New Rules of Public Relations

Measuring the Power of Free

The problem I have with traditional marketing and PR measurement (sales leads and press clips) is that neither reflects the reality of what we can do today to reach our audience via the Web. Measuring solely based on the number of people who fill out a form is flawed. Measuring by compiling a clip book implies that all we care about is ink from mainstream media, which misses the point. If a blogger is spreading your ideas, that's great. If a thousand people watch your YouTube video, that's awesome. If a hundred people email a link to your information to their networks, tweet about you, or post about you on their Facebook pages, that's amazing. If you come up on the first page of Google results for an important phrase, break out the champagne! You're reaching people, which was the point of seeking media attention in the first place, right? The problem, then, is that many marketers measure only sales leads, and many PR practitioners measure only traditional media, such as magazines, newspapers, radio, and TV. Those practices don't capture the value of sharing. There's nothing wrong with those measurements, but they aren't enough. What You Should Measure These days, the Web gives everyoneB2B companies, consumer brands, consultants, nonprofits, schools, and many othersa tremendous opportunity to reach people and engage them in new and different ways. Now, we can earn attention by creating and publishing online (for free) something interesting and valuable, such as a YouTube video, a blog, a research report, a photo, a Twitter stream, an e-book, or a Facebook page. But how should we measure the success of this new kind of marketing? We need new metrics. Here Are Some Things You Can Measure:

1. How many people are eager to participate in your online efforts? You can measure how many people "like" you on Facebook, subscribe to your blog, follow you on Twitter, sign up for your email newsletter, or register for a webinar. 2. How many people are downloading your stuff? You can measure how many people are downloading your e-books, presentation slides, videos, podcasts, and other content. 3. How often are bloggers writing about you and your ideas? 4. What are those bloggers saying? 5. Where are you appearing in search results for important phrases? 6. How many people are engaging with you and choosing to speak to you about your offerings? You can measure how many people are responding to contact forms and making requests for information. 7. How are sales looking? Is the company reaching its goals? Ultimately, the most important metric within management teams is revenue and profit. Your challenge is to resist the entrenched factions within your organization that insist on applying old measurement rules to new marketing ideas. Ultimately, if you can prove success using new metrics of engagement, you'll thrive.

Advantages of Public Relations - PR

There are many advantages of Public Relations which help business in many ways. They are. Credibility Because PR communications are not perceived in the same light as advertising that is, the public does not realize the organization either directly or indirectly paid for them they tend to have more credibility. The fact that the media are not being compensated for providing the information may lead receivers to consider the news more truthful and credible. For example, an article in newspapers or magazines discussing the virtues of aspirin may be perceived very much as more credible than an ad for a particular brand of aspirin. Cost In both absolute and relative terms, the cost of PR is very low, especially when the possible effects are considered. While a firm can employ AD agencies and spend millions of dollars on AD, for smaller companies, this form of communication may be the most affordable alternative available. Avoidance of Clutter Because they are typically perceived, as news items, PR messages are not subject to the clutter of ads. A story regarding a new product, introduction of break through is treated as

a news item and is likely to receive attention. Talks about the Aamir Khan movie, The Rising Lead Generation Information about the technological innovations, medical break-throughs and the like results almost immediately in a multitude of inquiries. These inquiries may give the firm some quality sales lead. Ability to reach specific groups Because some products appeal to only small market segments, it is not feasible to engage in advertising and / or promotions to reach them. If the firm does not have the financial capabilities, to engage in promotional expenditures, the best way to communicate to these groups is through PR. Language barriers in different parts of india Image Building Effective PR helps to develop positive image for the organization. A strong image is insurance against later mis-fortunes.

Disadvantages of Public Relations

Perhaps, the major disadvantage of PR is the potential for not completing communication process While PR ( public Relations ) messages can break through the clutter of commercials, the receiver may not make the connection to the source. Public Relations may also mis-fire through mis management and a lack of co-ordination with the marketing department. When the marketing and PR department operate independently, there is a danger of inconsistency in communication, redundancies in efforts and so on. The key to effective PR is to establish a good program, worthy of public interest and manage it properly. To determine if this program is working, the firm must measure the effectiveness of the Public Relations effort.

Public Relations the Process

Public Relations is a planned and sustained activity to help an institution create a social climate favorable for its growth. It is based on the fundamental belief that the survival of

any enterprise, public or private depends today on the sensitive response to changes in public opinion. DEFINITION The International Public Relations Association defines Public Relations as Public Relations is the art and social science of analyzing trends, predicting their consequences, counseling organisation leaders and implementing planned programmes of action which will serve both the organizations and the public interest. Public relation is a two way process. On the one hand it seeks to interpret an organization to society while on the other it keeps the organization informed about the expectation of the society. Fundamentally public relation is a means by which an organization improves its operating environment.

