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by Robert
A. Kelly
 For
young people who have decided that
a career in public relations will
be their Latte Grande in life,
here are four situations in which
you do not want to find yourself:
1. You confuse the basic function
of public relations with
sub-parts that
make up the whole like publicity,
crisis
management or employee
communications.
2. You feel unsure in approaching
public relations problems,
then uncertain
about what counsel to give your
employer/client.
3. As the years pass, you rely on
career-long misconceptions
about public
relations but forge ahead anyway
advising
the
employer/client ineffectively
sometimes with damaging,
if not
dangerous counsel.
4. You realize too late that you
have gone through your entire
career without
a firm grasp of what public
relations is
all about.
You can avoid those pitfalls by
grasping early-on The Rosetta
Stone of public relations, i.e., a
guide to understanding the
discipline and its core strength.
Namely, people act on their
perception of the facts; those
perceptions lead to certain
behaviors; and something can be
done about those perceptions and
behaviors that lead to achieving
an organization's objectives.
Which is why, when public
relations goes on to successfully
create, change or reinforce public
opinion by reaching, persuading
and moving-to-action those people
whose behaviors affect the
organization, it accomplishes its
mission.
The fact is that NO organization -
business, non-profit or public
sector - can succeed today unless
the behaviors of its most
important audiences are in-sync
with the organization's
objectives. And that means public
relations professionals must
modify somebody's behavior if they
are to help hit the
employer/client's objective and
earn a paycheck. All else are but
means to that end.
Once that foundation of
understanding is firmly set, an
action pathway begins to appear:
-- identify the problem or
challenge
-- set the public relations
goal
-- set the public relations
strategy
-- identify target
audiences
-- prepare persuasive
messages
-- select/implement key
communications tactics
-- monitor progress
-- and the end game? Meet
the behavior modification goal.
A bonus: you are using a
near-perfect public relations
performance measurement. I mean
how can you measure the results of
an activity more accurately than
when you clearly achieve the goal
you set at the beginning of that
activity? You can't. It's pure
success.
So, as a beginner, can you expect
to avoid the four pitfalls listed
above? Yes, and here's why:
-- With proper preparation,
you will not confuse action
tactics with
the basic mission of public
relations because
you will know
precisely what each is and just
what fits
where in the
public relations problem solving
sequence.
-- You will feel more
confident about providing counsel
to
the
employer/client because the public
relations problem at
hand can be
clearly identified allowing you to
select
solutions that
obviously fit into the action
sequence
outlined above.
You will identify your target
audiences
because you
will know exactly who your
employer/client
wants to reach,
and the necessary action tactics
will
then be
self-evident.
-- You realize that you have
gone through your entire career
WITH a firm,
successful grasp of what public
relations
is all about.
Of course, on the way you will
also nurture the relationships
between your target audiences and
your employer/client's business by
burnishing the reputation of the
organization, its service and
products. You will do your best to
persuade those target audiences to
do what your employer/client wants
them to do. And while seeking
public understanding and
acceptance of that
employer/client, you'll ensure
that your joint activities not
only comply with the law, but
clearly serve the public interest.
Then, you will pull out all
tactical stops to actually move
those individuals to action. And
your employer/client will be
pleased that you have brought
matters along to this point.
But when will that employer/client
of yours be fully satisfied with
the public relations results you
have produced? Only when your
"reach, persuade and
move-to-action efforts have
produced that visible modification
in the behaviors of those target
audiences you, and they wish to
influence.
In my view, this is the central,
strategic function of public
relations - the basic context in
which you must operate in your
pursuit of a successful and
satisfying public relations
career.
PR
consultant Bob Kelly was
director of PR for Pepsi-Cola
Co.; AGM-PR, Texaco Inc.; VP-PR,
Olin Corp.; VP-PR, Newport News
Shipbuilding; director of
communications, U.S. Department
of the Interior, and deputy
assistant press secretary, The
White House.
bobkelly@TNI.net
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