Beyond the News Release:PR 101 for business professionals

Don Hendricks, APR

Director, University Communications

Missouri State University

What is Public Relations? “Public relations is the management function

that establishes and maintains mutually beneficial relationships between an organization and the publics on whom its success or failure depends.”

Effective Public Relations, 9th edition, Cutlip, Center and Brown

What is Public Relations? My definition: Public relations focuses and

effectively communicates an organization’s message to its stakeholders through a variety of means which are facilitated by cultivated relationships with news media, opinion leaders and other organizational advocates.

Public Relations is Not… Marketing Spin Unethical or dishonest

PR Goals Modify, motivate and reinforce behavior Generate response through communication Develop trust Promote organizational consistency

PR Influences on the Bottom Line Awareness/recognition

Publicity/information transfer Motivation Issues anticipation Opportunity identification Issues management Overcoming executive isolation

PR Influences on the Bottom Line Acting as a change agent Achieving social responsibility Advocating public policy The best public relations is good

organizational policy and practice

Public Relations Practice Internal communications External communications Media relations Crisis communication Governmental relations Reputation management

Human Nature Basic human nature does not change Communication is a tool, not the goal Too much communication leads to difficulty

making decisions

Become a Human Nature Expert How will people react emotionally? Ten percent of function comes from the

logical/data part of brain Ninety percent based on emotion or

experience

The Challenge Arm yourself with the reality of human nature Learn how to make illogical decisions

Putting the Public(s) into PR No such thing as the general public Find out who your opinion leaders are and

involve/educate them

People Who Need to Know Community leaders Legislators Business leaders Board of Directors Employee’s families Key influencers/opinion leaders Your own organization

The Process Research Planning Implementation Evaluation

The Process Goals Objectives Strategies Tactics

PR Tactics Media relations

News releases Press conferences Pitching stories, responding to requests

Relationship building, maintenance Focus groups Advisory boards Face time with organizational leaders Face time with media mavens/opinion leaders

Public Relations Survey What are your goals/objectives? What tactics have you employed to achieve them? How do you measure the effectiveness of those efforts? Do you have an advisory group? Have you identified opinion leaders in your area? If yes, how do you

communicate with them? What avenues are in place for community/public interaction? Rate the impact of your web site. Rate the impact of your publications. Rate the impact of your news coverage. How have you utilized positive news coverage in the past? How are stakeholders involved in your activities?

Working with the Media Working with the media is a two-way

relationship Preparation increases your chances of being

effective Identify potential issues early and develop

strategies to resolve them

Beyond the News release Celebrate success Promote your star people, programs and initiatives Leverage speaking engagements Award recognition events Use of experts as media contacts/op eds Newsletters Utilize new media where it makes sense Leverage existing events/activities

Questions?

Don Hendricks

DonHendricks@missouristate.edu