More Than Advertising

The Inner Thoughts of an Aspiring PR Professional

[hollyhines]

How to Measure Relations in Public Relations

Strap on your seatbelts everyone. We are in for a bumpy ride on this next topic.

The process of evaluation is crucial to just about any occupation you choose to be a part of, however, it is possible to measure the feelings of another human being? How can you measure something that’s not tangible?

Thankfully, this difficult question has been solved by scholars in the occupation. Dr. Linda Childers Hon and Dr. James E. Grunig, tackles this problem head on with six dimensions of the PR Relationship Measurement Scale. 

They include :

Control Mutuality -- “Parties agree on who has the rightful power to influence one another.”

Trust -- The level of confidence in another person and the “willingness” to open up.

Satisfaction -- Both involved in the relationship “feels favorably toward the other because [of] positive expectations.”

Commitment -- “The relationship is worth spending energy to maintain and promote.”

Exchange Relationship -- “One party gives benefits to the other only because the other has provided benefits in the past.”

Communal Relationship -- Two sided benefits.

Kind of sounds like a typical relationship should be, right? Well you are correct. The people that you are reaching out to should have that same kind of committed relationship with your company if you’re doing your job right. There’s a trick to it though. In order for people to care about you in that matter means you have to honestly care for them in the same way.

In regards to the company I’ve been working with all semester: Heifer Ranch. There is a lot to improve with their social media game, however, they do a good job at caring deeply for the people they do have currently. That in and of itself is a win and will bring them a lot of support in the future.

In conclusion, people want to be cared for. I’m not trying to be the wholesome and optimistic person that I’m seen in, but I do think that people need to care for others a little more. We’re all trying our very best out here and could use a helping hand.

YOU as the “relator of the public” (cough cough PUBLIC RELATIONS cough cough) could help a lot. It’s not a checklist or a to do list, and honestly gets me upset that it’s so surprising that this concept had to written out and studied. I’m going to stop now before I get on my soap box about it, but here’s my call to action: Take time for people.

Care about them. Love them well. That’s how you’ll get the numbers of followers that you so desire to achieve. You’ll get the numbers, but give people a reason to follow you.

HH

Photo: https://slicecommunications.com

[hollyhines]

“Speak your mind! … Oh, but not like that.”

This last week in my Public Relations Management class at the University of Central Arkansas we broke out into one of the most important yet rarely recognized topics to consider: ethics. 

Many people have their different definitions of value and what they consider to be valuable depending on their occupation. I am here to bring awareness to the fact that even public relations professional have their own set of values that we strive to abide by as we continue our journey in the profession.

https://www.prsa.org/ethics/code-of-ethics/#.Vowg8_H8_aw

According the the Public Relations Society of America, there are 6 main professional values that is crucial for PR practitioners to follow.

Advocacy, Honesty, Expertise, Independence, Loyalty, & Fairness

These guidelines should be (and are frequently) used in any job you get as a PR professional simply because it is your job to communicate to the public about what goes on in and around your company.

In today’s society, there are a lot of people in the world who get offended pretty easily by the accidental verbal slip ups. As the voice to the voiceless, it is our job to be careful of how we frame the conversation so we can avoid any need for crisis communication. Don’t let your voice be the reason for an industry to flop.

Let’s watch this is in action as we look into the crisis that happened on United Airlines when a video went viral of a passenger forcibly getting dragged off the plane by law enforcement officers. With the physical aspect as a part of the story, this is an absolute nightmare for the PR team.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VrDWY6C1178

In this situation, there’s very little this team can do as there is a video evidence of what happened. As a response, the team was very quick to put the CEO on stage as he let this statement:

“This is an upsetting event to all of us here at United. I apologize for having to re-accommodate these customers. Our team is moving with a sense of urgency to work with the authorities and conduct our own detailed review of what happened. We are also reaching out to this passenger to talk directly to him and further address and resolve this situation.”

- Oscar Munoz, CEO, United Airlines

In this apology, the CEO (representing United Airlines expressed Advocacy, Honesty, Loyalty and Fairness to his audiences. Ethically, this is the best that they could do in order to regain their image that they will still continue to work on. Regardless, ethics were used even in a time of crisis.

As a future public relations professional, I would encourage to also remain kind, remain fair, and remember that you are an advocate of the company you choose to represent. Your actions speak loud and your words speak louder. Be careful of what you say because people are watching. No pressure though ❤️

[hollyhines]

Keeping It Simple

Happy Friday Night, my friends!

This post will not be your typical informational post about public relations. This is about a simple message that I feel like more people need to hear and live by.

I am no perfect human being. In fact, I am FAR from it. However, through life I’ve learned a valuable lesson.

“Use ENCOURAGEMENT as your weapon.”

I think of this everyday; whether I'm hanging out with friends or putting on my best dressed for a public relations event. Sometimes in PR we tend to act like robots going from one thing to the over, but what we do is more than a job. Public Relations gives you the ability to encourage others daily as you meet and interact with new people. This may be the only time you will see them, so enjoy this moment. Talk to people like they are people with the same kind of beating heart that you have. We’re all doing our best out here, so give out encouragement like it’s candy.

HH

[hollyhines]

Quality over Quantity, my friends.

[hollyhines]

Objectives : Fun? Not exactly. Worthwhile? Absolutely.

In all honesty, when it comes to having a job in public relations (or anything for that matter) there will be parts that don’t fit into my definition of “fun.” However, there’s something more to benefit from other than temporary happiness. We need to focus on the picture of our organization that will make it worthwhile.

