Public opinion (Cont.) & Writing for pr

1. Public opinion (Cont.) & Writing for pr

2. Today… • Persuasive evidence • Reputation management • Group activity • Old Rules vs. New Rules of PR • Writing a Press Release

3. Recap • Importance of messages: the content, how it is delivered, who delivers it • Opinions- expression of a solidified attitude • Changing attitudes can be difficult • Cognitive Dissonance • Social Judgment Theory • Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

4. Persuade me • If you want to persuade people, you have to give them evidence that matches with their beliefs, emotions and expectations.

5. What evidence persuades? • Facts- this is why we start with research • Emotions and emotional appeals

6. What evidence persuades? • Personalization- people connect with personal experiences. • Appealing to “you”- people don’t get tired of hearing the word “you”

7. Public opinion = reputation management • Reputation is impacted by what one does, not by what one says.

8. In 2013… • Top 2:

10. Armed Robbery on Georgetown’s Campus

11. ARMED ROBBERY ON GEORGETOWN’S CAMPUS • Who are your primary publics? • Hypothesize about their current opinion of Georgetown College’s safety and the college’s reputation. • Choose two of your primary publics and describe: • How you would go about changing their opinions • How you would communicate with them (marketing mix)

12. writing

13. Old Rules of pr • The Old PR Rules: Press releases go straight to the media to try to gain media coverage. Media is the audience. • News had to be significant to get coverage. • Releases required quotes from third parties. • Only way consumers heard about the story was if media covered it. • PR and Marketing were completely separate, with different goals and strategies.

14. New rules of pr • The New PR Rules: Press releases and PR communication goes to the consumer. Consumers are the audience members. • People want authenticity and participation. • Content is delivered right when the audience needs it. • The internet has made PR public again, instead of one way through media. • Direct communication through blogs, online video, e-books and news releases. • Social networks = shareability.

15. Content marketing & Online releases • “Content marketing is a marketing technique of creating and distributing relevant and valuable content to attract, acquire and engage a clearly defined and understood target audience with the objective of driving profitable customer action” (Content Marketing Institute, n.d.).

16. Reasons to write a release • Impact- something that has a large impact on an organization, community or society • Oddity- an unusual occurrence or milestone • Conflict- dispute or controversy • Known principal- the person announcing is notable • Proximity- localized to the area • New Rule- write about anything and everything

17. Writing in the inverted pyramid

19. In Sending a release • Send to only one reporter at a time • Limit subject lines and make them enticing • Boldface “FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE” • Limit length- PR Newswire says average is 500 words • Get to the point immediately- use the 5 Ws • No attachments • Link to supporting information, if any • Remember readability