Full Frontal PR Report
Michael Raisanen

What is effective PR? A lot of clients and PR practitioners seem to have this issue confused, so let’s try to straighten things out.

1. What is PR?
To begin with, make sure you and your client (or C-suite folks) have a mutual understanding of the meaning of Public Relations. Here at RLM we are constantly surprised by the different perceptions people have of PR; it easily gets confused with everything from product innovation to affinity branding programs. I won’t be as prescriptive as to offer a well rounded definition for you to run with (that’s a whole other book… ISBN: 1576601811). But please, before you lead your client (or CEO) through your brilliant PR-plan, make sure you agree on the definition of PR.

2. Understand the goals.
What are the expectations and goals of your PR program? Do you want to increase sales? Do you want to change public perceptions? Raise awareness? Do you want more traffic to your Web site? Do you want to attract VC funding? Which demographic(s) are you trying to reach? Quantify and qualify as much as possible. If you don’t know why you are doing PR, it will never be effective. So align your strategy with that of your desired results.

3. Nail down your messaging.
Too much information is confusing for anyone, especially stressed-out reporters. So do a media audit to understand what your target reporters are looking for, and know exactly what you want to say and how this fits in to their purview. It is your job to sift through and organize this information. KiSS (Keep it Simple, Stupid). In order to fly, the information needs to be understandable, differentiating, appropriate, and timely. Check those four and you’re ready to go.

4. Identify your key audience(s).
Revisit #2 and figure out which people need to be communicated to in order to reach your goals. Put people in boxes—categorize. Once you have your boxes defined, figure out how to reach them. Decide which medium is optimal: Trade press? College radio? Blogs? Top 50 dailies? Trade show events? Oprah? Use experience and common sense; no magic needed.

5. Get to it.
This is where most PR fails for some strange reason. Companies have problems getting off the starting blocks. If you have been diligent in steps 1-4, you’ll have no problem. Just pick up the phone and call, send your emails, send faxes, become pals with the FedEx guy. Just make sure that you have an outward stream of step #3.

6. Follow up.
Reporters are busy, so they forget stuff. Even if your initial feedback was positive it doesn’t mean a thing until you’ve nailed it down a second time. That’s just the way it is.

Follow these steps and your PR efforts will be effective. We know, because we do this every day and it works. Is it easy? Sometimes yes, but mostly no. That is why people hire expertise, that’s the whole point of having a PR agency. Our job is to make things look simple. Ok, so it’s not brain surgery, but then again…. What is?

So how do you know if your PR efforts have been effective? Well, revisit bullet #2 and simply measure. Did you increase sales? Is Web site traffic up? Effective PR should create direct and tangible results. Otherwise, it isn’t really effective, right?

There it is, effective PR. Get to it.

Michael Raisanen is an account executive in RLM’s New York office, where he is effective for his clients every single day.