Honesty & Transparency in PR

Honesty & Transparency in PR is something that I touched on last blog post. I said that when considering crisis communication, all PR should aim to reach company goals while also being honest and transparent, because consumers trust companies that are straight forward and take responsibility.
From what we know about consumers, attitude towards and likability of a product or company is more important than most other selling points (like accessibility, reliability, safety, etc.)

Over the past week I saw such great honesty and transparency in PR communication, responding to and trying to prevent a company crisis, that I couldn't help but use them as an example in this weeks blog post.

Apple denied the FBI's request to create a skeleton key for all iPhone devices.

The people did not hear about this from the news, the FBI, the internet, a mole, or a liar who wanted attention. Consumers heard this straight from Apple in an open letter to all Apple customers, right on their home page.

First off, this letter in general is sort of unusual. Usually we hear from companies in general through their website or spokespeople, PR firms handling a situation, or we see a general press release. Apple decided to send this communication through a personal type letter written by none other than Tim Cook, the Chief Executive Officer at Apple.

This letter means everything, and I will explain why.

http://www.apple.com/

The letter started off with:

"A Message to Our Customers

The United States government has demanded that Apple take an unprecedented step which threatens the security of our customers. We oppose this order, which has implications far beyond the legal case at hand.

This moment calls for public discussion, and we want our customers and people around the country to understand what is at stake."

After reading the entire letter, Apple's stance was clear, if we let the FBI have their technology, all consumers phones could be hacked and that is not something that Apple was willing to do.

It was the beginning though, the call for public discussion and truth about the implications of future dangers, proved that we were hearing from a company that cares about its product and users. The details helping customers understand the importance of this proves that Apple doesn't want to hurt or lie to its users. These things are what makes customers trust a company, and loyal to a brand.

Second, the public response back to Apple was incredible. While there were some people who think that Apple could simply help the FBI, most people agreed with the decision to keep all customers safe rather than put them in danger to help take one person down.

This is because, most people just don't want to be lied to. At some point, the FBI and the law might force Apple to make this product, or Apple might cave, but because they are talking about it, being honest, and communicating, people do not feel like there is anything to worry about. People feel taken care of by Apple, simply because Apple got ahead of the game and was transparent, ultimately avoiding a crisis situation had any news broken any other way.

The point is, while Apple could never make every single person happy at once, they made a decision that they thought was best, addressed their customers and explained their position, stood up against one of the scariest organizations to have angry at you, and has not budged on their position since.

You go Apple. You go Tim.

Cook, T. (2016, February 16). Customer Letter - Apple. Retrieved February 19, 2016, from http://www.apple.com/customer-letter/

Crisis Communication

As Public Relations becomes more of a “need” than a “want” in large companies, and large companies have huge amounts at stake, knowing how to handle a communication or company crisis is becoming an important asset (and stand-out point) for PR professionals.

Crisis Communication is when something goes wrong in a company and there is someone there, with a plan, ready to communicate all information effectively and with company goals in mind; in a crisis these goals can be as simple as keeping customers or share holders happy.

So what do you do? There are several things to consider with each case, but most importantly you need to start with a plan of action. If you want someone else’s advice, who has worked in the crisis communication field, I have attached an outline of a 10 Step communication process, written by Johnathon Bernstein of Bernstein Crisis Management. 

However, it is no surprise to me that the instruction I have received about crisis communication, the Bernstein claims to have been teaching for a long time.

http://www.sheroian.com/story/crisis-communication-process/

The first step is being prepared. Know your company, your competition, and your market. Try to stay on top of what issues could go wrong, how you could address those issues, and to whom you could address the issues.
The second step is, when crisis hits answer immediately and honestly, with the goal of keeping up or positively influencing the companies reputation. To do this, you must know who to get in contact with.
The third step is preparing different communications for each group in your communications plan (company board, general staff, stakeholders, customers, social media followers, etc.). Knowing how to communicate with each group individually, on the current situation and future preparations, while not screwing up the company’s rep. in the meantime is no easy task. This is why it is important to be prepared.
My fourth and final step is to continue to stay on top of any investigation, media information or news, consumer opinions on social media, etc.  Continue to be putting out updates, making sure they have all of the information that you can give (people trust a company that is honest, transparent and apologetic rather than one who denies or projects blame.

Setting the Right Goals

In my PR communications course early this week we refreshed on setting the right goals and objectives, and following through with the corresponding strategies and tactics. It was a good thing that we did, because the main focus of my attention during my internship this week was setting and achieving promotional goals.

First, it is important to know the objectives of the company, the history, and the future goals that the company wants to reach. From the company's goals, the PR goals can be achieved.

I spent a little time searching for articles on ways to set the best goals for PR, and one article I found that I really liked, by Mark Renfree, gave "4 Social Listening Tips To Make Sure You Set the Right Goals."

His main points are:

1. Data becomes outdated quickly, and has no value if you do not gain something from it. When collecting data, have a plan for it and do something with it!

2. Listen to social media channels. Don't just listen, but KNOW which outlets to be listening to, and which targets on those outlets. Know how to reach these targets. Each specific target audience and network may call for different things.

3. Have the right people, doing the right things for your company. Know what kind of research you need to be doing, know the right way to interpret it, and finally, know how to and have the best people execute a plan based off of the data.

4. Finally, he warned to make sure you have the appropriate budget, tools, and people to make your operation successful.

I feel that all of these things are important, but there is one thing that I found myself constantly coming back to when trying to make my own PR goals; I needed to make sure I could prove there was concrete evidence that my goals would being reached.

While PR goals should be based off of current and sound research, and should ultimately help the company reach its goals. PR goals should be attainable and measurable.

http://www.dreamstime.com/royalty-free-stock-images-measuring-goals-close-up-shot-caliper-word-image35586659

If I could give one tip that Renfree didn’t, it would be to make sure that every single goal has a way to be measured, tangibly. This way, you know if your efforts are truly working and you have concrete knowledge leading your future campaigns.

