Public Relations Trends In 2019

Public relations, just like technology is dynamic and PR professionals need to step up their game and adapt to the changing dynamics. At the beginning of the year, many people predicted new trends to expect in 2019 that will transform the PR sector and now more than halfway through the year there are some specific trends that have come true. Here are some ground-breaking trends that are shaping the PR sector in 2019.
The use of Artificial intelligence (AI) is definitely on top of the list. It is practically impossible to ignore the subject of AI in any industry including the PR sector. AI has been more of a challenge that many professionals have taken up and learnt what it is and what it does. The use of AI-based applications has been detected and has had a great impact on the communication sector. Today PR companies are sitting on client’s data but fail to make the maximum use of it, AI is helping PR companies to process this data and identify behavioural patterns of consumers. This in turn, is helping to deliver customized messages. Still, most PR professionals have not gotten a clear understanding of AI because they have not yet overcome their fear of maths. This is the reason why we still have PR practitioners who have not yet felt the impact of AI in the industry. As the digital media space is getting more crowded, Influencer marketing is now becoming a theme and the future of PR. This is collaborating with influential people on social media to promote your brand. 

Today most PR professionals are integrating this approach and giving influencers the respect they deserve. We have witnessed professionals working with social influencers on social media platforms such as Instagram and Twitter with the aim of developing partnership so as to get indirect to access a specific target audience.  This strategy has proved to be cost-effective in this age of tough competition.

Current research supports a historical trend associating public relations with all things unethical but in 2109 there has been more attention on ethics by PR practitioners. Without ethics, PR just like any other profession can never be trusted. Adhering to the code of ethics builds trust between professionals and the clients. In 2019 we have not had a large number of high profile scandals and outrages, meaning that most practitioners have been doing more than ever to prove their own ethical credentials. Having more ethically-based decisions is firming companies reputation with their clients and the general public.
The use of PR technology and technological tools has been on the rise in 2019 enabling PR practitioners to work more efficiently and improving the quality of messages and content being disseminated. Today, companies are integrating emails with other aspects of the communication process, for example companies are now using Chatbot which is a computer program that stimulates conversations with human users over the internet. Companies use the data from their conversations to send more personalized emails to their clients and the more personalized an email is, the more valuable it will be. The use of emails to communicate between companies and their clients is also a trend that many practitioners are adopting. Also PR is all about noble customer relationship which is dependent on the ability to connect persuasively with customers. Correct use of technology is making relations grow stronger.

Incorporation of data and analytics in reporting has also been embraced. Today,PR practitioners are creatively correlating and interpreting data instead of being ensnared in raw statistics. This has enabled them to make their reports more authentic, identifying new customers and understanding which campaigns have been successful and which ones have failed to generate impact. Also data comes in handy when explaining the significance of PR to investors.

Preparing For a crisis

A necessary, but stressful aspect of public relations is crisis communication. Crises are almost inevitable since we are human and constantly make mistakes and to put it frankly, things happen that are beyond our control. It is in those moments that we need to be able to effectively communicate key messages to our audience and maintain the integrity of the organization. In order to better prepare for a crisis, your organization can take these steps Establish and create a crisis communication plan having a crisis communication plan makes communication during a crisis seamless.

According to Bernstein Crisis Management you should include the following in your plan; clearly identified individuals who operate as the crisis communication team. Identifying a team ensures that everyone on the organization knows who to field questions and inquiries as events unfold during a crisis. The team will drop most of their other responsibilities and focus solely on getting the organizations messages communicated through social media, traditional media and the internal stakeholders. The second aspect of a crisis communication plan is to identify a crisis spokesperson. This person should be someone who knows the organization well. They should more than likely be someone on the executive team or the communication team in order to establish credibility. The spokesperson should be the one who delivers all the statements and gets in front of the media, in order to show consistency with the organization.

Another thing that your organization should have ready to go should be holding statements. Holding statements are messages that are created beforehand in order to be sent out to your stakeholders as you are preparing your full statements. For example, if the crisis is health related a statement could be, “Our hearts and prayers are with those who are in harm's way, and we hope that they are well.” Holding statements are crucial because another crisis can develop if the public feels that the organization is taking too long to communicate or respond. Organizations should strive to get out statements and messages as quick as possible and share information with the public immediately after they get it. Finally, the next step is to identify the stakeholders. Stakeholders can be internal or external. Most organizations often think of the external stakeholders as they are getting their statements out, and often neglect the internal stakeholders. Every employee in your organization needs to be receiving constant communication as well.

Have crisis simulations Once you have developed a crisis communication plan, anticipate all of the things that could go wrong with your organizations, create different scenarios and have everyone on your team practice them. Crisis simulations will put your crisis communication plan into action by testing it to ensure that everyone understands his or her role. On Friday’s blog we elaborated more on an example of a crisis simulation.

PR Management

www.franklycommunications.com

Today’s PR tips will serve as a refresher course of what you learnt or will learn.

