tips for Creating a PR Brochure
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Like most materials used in the public relations world, brochures are used to inform, engage, and call people to action. A brochure is a piece of paper (or digital copy) that is usually folded into three sections with information inside and out about an event, company, brand, etc., that the company wants to share with the public and buyers. The PR brochure can be a regular company brochure, but they can be more successfully targeted. More effort should be put into those that are being used for a specific goal and purpose as a part of your PR campaign.

The PR brochure is different than a sales brochure. While most of PR aims at getting support, donations, buyers, etc., the PR brochure can be seen as more of an informational piece of marketing/public relations materials. Like the press kit, you can still instill trust, persuade people to support, or share accomplishments. The difference here is that PR tactics are usually less in-your-face and less sales oriented.

A PR brochure is an effective way to share a lot of information in a quick and easily digested form. Companies can also make these brochures registration/donation/opt-in forms that readers can send in. Brochures can be used year-round, but as mentioned above, create specific and targeted brochures for your fundraising (or other special) events.

To create an successful brochure, you must include the right information that will get people interested and acting. Just like website copy, a press release, or media pitch, a brochure needs to be newsworthy. (For tips on being newsworthy, check out: PR Writing | 5 Tips to Making Your News Newsworthy.) Just like a blog post, media pitch, or press release, yours won't be read if it's not interesting or newsworthy.

Brochures can be used offline and online, so be sure to optimize them for keyword searches if you plan to publish them to your website as well. Google indexes PDFs as well as webpages, so use links, keywords, and other calls to action there to get the most out of your brochures.

To get you started, here are a few tips for creating a PR brochure:

1. Create a brochure that fits your company identity. This means that your brochure needs to not only reiterate your identity, but also be in line with your representation elsewhere. If your company has chosen an identity of being young, fun, and spontaneous, make sure your brochure shares that same feel. Utilize the motto and mission statement your marketing team has already created, and be sure to include the company's philosophy. If the company's aim is to make the world a better place, tie that into your event. So long as it helps to emphasize the company's mission (instead of opposing it) share that with your audience.
   
   
2. Create a newsworthy brochure. As mentioned above, newsworthy makes or breaks the success of your brochure. The main components that make up a newsworthy brochure are: relevant, timely, and significant. The brochure will generate no interest if your targeted audience does not find the information contained therein to be of importance to them. Why does the information in your brochure matter? Are you helping the community, changing things? Then say so! Customers/buyers/readers care about things that are important to them and affect their lives in some manner (hopefully positively).
   
   
3. Create a brochure that stands out from the rest. The standard (and boring) brochures we see in community place, like the grocery store, are just that: standard (and boring). Create a brochure that is not only newsworthy but also aesthetically pleasing and eye-catching. Look into colors that makes sense to use; utilize your logo/brand; make the brochure "pop". If you need help in this area, get it! That's what the experts are for.

Lastly, be sure to include the following components:

1. You logo and company name.
2. Your company info; your mission; your goal.
3. The reason for the brochure.
   
4. Why that reason is important to the reader.
5. Next steps (calls to action).
   
6. Contact information.

After following the tips above, ensure that your brochure has well-written copy that is proofread and revised, and then proofread and revised again. For the clients who notice and look for it (and even those that don't), a typo can ruin the entire brochure. You want it to be successful, so reread your work to make sure it is devoid of error, especially if you're sending it to print; it's much more difficult to go back and change an error once you've printed.

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The Public Relations Formula | Is There Such a Thing?
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Long answer short, no. There are many reasons for the answer to the question posed in the title to be no, but the main reason: not all firms/companies/brands are the same. Additionally, the formula would need to change on an almost daily basis to accommodate the changing industry and PR world.

There are firms that recognize this need to do away with the cookie-cutter form public relations can take, but then there are also firms stuck in the past conducting PR activities as if nothing had changed. How can that be successful? (Hint: it can't be.)

In order to create the most successful public relations campaign/plan, you must tailor it to the firm, the firm's target market, and the firm's buyers. That's not to say, however, that you can simply change the name of the firm, their target market, and their buyers in a preset plan. No, more things have to change in order to be tailor made.

How does one do that? Well, you can:

1. Do your homework. This is a phrase I use a lot. It's still as important today as it was the first day I mentioned this vital step in PR planning because it plays a role in the planning process that affects the rest of the plan's success. Conduct research in order to create a plan that will work for your client and their target market/audience. Learn who both parties are so that you can not only tailor their plan, but also tailor the tactics they use to reach their audience.
   
   
2. Define strategies from the company's goals. Whether in-house or PR firm, the PR team's responsibilities include creating plan goals. These should be based on the company's overall goals and objectives, otherwise you will have little strategy, and the tactics you create from these goals will not produce the results you were hoping for.
   
   
3. Avoid using the plan they/you used last time. Just like you wouldn't use the same plan from company to company/client to client, you should not use the same tactics/plans for a company, even if the situation, goal, and objectives are the same. The industry, the target market, the economy, can all change, making your plan destined to fail this time around. Just because it was successful in the past does not guarantee its success this time. Be sure to create something tailored not just for the company but also for the changes seen outside the company.
   

There are component lists and outlines you can follow to ensure that all of the right aspects are included in a PR plan or a media kit, but each component needs to be different, and each PR plan cannot contain the same strategies and tactics. Those that work for one company cannot be guaranteed to work for another. Like #3 above states, you cannot even guarantee the success of tactics working for the same client from one period to another.

The important thing to remember is that there is no magic in PR. There may be some optical illusions or smoke and mirrors, but PR should be more about being transparent and providing a relationship with the public, as that's what public relations is all about. That "public" can change depending on who you're targeting, though; for example, if your target market is businesses, your B2B model will affect the way your PR is done, so be sure to take that into account.

If you feel you need assistance creating your own PR plan, or do not want to use the services of a public relations firm/boutique, be sure to ask for help. Internally or externally, you will need the help of someone to give you the best picture of who your target market is, and how you should reach them. This crucial component and piece of information, knowing how to reach your target market, is the reason there is no magic formula to PR.