That same kind of worth comes from what we all dread … Research!

Forrest W. Anderson, author of Guidelines for Setting Measurable Public Relations Objectives: An Update, gives 6 reasons behind “setting clear, concise and measurable objectives in public relations.”

Objectives create a structure for prioritization.

Objectives reduce the potential for disputes before, during, and after the program

Objectives focus resources to drive performance and efficiency

Objectives help create successful programs by identifying areas for prescriptive change and continual improvement.

Objectives set the stage for evaluation by making it easier for sponsors and team-members to determine if the PR program met or exceeded expectations.

Objectives link the PR objectives to the business objective.

All 6 of these reasons are based in the overall well-being of the company and everything that they stand for. As a PR professional, it is our duty to put our best foot forward and continue to pursue the best future for our company. 

How do we do that? By giving the team something to look forward to. These are set through our objectives placed for the company.

https://blog.patrickrothfuss.com/2013/12/worldbuilders-at-the-heifer-ranch/

As an example, I’ll look towards Heifer Ranch in Perryville, Arkansas as we explore outputs, outcomes, and business results as described in Anderson’s, Guidelines for Setting Measurable Public Relations Objectives: An Update. Below you will find examples for each.

Outputs: “We had a total of 200 students attend our weekly educational programs at Heifer Ranch during the month of November.”

Outcomes: “Through these educational programs, the families we given an evaluation sheet. ⅔ of the families completed the evaluations all with high praise.”

Business Results: “In the future, we plan to implement and raise profit for the educational classes by at least 20% to complete our goal of raising 100 new livestock for families living in poverty.”

So, no. Research is not fun. Setting objectives for the future is not fun (depending on how comfortable you are with the unknown,) but it is so worthwhile to your personal being and the overall future of the company that you are representing, and because of this point, it is so important to look through all three types of areas: outputs, outcomes, and business results.

As my challenge to you, I encourage you to take the time to do the things that aren’t as fun in order to further the image of the company to represent. It’s not fun, but it is worth it.

[hollyhines]

In case you forgot this truth today 💛

[hollyhines]

Spot the Difference: Marketing vs. Public Relations

Honesty Hour.

There’s been several people that I would consider to be close friends and family members that regularly ask me, “What is public relations?” “What do you even do with your major?” “Do you just sit around in class and play on your phone all day?” Not lying.

For this post we’re going to look at the difference between public relations and modern day marketing. Finally, we are going to answer the questions, “What is public relations?”

How does the book define it?

Public Relations: A strategic communication process that builds mutually beneficial relationships between organizations and their publics (PRSA)

Marketing: the activity, set of institutions, and processes for creating, communicating, delivering, and exchanging offerings that have value for customers, clients, partners, and society at large. (AMA)

What do the scholars have to say about it?

James E. Grunig, author of The Role of Public Relations in Management and Its Contribution to Organization and Societal Effectiveness, claims that there is specific value that comes out of public relations.

“Public relations should have value to the larger society as well as to specific organizations.”

Let me make myself very clear, I have absolutely nothing against marketing. I think both public relations and marketing are needed to our society.

However, I do favor public relations though, but not for the competition of it all. If done right, public relations does more than just scamming people into buying things, it’s the part of the organization that shows people that they care just like Grunig suggests.

It doesn’t take but two seconds to show someone you genuinely care for them.

And we could all use that little pick me up.

[hollyhines]

People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.

Maya Angelou

[hollyhines]

The Crucial Evaluating Process

Hello friends!

On today’s post I will be discussing Walter K. Lindenmann's work of the evaluation process and how to apply his findings to the young life of a future public relations professional.

The 5 Components of the Evaluation Process as told by Walter K. Lindenmann

1) Setting specific measurable PR goals and objectives

Every day is a new opportunity to make something of it. However, you only have 24 hours and time is ticking away. As a public relations professional, you need to create goals and objectives to get you to continually progress. The world moves very quickly, and we need to keep up with it. Set goals, but make them reachable and attainable.

2) Measuring PR Outputs

An output is how your organization presents itself. Lindenmann explains that it’s important to measure this as you do it. It will not all show the progress that your company has made, but it will also show what the organization could do to improve in the future.

There is ALWAYS room for growth.

3) Measuring PR Outtakes

An outtake determines if “key audience groups actually received the messages directed at them.” Did the audience actually comprehend your message or was it just another thing to skim through?

4) Measuring PR Outcomes

An outcome is whether your message actually sparked an “opinion, attitude and/or behavior change.” Did the audience actually feel what you feel or did they nod their head and keep moving to the next thing?

5) Measuring Business and/or Organization Outcomes

Public relations practitioners have to work hand in hand with the mission of the organization. Whatever happens in the higher up areas of your business, you need to be in tune with.

Let’s Break This Down

Using a real world example … Heifer International

Heifer International works to end poverty around the world by provide resources for food to people in different cultures. Here’s how they could measure their organization’s outputs, outtakes, and outcomes.

Outputs :  Creating and sharing multiple posts on various social media outlets.

Outtakes : The social media posts reaching more than just the general population. More specifically, perhaps sending out personal emails to your dedicated subscribers. Make them be a part of the story.

Outcomes : The customer taking time out of their day to express gratitude to Heifer International either through commenting, email, or a personal note.

Our world moves incredibly fast, we have to keep up, but we also have to give people something worth talking about.

Feeling a little overwhelmed? Keep it simple; start with caring for your audience. What do they need that you have the power to give them? Then go from there.