If you do not know how to make your goals measurable, I found an awesome article here that might help. 

Goodluck!

Gaining Control of Social Media

Hello there,

Social Media Management is something that my professors have been talking about for a while, and it is something that wasn't important for older PR professionals, but is absolutely necessary for companies and PR/Marketing/Media/Company individuals now.

Now more than ever, companies are searching online to find out how you represent yourselves socially. My PR professor this semester, Samra Bufkins, told our communications course that companies do not even look at your sources for recommendations anymore, they just check out how you present yourself online.

I've known that I needed to for a while, but after hearing that, I decided that this semester I was going to get total control of my social media, and will be keeping up with the process on here, to hopefully help another student who (like me) is struggling to change from the online active social butterfly, to the online professional and respectable people we want to represent.

The first two things that I have done, and I urge anyone to do is:

1. Get control of your accounts

The advice that was given to me  that I am now passing on is - create different profiles for your work and your social life, still do not post anything on your social accounts that could come back and ruin you, and only invite people to see your private social accounts that you know would never intentionally harm you (someone you'd invite to your living room.)

I created all the accounts and made all the changes that I need to, but now I need to go back through and make sure all the people on my accounts are the people that I want there, my social accounts are private and everyone who shouldn't be on there has been deleted. This will take some time, and honestly, when I start to do it I become overwhelmed because I know I have to do it for several accounts (which breaks down to a lot of work).



However, I know the outcome will be worth it. It is worth keeping your private profiles as secretive and private as can be. What I have had to learn is that it is not rude to delete someone off my personal account who I think might potentially cause me harm, and if they come to me wanting an explination, I have a whole other list of professional social media accounts of mine that they can follow, where they are not receiving my most personal information.

I have a long way to go, but right now I am getting my accounts cleaned up, my friends and followers where they need to be, my pictures and old content deleted, new content uploaded, passwords and emails changed for privacy (it was suggested to me that each account be different), and finally I need to make sure no personal accounts are able to be found through my name or any other professional email and accounts I might be using.

A family member very close to me who does the hiring and firing for a very successful and well known management company in Dallas told me once that "if you've got an account online, and there is a way to find it, you can guaran-damn-tee that I am going to find it."

It may not seem easy to look at all your social media accounts and realize the amount of work you have to put in to separate your social from professional life online, but it will be worth it, and I will be doing it right along with you all semester.

I have an awesome powerpoint, and lecture notes, and help from professors that I can refer to, but you've got the internet.  I found one article online on "How to Distinguish Your Personal from your Professional Brand Online" by Scott Langdon and it's a good place to start.

Good Luck!

What is Public Relations? Who are PR professionals?

When I realized my sophomore year that I didn't truly have a passion for biology and that maybe I didn't really want to be a doctor, I had to do some soul searching to decide what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. What I did know is that my family had payed a ton of money to put me in classes that I hadn't enjoyed or done that well in, I was severely unhappy, and my next career choice would have to be my last because my family couldn't afford to keep me in college for the rest of my life.

Before college I knew that I wanted to continue studying English or Biology, but chose the later because I didn't want to be an English teacher and didn't know what else was out there for me. Now that I had learned a little more about the business world, and was in a position where I could pick anything I possibly wanted, I couldn't help but be drawn to communications.

I missed writing, communicating, socializing, understanding people and the world, and staying on top of trends and current events while studying and analyzing old ones. I craved what the journalism world buzzed around, knew I was specifically interested in writing and communications, and had a knack for talking to people. After talking to friends and advisors I landed on the pathway to a B.A. in Strategic Communicatons/ Public Relations with minors in Marketing and Social Science. 

I was nervous to tell people what I was doing, because every PR professional that I talked to could give me a list of common things that they did, but each person's list was completely different because each kind of company calls for totally different PR. Thus, I knew that I would have no clue what to tell people when they asked me what I would be doing in my future career, and after changing to something so totally different, that might not look so great. Also, almost every single one of the PR professionals I met said something along the lines of: "there is no one definition for PR" or "I can't define PR and it will always be changing," and that doesn't help answer mom or grandma's questions, either.

However, I quickly learned what PR was and what it entailed. I learned that in my profession companies would need my help maintaining their reputation and reaching their goals, most of which demand the help of communities and people, through some sort of channel (which is where I come in). Finally, I learned that I loved it.

Searching through articles today, I found one article called The Best PR Approach for Any Budget by Margarita Peker where she offers an explanation about what PR professionals do that I really like:

"Of all marketing disciplines, PR people are - in a sense - the luckiest. Our challenges, opportunities and successes need not always be tied to budgets, but rather to the quality of our insights and ideas.

As communication specialists we will always be in a position to add value - whether it's for awareness, advocacy or anything in between. The question then becomes: How can our skills add the best value?"

The opening statement is what I have found fulfilling about PR myself. PR is about ideas and connecting with people, and it doesn't always require the biggest budget or the most opportunity; it requires wit and strategy, always unique to the situation or goal.

The Second Statement, about adding value, is what I have decided is one of the better ways to describe PR to people. PR always adds value, helps reach goals, or promotes and achieves in some way. It should only boost the reputation of, communication within and objectives met by the company.

Last, the question Peker asks is one that I have heard before and hope to keep in mind throughout my profession. I think it is a good place to start each project, and a nice way to start off this semester.
So, when you catch yourself wandering where to start on a project or task this semester, try to ask yourself (and I will too):

"How can my skills add the best value?"

And, when mom asks you what public relations is because she still doesn't get it, tell her that she might never understand and just know that you are simply "valuable."