PR Process - Public Realtions

Establishing an public relations program on behalf of a business or industry, or a professional group, involves a series of steps that, although subject to some variation in differing situations, generally will include. Public relations activity has seven steps:

1. Analysis of the situation 2. Definition of problem areas 3. Identification of pertinent publics 4. Establishment of specific objectives 5. Planning of program 6. Implementation of program 7. Periodic evaluations of progress ANALYSIS OF THE SITUATION Analysis of the situation calls for broad study of all aspects of the business that affect the publics. The starting point will be the people in the business or industry (particularly those who are active in the company, such as board members, appropriate committee chairman and members, and so on) who appear to have awareness of the public relations

situation. The public relations person will begin by interviewing such people; from them he or she will go to people outside the business but in a position to observe it more closely than the average layman (these may include editors of trade publications, officials of chambers of commerce and better business bureaus, government officials concerned with the regulations of the business or profession.

Who needs public relations

The diverse institutions and individuals requiring professional Public Relations go beyond the more traditionally defined corporate world. Who are they? And Who are they.

College or University A public relations expert needs to defuse those crisis situations where student bodies could be in revolt over demands, where there is a change in educational policy, where something could be wrong with the examination papers or simply when, in interaction with State and Central Governments, grants have to be sought or when a college organizes intercollegiate festivals. Newspaper Some of the better newspapers have Public Relations Staff quite separate from the advertising department or the marketing people.Times Of India is having lots of articles on the National Readership Survey, because they topped the list. Non-Profit Body From the point of view of the organisation, whether it is Rotary, UNICEF, the Red Cross, or any number of charitable and cultural and social service organizations, a Public Relations cell is an integral part of the institution. It has to interact with a number of bodies for its very existence, for the support of its causes, for mis-understandings that can crop-up as; at every stage it is public money at stake. Individual An aspirant to a political post needs it, so does a person standing for president-ship of a chamber of commerce. So does an actor, a producer or a gallery owner, or a non-resident who is seeking to make a mark in the Indian business circle.Shripad Nadkarni of Coke needed PR as his image was shattered when Sushmita Sen lay allegations on him of sexual harassment. He got the support from his company & Miss sen was shown thumbs down.

Public Relations in Crisis

They are mostly inexplicable & because of external factors- like rumors & negative competitive propaganda. The way to handle this kind of crisis is to establish direct contact with your publics & explain the facts. Silence or the no comment response is in a way confessing of ignorance, acceptance or guilt.

Wrong public perceptions Cadburys large press campaigns, informing the consumer that the worms found, were actually in very few samples. They also started project Vishvas where they distributed coolers and mini refrigerators to retailers to enable better preservation of the product. Product failure Here one is referring to damage caused by the failure of products in use- such as injuries, pollution, loss of reputation & esteem & so on. Here honesty is the best policy. You need to be open & transparent. You need to act fast to rectify the situation & communicate fast. Your company & its reputation is more important than its product. Cash crunch For daily operations a company needs cash flow. A problem of cash flow can affect ones performance. This is a problem which PR cannot solve directly. It is a top management problem to be handled by the CEO & the team. PR can play a supportive role in communicating the management policies of cost cutting & austerity. Industrial relations Labour problems, agitations & strikes are common. Dealing with it is an ongoing & continuous process. Mergers & Acquisitions This can lead to a crisis when there is a resistance to the takeover or acuistion from the present management or employees. Usually takeovers are accompanied by change of policies & ways of functioning & this results in conflicts. Good overall performance, good financial practices & communication at all levels are the important wayts to avoid such crisis. Press relations in emergencies/crisis

Some of the big questions that an on the spot spokesman should be ready to handle: What happened? What caused it? When did it happen? Where did it happen? How much damage has occurred? Were anybody killed or hurt? Managing crisis situations To handle a crisis we need to adopt a focused & concerted effort comprising: Planning Strategy An action plan Planning In planning, the key lies in defining the problem clearly. Once the problem & its cause has been understood the next step should be to fix clear-cut objectives that need to be met & can be achieved by communications with the target publics. 1 must arrive at the final message, or theme, (what to say) & define the primary audience (to whom). A company must be able to communicate effectively to every sector of the community in the event of a crisis. Strategy Whatever strategy be adopted there are some proven guidelines which need to be followed. One looks at all aspects of your operations to identify those that might become targets of opponents or snowball into bigger issues. Have the information organized & ready at all likely places where it might be needed- in writing if possible. Be open & honest in your response to the employees, media, & all your target groups. Giving out the information when it is most required is most essential. Have experts identified & readily available to impart information whenever & wherever needed. If possible have communication kits prepared & made available to be sent to people at the crisis scene as quickly as possible. Train your people for the toughest conditions they might encounter in a crisis- like facing hostile media, being interviewed, tackling baited questions in a television interview & so on. Action

Whatever strategy prepared should be implemented by keeping two things in mind, in viz: choosing the right media & getting proper coverage