Management is an essential role that needs to be played in all organizations of the attainment of set goals. According to Mary Parker Follett, management is ‘the art of getting things done through people.’ This is through giving directions to employers, providing leadership and deciding how to use the organization’s resources to accomplish task and attain high performance.

There are four functions of attaining organizational goals in an effective and efficient manner through management.

Planning

During this foundational phase, the management analyses where the organization currently is, where they want to be in the future and how to get there. During this stage a deadline for has to be set and resources required for the task need to be identified. Remember; a goal is not a goal without a deadline. Lack of proper planning can hurt the organization’s succession and demographics not to mention waste company time and resources.

There are constant external factors affecting organizations positively or negatively and it is therefore not uncommon to find organizations changing their course of action when working toward attaining certain goals. Therefore, planning is an ongoing process.

Organizing

This will affect how the organization accomplishes the goal. After planning, the next step is to assign tasks to the different departments participating and allocating resources to them. During this stage, there should be a constant follow of information to ensure smooth running. A leader should allow members of the teams to self manage rather than micromanaging them. It allows for creativity and personal growth. Managers can also delegate authority for the duration of the task to avoid being stretched thin.

Leading/directing

Leaders can use their position to influence employee behaviour and oversee their work. This will ensure that the organization is indeed working together to accomplish the goal. The leader also needs to ensure that the goal and how to get there has been effectively communicated and remind those who have veered off the set direction. A common vision is also important during times of competition, downsizing and mergers.

Poor leadership more often than not leads to employee de-motivation. It is therefore necessary for leaders to create a shared culture and values that seek to understand employee needs and motive them.  This way, employees can then accomplish both their personal and career goals. Motivated employees go beyond their job performance and even more so when there are reward and incentive programs.

Controlling

Monitoring of employee activities determines whether or not the organization is on track. This way necessary corrections can be made if the organization in not on target or are facing obstacles. The duty of managers is to ensure that employees are working toward organization goals and doing so efficiently and effectively. Good management allows for employees to self manage/monitor according to the company’s standards. When managers are not serious or do not share the organization’s vision, there can be repeated failure in achieving set goals.

Controlling also involves evaluating and reporting the company’s performance based on the set goals. If there are areas of underperformance, the manager should sort to address the department or employee rather than reduce the overall company standards. This, like planning, is also an ongoing process in that managers should be able to identify potential problems and take preventative or corrective measures at each point of the process.

Riting the Rite Way (Writing the Right Way)

Good writing skills are important in all professions, not just in Public Relations. That being said, as a PR professional, it is crucial that any content leaving your desk is grammatically-error free. The most important thing to do after writing any material is proofreading it. For a beginner you may still miss the typos after your third read but with practice, your work will contain no errors when your proofread it the first time. That extra attention to detail is what earns you more respect among your employers, journalists, clients and peers. 

There are a few basic rules that you should follow and they are summed up in the image below with examples. Following these tips will ensure that others view you as a credible professional in your field. No1 wil tak u seriasly if u rite lik this. 

www.edudemic.com

Blogging: What about it?

imagebox.com

To many, blogging is still not an actually job.

Today’s post will seek to highlight what blogging is and what role it plays in today’s dynamic industry.

The name ‘blog’ is abbreviated from ‘weblog’ which is essentially a web site that hosts a continuously flow of information in reverse chronological order. This means that newer posts are at the top of the page. A blog allows for a diary type commentary and can also contain links to other web sites and can range from personal to political to PR (like this one). A person/group can choose to focus on one or a wide range of subjects.

The standard template of blogs involves a main content area where articles are listed, newest at the top, and organized into categories to easier find content on the site. Blog sites also have one or more feeds, an archive of older articles, a comments section below each post and a list of related sites that are sometimes known as ‘blogrolls’. For more information on this you can visit Wordpress.

Blogging started taking off in the late 1990s and was mainly used as a platform for sharing thoughts, experience, feelings and opinions. Nowadays, everyone including the Fortune 500 companies use blogs to increase digital presence that in turn positively affects their earning potential.

Blogging is beneficial to your business. It helps the company stay current because in order to remain relevant in the ever changing business environment, you need to be the first to break news to your readers and stay ahead of your competition. It also sets you up as an expert in your field and increases brand visibility. It also increases traffic to the website that then rises up the ranks on search engines; you of course have to keep the blog content relevant to your trade. It also allows you to share a bulk of information that you are not able to share on social media. It also acts as a bridge between the social media and your website.

There is however a misconception that anyone can blog. This is true but not if you want your business to be taken seriously. This is because professionals have the ability to take your words and improve them in order to influence your readers. Blogging in itself is not efficient and a blogging pro would know the need to combine the blog with other digital PR and marketing tools to reach a wider audience. They are also aware of how to use search engine optimization (SEO) by using key words to increase your brand visibility on search engines.

