1. Evaluate – Assess, Value, Price, Weigh, Calculate, Gage, Appraise:

It should be very difficult to quote or send an accurate financial proposal to a potential client without evaluating the client, service or product first.

Try to categorize the stages of a campaign into time frames taking into account any risk factors that the client may incur i.e. A wine estate’s late harvest or staff leave during winter. Industry events, public holidays affecting productivity and any other occasion that may stop, enhance or increase production are all points to consider and should be listed. Start by using a calendar as a blank canvas.

Honest assessments will ensure that the client is satisfied at the end of a campaign. It is suggested that no campaigns are for less than 6 months minimum. This takes into account most consumer publications working 3 months in advance as well as the time it might take to see SEO working for the client’s website and other online marketing and social media initiatives etc.

Not applicable to all campaigns (as products and services vary) but according to my previous experience with short and long term accounts, an introduction phase lasts from one to 3 months and thereafter a campaign gains momentum.

There are numerous expenses a PRO has to take into account when suggesting a realistic amount to the client

• The hidden costs of running an office – rental, maintenance, phones, computers, printers
• Administration
• Staff, whether they are employees or freelancers
• Magazines, newspapers, subscriptions and other resources for research
• Outsourced services such as a monitoring company
• Client expectations
• Distance to the client
• Meetings and status reports  – weekly, monthy, bimonthly,  quarterly/seasonal, annual

FORTHCOMING:

1. Initiate – Start, Introduce, Begin, Open, Commence, Pledge, Instruct, Teach:
2. Motivate – Inspire, Stimulate, Encourage, Persuade, Provoke, Arouse, Influence, Prompt, Cause, Spur, Activate, Move, Impel, Trigger Off:
3. Consolidate – Combine, Unite, Join, Fuse, Merge, Strengthen, Enhance, Secure, Establish, Connect:
4. Administrate – Control, Run, Manage, Direct, Oversee, Supervise, Be in charge of:
5. Validate – Justify, Support, Endorse, Confirm, Authenticate, Corroborate, Prove, Show, Sustain, Verify, Establish, Develop:

PR (Public Relations)

The perception of PR, both by companies and – sadly – some PR agencies as well, is that public relations entails getting a client’s product or service into a publication without paying for it. Whether any sales are generated from the publicity, however, doesn’t seem to be part of the job. The job description ran a bit off-course when the focus became more about selling the product or service to the media than to the public.

Since the digital age has come into play and more understanding of social media, blogging and SEO has been offered by various information sources on and offline, PR’s are being offered an abundance of measuring tools and services to increase their profits and implement strategic PR campaigns to merge with sales and marketing initiatives.

So what should PR be? Public Relations is what it says: building relationships with the public. It’s not about distributing a press release but rather about starting conversations in the right medium to your target market – spreading the word within an interested community, to interact with or buy and refer the ‘product’.

So perhaps PR should change its own perceptions and merge with ICT. The introduction of online campaigns or PRT (Public Relations Technology) should be imminent.

Social media, social media marketing and just being ‘social’ are 3 totally different things. Limitless in applications there are also confidential and ethical boundaries when using online resources that when crossed can cause dire circumstances for business, credibility and growth potential.

SOME RULES FOR THE PRT HANDBOOK:

• Although many institutions and representatives thereof are keen to be seen on social media sites to increase their profiles, personal brands and list their offerings it’s important to note that you cannot over indulge in only these resources for sales and marketing purposes.

• Media should be contacted directly via telephone or email to establish if they are interested in receiving certain information.

• Media should receive personalized emails, press releases and invitations.

• Don’t stalk companies and their representatives online. If someone connects with you does that mean you’re open to befriend and email them etc.?

• No-one can assume the right to using an email address without prior consent before sending information to anyone in the blogger sphere.

…and so we can continue to elaborate…

There are no definite procedures or a book of Do’s and Don’ts. With social media being as new as it is in the bigger scheme of things, and each to their own regarding how to be or not to be contacted by other institutions using the same social site as yours, wouldn’t it be great to see the text book that enforces a global etiquette.

It is my understanding that traditional PR, or PR as we knew it, will never be the same again as technologies have opened up a limitless resource of online information and freedom to say and be who we want to be. More truths are being exposed daily and print media have been shocked into catching up. The masses are being offered an opportunity to give our opinion on any subject and expose our thoughts across many different forums. This is the way of the future…

Recently, which is more SEO related, Google has started adding reviews from non-traditional websites. A good example of this is Bob & Paige Salon, they are receiving reviews from a blog article written about them. The reviews are coming from the comments area of the blog post (below the post). This does potentially complicate reputation management but for good reasons though. When Google began using reviews within Google Maps there was an influx of companies generating their own reviews which appeared rather spammy at times. To counteract the spammers, Google has taken it on themselves to source natural reviews from blogs, comments and alike. Business owners have no control of the new algorithm so whether it is good or bad, Google will have the opportunity to expose the truth as to what people are saying about companies. I wonder if Hello Peter will be on Google’s list??

To date I haven’t seen these new additions within Google South Africa’s search results but it won’t be long until we do.

NOTE: How to build an online strategy centered around public relations?

Step ONE: Identify the top blogs in your industry. So for example, let’s say we are marketing a company in the travel and tourism industry. The first step would be to find out who were in the shortlist for the South African Travel blogger awards this year. Once we have identified them we have a look at their blog rolls and identify a few other top blogs. We can instantly see which are the top blogs by their Page Rank, the interaction within their blog (user comments) and any other social media platforms that they may use (Facebook, YouTube, Twitter etc).

Step TWO: Create a spreadsheet and insert the following into the columns:

• website addresses
• contact information (phone, physical address, or any combination available to you)
• specific editor names (when applicable; especially needed for larger sites) and contact information
• the angle the particular writer or site tends to take on your topic (e.g., do they usually only pick up breaking news or do they also give light to time saving tips or how to guides)
• columns for the date last contacted
• response received
• times they’ve linked to you

Now that you have created this list you will be able to use it. If you have a good online personality, a portion of this list will become “friends of the site” and become your network within the niche.

Step THREE: Create a Twitter and Facebook account.

Step FOUR: Make contact with these editors/columnists. The key is not to become an inteloper, don’t only contact them when you need something. We all despise this immensely. Send a personalised email to them introducing yourself and your website, and complement them on a good article that they wrote. I can’t stress the importance of not asking for a link straight away, they will put up a brick wall immediately if you do this. Some bloggers don’t accept emails though so find forums and blogs that they belong to and interact with them there. Add value to the discussion though and start contributing your own thoughts and opinions to threads/discussions.

Step FIVE: Create linkbait. Having content worth talking about is crucial. Don’t always repeat what other industry players are writing about but rather write your own opinions and maybe even be slightly controversial at times.

Step SIX: Start contacting your contact list. If you think an article would be found interesting by so and so, contact them, get in their faces and make your voice heard. If they don’t mention you in their blog post they will hopefully sign up for your feed or remember your brand name for when they do find a reason to link to you.

Remember:

1. Don’t email them everytime you write an article, make sure your post will be found interesting to them. In your email refer back to an old article they wrote about and ask their opinion on your article. Be friendly.
2. Once you have got them to subscribe to your feed, stop the ‘selling’ emails and begin sending the ‘relationship building’ emails. There must not be any sales pitches or “look what I wrote” but rather go in at a conversation perspective.
3. Finally, if you still get no response out of them, then maybe write a positive article specifically about them with a link back to them.

Do all the above and be patient. The results will come.