The Keys to Public Relations

Jul 10,2015

Introduction
    There are many reasons that people can use some advice on how to have better public relations.  Unless you are someone famous or extremely high on the financial ladder, you probably don't have your own PR person.  This is why it's so important that you learn to increase your PR skills on your own.  Some things this can help you with are getting that job you are looking for, a new project you want to be included on, or getting your name out there.
Know Your Audience
    Whether you're delivering a speech, going into a review, or filling out an application, you have to know who you're talking to.  Remember, you are always trying to help make yourself standout, but your approach for doing this is different depending on the audience.  Good questions to consider when trying to understand your audience are: What is my audience's biggest struggle or hurdle?  What's the problem they most want solved?  What are their dreams or aspirations?  As I'm sure you've heard, it's also always good to bring some questions for your audience to help better understand them as a group.
Build Relationships
    One thing many people don't realize, including myself, is that the best way to build a relationship is to create a face-to-face relationship.  PR people agree that email, text, phone calls, and conference calls have their place as well; but it's important to put a face to all those other forms of communication.  This can be as easy as requesting a meeting over lunch, instead of a conference call.  The more you can make it clear that you're a living, breathing human, the better.
Be Proactive In A Crisis
    The three rules of crisis communication are "be quick", "be helpful", and "be open."  A crisis in your daily workday could be something as common as sending an email to to the wrong person, or as grave as a major financial miscalculation.  Just know how to approach the problem can be a enough to avoid further fallout.  The faster you can advise people of the problem and be helpfull with those working to solve it, the more appreciative everyone will be of your actions.  Remember, if you can't answer a question without researching some follow-up information yourself, you can always say, "I'll get back you on that."
Follow Up, Stay in Contact
    A PR pro will tell you that if you haven't followed up, you haven't finished your pitch.  Follow-up is the most important piece of building relationships and getting your message out there.  While your follow-up will be different, one key aspect of follow-up is consistency.  Consistent follow-up not only ensures your message gets through, but also that you're a person of integrity who stays true to your word.  As Joel Peterson, Chairman of JetBlue explains, "The smaller your "say-do gap" -the gap between what you say you're going to do and what you actually do-the more trust you inspire in the people around you."
Being Persistent Without Being Annoying
    Some people are afraid of following up too many times.  However, the average working professional can get a few hundred emails a day.  That means they may not always be able to read all of them.  So, if you don't get a response right away, it doesn't mean someone is ignoring you, it may just be that he or she was too busy to see it/respond to it.  That's why you have to follow up.  Some tips on doing so are given at the website referenced below.  Some of the Rules are, "Be Overly Polite and Humble", "Persistent Doesn't Mean Every Day", "Directly Ask if You Should Stop Reaching Out", "Stand Out in a Good Way", and "Change it Up".

References:
1. Unknown, U. (2015, July 9). 4 Ways To Become Your Own PR Person And Start Getting The Respect You Deserve. Retrieved July 10, 2015.
2. 5 Rules for Effective Follow Up: https://www.themuse.com/advice/pleasantly-persistent-5-rules-for-effectively-following-up 

 

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The Keys to Public Relations

 The Keys to Public Relations

The Keys to Public Relations

The Keys to Public Relations

Introduction
    There are many reasons that people can use some advice on how to have better public relations.  Unless you are someone famous or extremely high on the financial ladder, you probably don't have your own PR person.  This is why it's so important that you learn to increase your PR skills on your own.  Some things this can help you with are getting that job you are looking for, a new project you want to be included on, or getting your name out there.
Know Your Audience
    Whether you're delivering a speech, going into a review, or filling out an application, you have to know who you're talking to.  Remember, you are always trying to help make yourself standout, but your approach for doing this is different depending on the audience.  Good questions to consider when trying to understand your audience are: What is my audience's biggest struggle or hurdle?  What's the problem they most want solved?  What are their dreams or aspirations?  As I'm sure you've heard, it's also always good to bring some questions for your audience to help better understand them as a group.
Build Relationships
    One thing many people don't realize, including myself, is that the best way to build a relationship is to create a face-to-face relationship.  PR people agree that email, text, phone calls, and conference calls have their place as well; but it's important to put a face to all those other forms of communication.  This can be as easy as requesting a meeting over lunch, instead of a conference call.  The more you can make it clear that you're a living, breathing human, the better.
Be Proactive In A Crisis
    The three rules of crisis communication are "be quick", "be helpful", and "be open."  A crisis in your daily workday could be something as common as sending an email to to the wrong person, or as grave as a major financial miscalculation.  Just know how to approach the problem can be a enough to avoid further fallout.  The faster you can advise people of the problem and be helpfull with those working to solve it, the more appreciative everyone will be of your actions.  Remember, if you can't answer a question without researching some follow-up information yourself, you can always say, "I'll get back you on that."
Follow Up, Stay in Contact
    A PR pro will tell you that if you haven't followed up, you haven't finished your pitch.  Follow-up is the most important piece of building relationships and getting your message out there.  While your follow-up will be different, one key aspect of follow-up is consistency.  Consistent follow-up not only ensures your message gets through, but also that you're a person of integrity who stays true to your word.  As Joel Peterson, Chairman of JetBlue explains, "The smaller your "say-do gap" -the gap between what you say you're going to do and what you actually do-the more trust you inspire in the people around you."
Being Persistent Without Being Annoying
    Some people are afraid of following up too many times.  However, the average working professional can get a few hundred emails a day.  That means they may not always be able to read all of them.  So, if you don't get a response right away, it doesn't mean someone is ignoring you, it may just be that he or she was too busy to see it/respond to it.  That's why you have to follow up.  Some tips on doing so are given at the website referenced below.  Some of the Rules are, "Be Overly Polite and Humble", "Persistent Doesn't Mean Every Day", "Directly Ask if You Should Stop Reaching Out", "Stand Out in a Good Way", and "Change it Up".

References:
1. Unknown, U. (2015, July 9). 4 Ways To Become Your Own PR Person And Start Getting The Respect You Deserve. Retrieved July 10, 2015.
2. 5 Rules for Effective Follow Up: https://www.themuse.com/advice/pleasantly-persistent-5-rules-for-effectively-following-up