Next time you are tempted ask a professional blogger ‘Why should I pay you more money?’ know they will in the long run increase your clients and earning potential.  

Is That News Post Necessary?

www.smartinsights.com

Does your brand feel the need to be relevant and contribute to the news making headlines in the country? If this is the case, there are a few things that as a brand you should keep in mind before engaging in the social media conversation. In the wake of the Westgate attacks and other issues affecting Kenya and the world beyond, organizations may be tempted to form an opinion and tell it to their audience. The best advice from a PR perspective is if your organization is not directly affected by what is going on, say nothing about it. This is because your brand will be seen as merely opinionated instead of a source of authority on the subject.

If you are going to post news, there are a few things you should consider. The news posted should affect either people based in your county or area of operations and a good majority of your customers. It should also be a build up of something you have been talking about as a brand. If you are a children’s rights organization you can join the conversation about how children, especially girls, are increasingly having their rights violated in society and the judicial laxity in punishing offenders. In such a case it would be necessary for your brand to speak out for if you do not, you could come across as insensitive or untimely.

Another thing to consider is whether the content is self promotional. Though Safaricom rallied funds to pay for the medical expenses incurred during the Westgate attach, there is money made out of this; remember there is a charge for sending money through Mpesa. Though this may not have been intentional, Safaricom did stand to gain from this corporate social responsibility. Be sure before posting news that you are not boosting your brand image, product or service. Get a neutral third party to give you a second opinion.

Don’t merely say you are ‘Sorry for those affected by the tragedy...’ because everyone else is saying it. When it comes to personal matters, brands are often seen as insincere even when they are not. If you are sorry and want to make a difference, donate something. Also, before posting anything on your sites, ensure that it does not coincide with current news or events especially if it is promotional material; you will just appear opportunistic. Though Kenya Power has managed to inconvenience us almost on a weekly basis, running ads and content about your ‘convenient and cost saving’ generators can be seen as more opportunistic than relevant.

Finally, to emphasize on the point initially made: is that post really necessary? What would Naivas, Uchumi or Ukwala have to say about the looting at Westgate with KDF officers carrying Nakumatt paper bags?

Happy Mashujaa Day to all. 

PR Summed-Up in Quotes

paprikacanvas.blogspot.com

The role and importance of PR in society has increased and more people, including the almighty CEOs, are seeing why it is difficult to attain success without these professionals. If some of the people you work with that are not in your industry are still skeptical about what you do, you might want to share these quotes with them. 

PR defined

“If a young man tells his date how handsome, smart and successful he is – that’s advertising. If the young man tells his date she’s intelligent, looks lovely, and is a great conversationalist, he’s saying the right things to the right person and that’s marketing. If someone else tells the young woman how handsome, smart and successful her date is – that’s PR.” – S. H. Simmons

"The history of PR is… a history of a battle for what is reality and how people will see and understand reality." – Stuart Ewen

 “Everything you do or say is public relations.” – Unknown

 The Art and Magic of PR

“Public-relations specialists make flower arrangements of the facts, placing them so the wilted and less attractive petals are hidden by sturdy blooms.” – Alan Harrington

"PR is a mix of journalism, psychology, and lawyering – it’s an ever-changing and always interesting landscape." – Ronn Torossian

PR professionals are “professional political strategists, able on behalf of their clients to manipulate the media – planting a story here, a rumour there, a tip-off somewhere else  – so that any piece of news is tailored to show them in the best possible light.” –  Michael Shea

Yes, PR upholds ethics

"PR means telling the truth and working ethically – even when all the media want is headlines and all the public wants is scapegoats. Public relations fails when there is no integrity." – Viv Segal of Sefin Marketing

“We believe PR should be practiced to serve the public interest, to develop mutual understanding between organizations and their publics.” – James E. Grunig

“Publicity is a great purifier because it sets in action the forces of public opinion, and in this country public opinion controls the courses of the nation." – Charles Evans Hughes

Imaging in PR

 “It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it. If you think about that, you'll do things differently.” – Warren Buffet

“There is only one thing in the world worse that being talked about, and that is not being talked about.”- Oscar Wilde

"It is generally much more shameful to lose a good reputation than never to have acquired it.” – Pliny the Elder

"What kills a skunk is the publicity it gives itself." – Abraham Lincoln

 “If you don't tell your story, someone else will.” – Unknown

​PR is important!

 “Without publicity there is no prosperity.” – Yakov Zel'dovich

"If I was down to the last dollar of my marketing budget I'd spend it on PR!" – Bill Gates

“Historically, PR, Marketing and Advertising budgets are the first to be cut; however, that could be one of the first mistakes a business makes in an economic crisis.” – CBSMarketwatch

“Nobody counts the number of ads you run; they just remember the impression you make.” – Bill Bernbach, advertising pioneer and founder of DDB

"Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some hire public relations officers.” – Daniel J. Boorstin