What to expect from PR

An excellent post today at Media Bistro by Whitney McKnight about what a company (or an organization) should expect to accomplish with PR.



To paraphrase the article's main points:

• Set clear goals
  Create a message platform and at least six month's worth of news hooks within the first week.
• Have more than a good story -- have the right story
  Agree on exactly what your best story is. Ask the question, 'Why should people care?"
• Go local
  People care about their communities, so they turn to the local media to know what's going on. Local press interest will also help your organization prepare and practice for its moment in the national spotlight.
• Connect
  Successful PR today is about having great conversations, telling people what you've learned, and what impact that's had.

• Work the plan
  Establishing storylines and a workable timeframe that is tied to your organization's goals makes it easier to land appropriate stories in the media.

• Don't confuse strategic PR with publicity
  Getting press too early - when your organization isn't prepared for it - can actually make your job harder and lead to lost opportunity. You risk ending up being perceived incorrectly because you aren't clear about your message, and you risk alienating key press contacts.
• Stay up to date
  Do you know the trends in your own industry? How do you stay informed about new theories and cutting-edge technologies? If a reporter calls and knows more about your industry than you do, you risk losing the opportunity to be a part of a breaking story.

Publicity for publicity's sake should never be your goal. Clear, strategic communications planning is always worth the effort in the end.