Tips on Making Public Relations Work for You By Virginia M. Sheridan

WHAT IS PUBLIC RELATIONS?

Public relations is the misleading and inaccurate name for the practice of communicating a message to general or specific audiences through broadcast, electronic or print media. Unlike advertising, in which you pay to have your own words, pictures and graphics presented exactly as you wish them to appear, public relations relies on journalists, writers, editors and producers to communicate your message in their own words. The more effective you are in communicating your message to media, the more effective your public relations initiatives will be.

There are many potential advantages of public relations over advertising:

• Well-crafted and well-implemented, public relations initiatives can succeed at a fraction of the cost of advertising
• Public relations can be used to reach very specific, highly defined audiences
• Public relations can be used to communicate a broad range of types of messages and for a wide variety of reasons. These include:
• News of immediate interest
• Creating a brand image or long-term positioning for the agency
• Creating community awareness for the agency’s owners and personnel
• Providing useful information that supports and enhances the agency’s sales goals (destination stories, practical advice, etc.)
• Responding to consumer concerns and fears
  Responding to crises
• A message communicated by a journalist, publication or television or radio program tends to be received with greater trust and a perceived sense of objectivity than an advertisement which is perceived as being purely self-serving

Potential disadvantages of public relations:

• You do not fully control the message; your success at communicating what you want said depends on how well you communicate it to media
• Successful public relations is an on-going process based on developing constructive, long-term relationships with media
• Public relations success (communicating your message through positive media stories) often takes time and therefore requires careful planning and implementation in order to achieve timely results
  

SOME GENERAL COMMENTS

• Despite what politicians, celebrities and sports figures might lead you to believe, the media are your friends; they need you as much as you need them. Without information from you, they have no story. They want to believe you and accurately report what you have to say. Whether they always have the listening and writing skills to do so is another question.
  
• Give media the benefit of the doubt until they prove you shouldn’t. If you are confident that you have accurately and clearly communicated your message to them and they still get it wrong, be wary, perhaps complain, even move on to cultivate other media, but also re-examine your communication.
  
• For the vast majority of media, advertising pays for editorial; that is, the money collected for ads and commercials pays the bills. This is increasingly true even in public broadcasting. Editorial integrity – the concept that editors, writers, reporters and producers operate independently of the advertising department and publishers - can have many definitions, even among the largest media companies.
  
• Just what this means for you depends on the type of media and the policies of individual publications and broadcast companies within each category of media in your community. Two rules of thumb apply: 1) really get to know the publication or broadcast outlet you want to work with; try to figure out just what their policies are, and 2) while advertising never hurts, don’t be intimidated by advertising sales people into believing you must.
  
• Media relations is just one of many ways of generating publicity. Others include:
• Special events
• Physical presence (being seen)
• Word of mouth (endorsements from satisfied customers)
• Community activism (taking an active role in community organizations, events and issues)
• Promotions (contests/sweepstakes, tie-ins with other businesses)
• Sponsorships (community causes, organizations, sports teams, charities etc.)
• Direct mail marketing (letters, postcards, fliers, brochures etc. to well-defined geographic and/or demographic audiences)
• Advertising (print, Internet, broadcast)
  
• Obviously, each agency must determine what the right combination of publicity generating methods works best, based on your business goals and target audiences.

MAKING PUBLIC RELATIONS WORK FOR YOU

Making a public relations/marketing communications plan

• Define yourself carefully and honestly; this is how media and the public will perceive you
  
• Establish realistic, achievable communications goals and strategies
  
• Be sure that you know exactly what markets or audiences (geographic and demographic) you want to reach and why
  
• Review and revise your plan regularly to keep it fresh and to accommodate changing market realities and business goals
  

Understanding and using the opportunities and techniques available to you

• News releases: short, clear and concise, which communicate the facts you want your audiences to know and which are distributed in a timely fashion (not too soon, not too late to be useful to media)
  
• Feature releases: longer, more subjective stories that may communicate not only facts but mood, ambiance and emotion that serve to interest and motivate the reader in a way that supports your goals
  
• Story pitches: Identify newsworthy stories or unique story angles and suggest them to media (a short, one-page letter or email is best but if you have a close, working relationship with specific media, a telephone call is also acceptable)
  
• Photographs: It is true that a picture can be worth a thousand words, so be sure to pick the right one
  
• Interviews: Make sure that your target media know that you are an expert and available for interviews on a variety of topics
  
• Columnist or Commentator: Media (print and broadcast) need experts to provide information and/or opinion; that expert could be you so don’t be afraid to sell yourself
  
• By-lined stories: Write and distribute to appropriate media “first-person” stories about relevant travel experiences or “how-to-travel” pieces, either written by yourself or others
  
• Special Events: From a public relations perspective, it is important to take maximum advantage of any special events your agency might be involved in by adequately publicizing the event. To generate media interest in your events, make them fresh, new and, if at all possible, unusual. Involve newsworthy people such as politicians and celebrities. Tie the event into other newsworthy issues or causes, such as charities. Be sure to invite media and provide them with press releases, opportunities for interviews, photographs etc.
  
