Best Practices in PR

The practice of public relations is often misunderstood and under-appreciated. Public Relations is critical to any organization’s success, whether it is for marketing purposes or for maintaining a responsible reputation.

Throughout the duration of this semester, I compiled a “holy grail”, if you will of best practices for PR. As PR continues to change, so does its practices. In my research of speakers, PR blogs, experiences from inside and outside of class, readings, and lessons from my professor I have listed five crucial elements to the success of any public relations campaign.

Read the newspaper daily. Part of PR is being up to date. Researching currency in public relations is the most important element of PR. So many factors hang on the relevant findings of conclusive research. Find out what the competition is up to. Find what’s current. Find what’s hot. In order to know where you are going you need to know where you are now and position campaigns in a way reflective of your findings. In doing so, messages will never be dated, information will always be accurate, and your PR strategy will always be a success.

Targeting and connecting with the appropriate media. Paul Rand of marketingpower.com tells this story to reiterate the importance of this practice. A former foreign editor of The Wall Street Journal loved to tell reporters going overseas that he wanted them to scour Sri Lanka for an old man with a white beard sitting under a tree who had cornered the tea market. “Find him,” he commanded. Whether such a recluse existed or not, the editor knew such influential people exist and finding them is key to executing any PR message. Placing the right kind of information in front of the right people can spell success or failure. You would not pitch a business story to the editor of the entertainment section. That guarantees your story will not be picked up. Pitching to the wrong outlet is public relations death.

Timing is everything. Keep your stories up timely. Pitching an old story is like curdled milk. It is past its expiration date and nobody wants it. Sometimes, if a story is more lax with its release date it is helpful to wait for slow news day. If you pitch a story when the media is starving for news, it’s more likely to get published. A story pitched the day after the September 11th attacks about a new line of clothing stands zero chance of reaching publication, unless you applied a timely angle. If the designer donated new clothes to the victims of the attacks or set up a memorial fund, you might stand a chance.

Stay on the cutting edge. Know what’s trendy. Staying up on current events and trends provides the necessary knowledge to position PR practices in a way that is relevant and interesting to society. For example, people no longer watch the nightly news. Right now, people get their news through alternative channels. Comedians like Jay Leno and Conan O’Brien provide just enough information about current events to allow people to feel caught up and informed while being entertained. There are companies out there like, LookLook.com that have capitalized on the importance of trendiness and provide information to companies about trends and catalog them.

Be a great writer. Your ability to write sells your ideas. It establishes you as a credible source. In order to be taken seriously you need to communicate effectively. Be polished. Keep writing tight and concise. Convey your message clearly. Keeping to the point and eliminating fluff is key to great writing. Only excellent pieces get media hits so in this case, it pays to be anal retentive about grammar, errors, and formatting.