What is Public Relations? Dispelling the Myths and Restoring Reality

1. What is Public Relations? Dispelling the Myths and Restoring Reality • Ami Neiberger, APR

2. Common Myths about Public Relations • You need a PR degree to do it. • You have be an eloquent writer to do PR well. • The media hate PR people and they hate getting press releases. • PR people answer to money not to ethics. • Spin doctoring, flaks, etc.

3. Basic Definition • Public relations is the management of communication between an organization and its publics. • We are all involved in and connected to public relations. Even the aliens among us!

4. Don Bagin - It’s Good Work • In its broadest sense, public relations is “good work, publicly recognized.” There is no secret formula. Public relations is simply a group itself saying by its actions and services: “This is who we are, what we think about ourselves, what we want to do and why we deserve your support.”

5. Thou shalt overcome neurotic humility about promotion. Thou shalt get thy head out of the clouds. Thou shalt remember that people love to give and give to love. Thou shalt not give up. Thou shalt ask at every opportunity for promotion of good works. Thou shalt believe that one person or idea can make a difference. Thou shalt not be afraid to think big. The PR Moral Manifesto for Charities and Nonprofits

6. Characteristics of a Good 4-H PR Program • It is planned. There is a written plan in existence consisting of objectives and strategies. • There is two-way communication between the organization and its key publics, both internal and external. Listening is important! • Honesty is the cornerstone of educational public relations.

7. Four-Step PR Process • Research • Planning • Communicating • Evaluating

8. Pinpoint who’s behavior we want to change or who we want to influence. Mounting a PR effort without even some basic research is like jumping out of a plane without a parachute. Research

9. Who are the key audiences we want to influence? What perceptions are prevalent among those audiences now? What sources of information do those audiences use now? Research Questions

10. Implementing the PR plan through the goals, strategies and tactics identified. Newsletters News Releases Signage Speeches Themes Celebrations Special Programs Communicating

11. Credibility Context Content Clarity Continuity and Consistency Channels Capability The Seven C’s of Communication

12. Formative evaluation is attempted throughout the campaign to determine if the messaging has the desired effect. Question-gathering Small focus groups to test concepts. “Taking the temperature” of how the campaign is received. Evaluation - During the Campaign

13. Summative evaluation is conducted when the campaign is over and the result is known. Try to learn from both mistakes and success. Post-campaign surveys. Number of media hits during the campaign. Focus group research. Evaluation - After the Campaign

14. RESEARCH IDENTIFY PROBLEM PUBLICS - note who is key OBJECTIVES - short term and long term STRATEGIES - explain using audiences IMPLEMENTATION - Message, Tools, Spokesperson EVALUATION Basic PR Plan Outline

15. Basic PR Plan (shorter) • Mission • Goals • Objectives • Strategies • Tactics