• Promotions: Work with media or businesses (preferred suppliers?) to develop contests or sweepstakes that draw attention to and provide information about your agency (simply giving away a prize is not enough). Be sure to publicize the promotion (well in advance, during and after) to ensure media coverage (which is how consumers will know about you) through press releases, photos, interviews with the winners etc.
  
• Sponsorships: Tastefully give yourself credit, through press releases, photos, media interviews, etc., your generous support of local, regional, even national causes; this helps create a favorable impression of your agency among potential customers.
  
• Press kit: Develop a media kit that fully describes, in press releases and fact sheets, you, your agency and what you sell. Do not rely on brochures to communicate your message. Keep the press material updated so as not to be stale.
  

Developing productive media relationships

• Know your target media inside out: who their audiences are, what their purposes are, who the editors, producers and writers are
  
• Establish one-to-one relationships with key media; be sure they know you
  
• Learn how they work: their guidelines and deadlines, their policies and preferences for receiving press releases, their email policies, how to contact them
  
• Obtain their editorial calendars (most media develop editorial calendars which determine what subjects or destinations are covered and when) so that you can send them relevant information in a timely fashion
  
• Make every effort to provide media with material written in the form and style closest to their own (editors and writers are busy people, the less work they have to do on your press release, the more likely it be used)
  
• Produce quality work that reflects the image and standards that you set for yourself
  
• Earn media’s trust and respect by being honest, forthcoming with information, accessible and considerate by returning calls promptly and respecting their time and deadline pressures
  
• Make sure that your message is newsworthy, timely, substantive, interesting or unique, and relevant to the publication’s or program’s audience
  
• Know when to say “I don’t know, I’ll find out for you.”
  
• Follow up with a phone call or email after sending a story but don’t be a bully or a pest
  
• Be patient: stories may take time and not every media contact has an immediate payoff; over time, a good, mutually respectful working relationship will pay off
  

Reaching your target audiences

• Identify and communicate the most newsworthy or unique aspect of your message – what makes you different from all others; this will generate media and consumer interest
  
• Time your stories and pitches appropriately: There are short-lead stories (quick turnaround stories generally of interest to newspapers) and long-lead stories (some magazines plan stories months, if not a year, in advance. Don’t miss the boat.
  
• When possible, relate your message or expertise to industry/society trends and news
  
• Work the local angle: Concentrate your public relations efforts on the geographic and demographic markets that are most relevant to your products or services
  
• Use visuals whenever possible to heighten your message’s impact and media interest
  
• Special interests and niche markets: Identify the specific consumer interests, lifestyle choices, habits and preferred recreational and leisure activities that are most relevant to your products and services and craft media stories and pitches for each one
  
• An effective, accessible website: Be sure that your website not only reflects your style and standards but provides information quickly and easily and, MOST IMPORTANT, appears at the top of the list (at least on the first page) on major keyword search engines
  

Taking advantage of professional resources

Why reinvent the wheel or go it alone when there are professional resources available to help you publicize your agency?

Chances are if you are successful at selling cruises to consumers, you will have no trouble “selling” the media. This is particularly true if the bulk of your public relations efforts is writing press releases and story pitching through email of telephone contacts.

In addition to having someone on staff who can write well (press releases, not novels), it is important that you and/or your staff can speak well – with an ease and aptitude for engaging strangers (media) in conversation – and the time to do so.

• Media training
  
  If you or your staff is less than confident when speaking to journalists, or if you expect to make regular radio and television appearances to promote your business or the cruise industry, an investment in media training might be worthwhile. There are a host of professional consultants and companies, which you can find via the Internet. Training in public speaking, as well as press release writing and the like, are also often available through adult education or community college programs in your local community.
  
• Using a professional or PR agency
  
  Depending on the size of your agency and the scope of your public relations needs, there are a number of advantages to either having a professional on staff or using a PR agency or freelance public relations professional on a retainer or project basis:
  
• Presumably they have skills and expertise in working effectively and efficiently with media to accomplish your goals


• They aren’t doing anything else while you have a great many other responsibilities


• They should have a solid foundation of good working relationships with key media while you will have to cultivate and nurture them
  
• Using the resources of consortia and industry groups, preferred suppliers and business partners
  
  Partnering whenever possible with others can accomplish two things: a greater reach in communicating your message, and cost-effectiveness. In many cases, you can also use partners, or your participation in industry organizations, to gain public relations skills you might not already have.
  
  
  
  • Check your industry trade associations for public relations seminars
  
  
  • Check your consortia for cooperative promotions and public relations initiatives as well as educational opportunities
  
  
  • Work with your preferred suppliers’ marketing departments to obtain cooperative advertising benefits and participate in their media initiatives, including fam trips
  
  
  • Work with local business associations and individual businesses to identify and implement mutually beneficial marketing or public relations programs. Possibilities of business partners include hospitality companies, book stores, restaurants, spa and other recreational activities, destinations and others.

- Virginia M. Sheridan