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The Five Commandments of Good Public Relations

This post was First Published on Paul Writer.com

The last two years have not been great for the Public Relations industry Worldwide. Considered a ‘frill’ addition for business, public relations agencies, had to face a lot of hardships in the name of recession, from fee cuts to contract pre-closures to working for a non-fee just to retain the account.

As 2010 comes to an end, it seems the industry can finally look at some good times ahead. But like in life it is the toughest of times that leave you with the strongest of learnings….

For those who managed to survive the recession, here are my

5 commandments of Public Relations

For success in the coming years and for surviving another bad phase, if it ever strikes again

Commandment 1

Thou shalt love thy Clients as thyself

This should be the most important and most basic rule for any PR person. If you love your client and work for them like you would work for your own company or your own self, you will definitely be loved back. Clients will then stop treating you as ‘frill’ material and more like an insider. And when crisis strikes – the rule book says, ‘families should stick together as one, through thick and thin’.

Commandment 2

Thou shalt be honest in thy approach

Being honest here means, you will be honest in how you interact with your client. As an expert the onus lies on you to protect your client from PR pitfalls. If you believe that, however passionate a client might be about a product, service or feature update, there is no story value in there from a media or reader perspective – put it down.

Suggest other marketing alternatives, but do not go out pitching and sending out mindless press notes, if you see no value in doing so. It might miff the client, but it is your job to show him you are the expert here and know what is best for him – You are on the same side, right! He will understand, eventually and respect you more for being upfront, rather than wasting his resources on another mindless exercise.

Commandment 3

Thou shalt not send senseless pitches to journalists

I firmly believe that one of the reasons PR people are often considered insignificant by the journalists is because the focus is always on building contacts to get out a story at some point of time. Imagine yourself in their shoes – would you be comfortable in establishing a relationship of trust and mutual understanding, knowing well the selfish intentions of the other person?

It is not too difficult to understand what kind of stories might excite a journalist. You just have to read up the work done by him/her in the past, make note of areas they cover and then evaluate your own pitch – is it newsworthy?

I used to be a journalist and probably that is why I value this process the most, I do not approach a journalist ever, unless I feel confident, that I would like to read something like this in a newspaper or blog – as a reader and not as a PR person looking for Client related news clippings.

Commandment 4

Thou shalt not make false claims

PR agencies know from day one, what they can promise and deliver a client. But many still go the extra length of promising the sun, moon and stars (more like make hay while they can) and end up maligning the reputation of the PR fraternity as a whole. Such an attitude is not good for anyone in the industry.

Promising what you can deliver and working towards the deliverables is going to ensure, happier clients and more referrals for the agency. False claims can win you some quick buck in the short run, but you will be the first to go off the vendor list in case your client decides to optimize his spending.

Commandment 5

Thou shalt not shy away from doing thy bit in the hour of crisis

In bad times people look for advice and support from people they trust. If you feel your client is reeling under recession and financial problems – try being considerate. If you can, offer help in the form of a fee cut (voluntarily) or additional efforts for the same fee so that they make the right sounds while trying to overcome the crisis. With one such move, you will ensure your entry into your client’s trusted circle.

Most companies want their employees and service providers to be patient and support them when going through a crisis, instead of adding to their problems by reminding about contract clauses and payment deadlines etc.

Of course it also depends on the equation you have shared with the client this far. If they are someone who have never delayed your payments in the past, then maybe it is safe to give them some leeway. Companies value service providers who stand by them in difficult times.

Look at it other way, they can just end your contract and save on the money, by voluntarily cutting back on the fee and increasing your efforts is a great way of ensuring you retain the client.

The fundamentals of PR are very simple. PR thrives on relationships and an understanding of needs, be it that of a client or a journalist.

Wish you a successful 2011!

iPitch : Apple's Media Spin!!

Apple launched its iPad this week and made the media across the world go into a tizzy. The buzz that followed the launch was any PR professional’s dream come true – every one had something to say about the new Apple product.

7000 Apple tweets per minute during iPad announcement.

Thousands of technology journalists and bloggers across the World hooked to every word Steve Jobs had to say about his latest offering and a front page headline on most publications across the World.

A quick search on Google – is enough to showcase the media frenzy Apple unleashed with its recent product launch.

Over 6 Million coverages for its iPad is currently visible on the search engine of which more than 330,000 are mentions in blogs from all over…

Am I then surprised to hear a fellow tweeter tweet – “I would love to join the PR team of Apple – it is the easiest job on Earth.”

Looking at all the eyeballs Apple manages to get and all the tongues it sets rolling, I feel like agreeing with my tweet buddy. iPod, iPhone and now the iPad each outdid the other in terms of media coverage.

As a company Apple has always been tight lipped, which has worked for it in many ways. Speculations about its tablet PC were rife in the market, videos of its tablet PC were available on YouTube for over a month before the launch, yet it could not diminish the curiosity of the technology buffs and managed to take all by surprise.

While I would like to believe all this interest in Apple and its products is because of the great work and efforts put in by their marketing and communications team – in truth it’s not their doing, at least not ‘just’ their doing.

The real credit goes to the people behind the products Apple launches. They have managed to establish themselves as the creators of the most desirable products in the World – known for their cutting edge technology and exclusiveness, which every time manages to change the course of future technology.

Very rarely do you see the pride of owning a branded gadget like that among the Apple users.

Cynics can debate that despite the technology they were down in the dumps and almost on the verge of closure before they re-created themselves with the iPod, and yes there is truth in that – but then iPod was a success because of its technology and the way it managed to capture the imagination of music lovers all over.

Public Relations as a profession is a lot about creating that feel good fluff around your clients and their products, but for it to really make a mark it is important that the product in itself is good, of high quality and one which finds favor among its users.

At the end of the day, if the user experience is compromised, then how much ever good you write about it – the truth will finally find its way out.

Public Relations as a profession is a lot about creating that feel good fluff around your clients and their products, but for it to really make a mark it is important that the product in itself is good, of high quality and one which finds favor among its users.

At the end of the day, if the user experience is compromised, then how much ever good you write about it – the truth will finally find its way out.

I wouldn’t like to undermine the role PR professionals can play in creating the hype and building a company’s brand reputation – after all it’s my bread and butter.

But the truth is even if I were the best PR person in the World, with the best of media relations I would not be able to build the hype and keep it going if, the end product I was promoting was not good enough.

That is where Apple makes a mark. Its products and their users speak on its behalf. Apple believes in making – the ownership of an Apple product an experience. From the way Steve Jobs launches a product to the way Apple stores market it – everything is about experience.

UTalkMarketing Editor, Clark Turner quotes, “Tim Greenhalgh, a PR consultant at Liberate Media in his post, “No one does desire like Apple, and no one presents desire as well as Steve Jobs.”

Apple iPad

Good or bad, every time Apple launches its products – it creates something that is desirable by millions around the planet. And when millions want information on something – there will be thousands who would seek to provide them.