Ah, yes, my quest to examine why PR people are generally considered hacks and flacks and trying to shift that perception continues into 2010!
Sometimes I am asked what makes a PR person good. As in, really, really good? The truth is, I’m still trying to figure that out myself. I can, however, spot the difference between PR people who have a sales personality and don’t have a clue about messaging, and those who can write razon sharp pitches that end up fantastic placements. PR is a process that requires true skill.
The guru wears the smile and shakes hands and talks, talks, talks your head off about their client whether or not the reporter cares. Gurus go to nearly every event there is just to make their presence known. They have mastered the art of working a room like you don’t believe and as soon as they are done bombarding guests about their clients of the month, they are out! Don’t get me wrong, there is value in that form of PR and working a room is certainly a skill. Their personality comes out in the writing, overusing those poor exclamation points, and choosing words that offer an unnecessary sense of tremendous urgency in the pitch.
Pros are more reserved and choose carefully which events to attend, and strategically think through the message. If attending events, they are not concerned as much with the message, because they are already strong writers (a skill which many gurus lack). They are preoccupied with how to communicate the message so it has impact. This earns them source credibility because they truly value their relationships with the press. In fact, there’s tremendous psychology involved within PR, and pros understand that. Most importantly, pros’ powerful writing skills create newsworthy stories.
So, where gurus master the art of presence, pros have mastered the art of anticipation.
There’s a lot to argue here, but it boils down to developing the right skill set that will influence trends and subsequently news cycles: Good PR people know when to pitch and how to answer media questions well. Great PR people have already anticipated those questions, so reporters don’t even have to ask.
Gurus fit in somewhere, too, I guess. Actually, I don’t like the word guru at all.
Ethics in PR: tell all?
Sunday, July 12th, 2009When a new product doesn’t perform, when a service doesn’t quite provide, when a situation goes out of control, PR pros are faced with the same dilemma regardless of their industry: when, if, and how to tell the truth.
Since I am of the school of thought that you should never say no comment, and telling all and the truth is the way to go, you won’t find me in much of a dilemma when it comes to being ethical. The problem with the PR field, and why it is not respected the way it should, is because professionals (or those who call themselves professionals) don’t follow suit. Myriads of crises over the years would have been avoided if PR counselors would just take the bull by the horns and deal with the issue - not by spending endless hours in a war room trying to cover it up, but by being strategic about approach the press, and forthcoming with information to the public.
Naturally, by telling all I don’t mean analyzing every single detail that’s not necessary. Being truthful, creating well-crafted talking points that will satisfy the media’s everlasting hunger is challenging enough. However, in order to take control of the situation, you have to be honest, truthful, and confident with the public. If you aren’t, it will show over time, and there goes your credibility. Good luck in getting another favorable placement again.
Another example is of those PR practitioners who have no problem issuing press releases and announcements with either completely fabricated facts or over-the-top exaggerated information. Worse are those who claim they were pushed into issuing a statement that was false because otherwise they would lose their job. Yes, I understand you want to get public attention for your client. And maybe the client doesn’t care because the client places trust in your efforts and pays for you to use good judgement. But, credibility is earned with time and is so easily broken. Since the media are so fickle, if you burn reporters with bad information in releases, your name will forever be remembered as an unreliable source. And even with the short term memory of Facebook and Twitter, some of us may be even more tempted to post exaggerated info just to get that five-second attention. Is it worth it though? Why not spend the time to learn your client inside out, so that you can best represent them to the public and bring out the best for them and for you as a reputable PR professional:
And most of us know that all we really have in this life is our name.
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Tags: credibility and media, crisis pr, ethics in pr, false information, never say no comment, pr and ethics, social media ethics
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