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Either way, asking members of your key target audience questions such as those outlined above along with
responses you receive, provide foundation data that underpins your entire public relations effort.
But, as you monitor audience member responses to your questions, stay alert for hesitant or evasive observations about your organization. Do you note statements that are untrue or misconceived? How about inaccuracies, rumors or false assumptions? You’ll need to remedy them because we know that negative perceptions inevitably lead to negative behaviors that must be fixed to protect your operation.
As mentioned, data your interactive monitoring produces is raw material with which you create your public relations goal. And that might well be clearing up that misconception, correcting that inaccuracy or replacing an untruth with truth.
Reaching that goal is another matter. You need right strategy to show you how to get there. As luck would have it, they’re but three strategic choices in perception/opinion matters like this. Create perception/opinion where you have none, change that perception, or reinforce it.
Good writing doesn’t come easy, but that’s your next challenge. Here, you must put together message you will use to transmit your corrective facts and figures to those members of your target audience.
Now, all at same time – in a single message – you must be clear about why false assumption, misconception or inaccuracy should be clarified, or even corrected. Your message must present truthful supporting facts, and must be believable and, if at all possible, compelling.
Your public relations team will provide that talent. Also discuss with them blending message into a variety of public presentations so as not to damage its credibility with a high-profile announcement.
Keep in mind that timetable can always be accelerated by adding new communications tactics and by increasing their frequencies. Also a good idea to continue refining and updating message itself.
Happily, what you will have done is use a set of tools that helped you persuade your most important outside audiences to your way of thinking, then move them to take actions that lead to managerial success and, some might say, survival.
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Bob Kelly counsels, writes and speaks to managers about using the fundamental premise of public relations to achieve their operating objectives. He has been DPR, Pepsi-Cola Co.; AGM-PR, Texaco Inc.; VP-PR, Olin Corp.; VP-PR, Newport News Shipbuilding & Drydock Co.; director of communications, U.S. Department of the Interior, and deputy assistant press secretary, The White House. mailto:bobkelly@TNI.net Visit:http://www.prcommentary.com
