PR in a nutshell

Courtesy of, http://www.frontpagepr.com/public_relations/

Ethics in PR

Spin, Lies, Propaganda, Buearacracy.

Four words which recurred often when I surveyed the public with the question: "What do you think of when I say 'Public Relations'?"

Those who answered 'Buearacracy' must have been public servants, or  people who worked closely with the government. 'Propaganda' must have been the traditionalists; those who adhere to an Edward Bernays philosophy. 'Spin' and 'Lies', I can assume were some general public perceptions. (Keeping in mind there were also plenty of good reviews of PR)

So how much of PR is actually lies and deceit?

I believe people like Max Clifford do the PR industry no favours. However, I can understand how the bending of truth is a necessary part of the industry. 

Although, to me, bending the truth involves giving people the same message, but with an emotional twist. Humans are emotional beings, and their emotions need to be tended to carefully. 

Many people would say emotional positioning is wrong, because any message that isn't objective is somehow deceitful. I don't believe it is 'wrong' or deceitful. Nothing in this world is entirely objective, and if it were, we would all be robots.

It is considerate to be aware of audiences emotions, and as long as everybody is happy in the end, and the truth has been stuck to, what harm has been done?

Sorting Cyberspace

A problem that I am faced with, as a frequent web user, is how to syndicate all my accounts, usernames and emails on the internet.

At the moment I have around 6 email addresses and countless username accounts all over the internet. I started with a really lame username and email that I thought of when I was 13 and have gradually grown disinterested in following usernames since. I create a new web-name every two or three years. So how do we tackle web organisation in an efficient manner?

A few tips:

1. Put all usernames and password hints on one big list, like so:

Website - Username - Password Hint
Website - Username - Password Hint
Website - Username - Password Hint
etc.
And keep it in an accessible place, in case you forget any.

2. Keep a consistent password to match each username (Unless there are forseeable security risks)

lonelybob123 - kittens
lonelybob123 - kittens
amazingbob9 - dolphins
amazingbob9 - dolphins

3. Use an email client, these keep track of multiple email accounts.

Mozilla Thunderbird is my preferred.
Windows Live Mail also does a good job.

See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_e-mail_clients

4. Delete any unwanted accounts! This way if you ever need to use a site again you can start fresh.

5. Merge your email accounts:

See: http://www.ehow.com/how_7182667_merge-email-accounts.html

So what has this got to do with PR?

PR involves a lot of multi-tasking and account managing. It is too easy to be disorganised on the internet!

Make organisation part of your PR practice, and even your life practice!


Creative Commons image.

World of Words

The wonderful thing about the English language is that there is often five words to a meaning.
The problem is, people react differently to different words. Examples:

War - Conflict
Debate - Discussion
Tactics - Strategies
Clients - Customers, Consumers
Sunglasses - Shades
Laptop - Notebook
Professional - Expert
Spy - Intelligence Officer
etc.

Every day we are faced with choices over what words to use, based on what reactions we want.
It may seem like a minor detail, but the words we choose could have a significant impact on the intended message and emotions that we wish to convey.

Take this mission statement:

"Our Roadmap starts with our mission, which is enduring. It declares our purpose as a company and serves as the standard against which we weigh our actions and decisions."- The Coca-Cola Company Mission Statement

What the hell is a Roadmap? Why is their mission enduring? What is it serving? Why are they weighing things?
The whole sentence doesn't make sense... Yet, I still feel good about it. Something about it makes me trust in this.


What it means, I think, is "Coca-Cola makes decisions based on a set of company morals."


... Not nearly as glamourous.


Choose your words carefully, and remember that humans are emotional beings. Stir us and we weep. When we weep, we forget. We forget the pain, we forget the past, but we are left with the tingling residue of emotion... We can't explain it. Sometimes, we just want to cry. Sometimes, we want to laugh. And sometimes we get so caught up in emotion and word selection that we forget what we were typing.

Small Social Media

Social Media is an ever increasing need for small businesses.

Small businesses need it:

• to keep up with competitors;
• to understand clients;
• and, to look better.

But social media is only a small part of the public relations picture.

Social media can make or break a business, but with the sudden adoption of social media into society, it's safe to say 'a lack of social media will break a business'. Which is why small businesses need to get social media, and get it right.

Here are a few tips to keep your business afloat with social media:

1. Have a consistent voice, not an annoying one.
   Tweet at least, but no more than, once a day. Post on facebook no more than once a week, unless the message is important. Over-saturating consumers is never a good thing.
   
2. Keep it relevant. Don't communicate anything that doesn't relate to your business.
   No tweets of how cute your cat looks.
   
3. Be aware. Take note of who 'likes' and 'retweets' and how many people did so. Also take note of the conversations that take place regarding your product. This information is invaluable!