13 Skills of the PR Pro of the Future

1. Create integrated marketing and communications strategy


2. Deploy live 'listening posts' online and offline


3. Design and deploy an advanced search engine optimization program


4. Plan and run a new media relations program inclusive of head-of-the-tail and long tail "media"


5. Identify & engage with influencers online and offline


6. Manage communities


7. Integrate new technologies into their own lives


8. Model measurement and performance metrics including new "engagement" metrics


9. Run quick pilot programs and evaluate on-the-fly


10. Train staff and clients continuously


11. Participate in conversations, not just 'messaging'


12. Create and execute content strategy including video programming (hifi and lowfi)


13. Use digital crisis management
    
    * Thanks to http://johnbell.typepad.com/
    
    

How viable is CSR?

"Corporate Social Responsibility is a hard-edged business decision. Not because it is a nice thing to do or because people are forcing us to do it...because it is good for our business".

- Niall Fitzerald, Former CEO, Unilever

Is CSR philanthropy? It is indeed hard to differentiate between philanthropy and CSR. I believe it should be defined as philanthropy that leads to sustainable development. In other words, while philanthropy concentrates on one or few stakeholders, CSR on the other hand should be a concept that touches on all the stakeholders. Hopkins says that most philanthropic acts by organizations are devoted to items that governments should be doing and government's failure should not be the preserve of corporations. A lot of companies like Vodafone, Cadbury invest in CSR and have been successful in implementing it.

So then, is CSR mere window-dressing? Is the effort to practice CSR just skin deep? CSR steadily moved up Corporates' agenda with the notion that it delivers direct benefits to the organization. If so, how then can companies convince stakeholders that practises associated with social and environmental issues aside from their business are ethical?

Cutlip et al. seems to be clear that any involvement in CSR is as a result of self-interest, to enable the company to have an easy life by indicating that an institutions relationship with its community is crucial because these communities supply the organization's workforce, provide an environmnet that attracts or fails to attract talented personnel, provide essential services and can, if angered, impose restraints on the institution or industry.

The onus is left to the company to determine their main objective of engaging in CSR. Some companies like Nike and Johsnon&Johnson have been noted as engaging in CSR to regain their reputation after crises.

References

Cutlip, S.M. et al. (2000). Effective Public Relations (8th ed.), Prentice HallHopkins, M. (2007). Corporate Social Responsibility and International Development: Is Business the Solution?

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY..

How to Differentiate

One of the things I learned from Geoffrey Moore’s article is the notion of unique differentiation. He said a true “position” isn’t the one you’d like your company to have, but rather the position it actually occupies within a system you didn’t create.

In other words, positioning and differentiation isn’t an exercise in myopic navel gazing. It’s got to be externally driven and take into account the strengths and weaknesses of your real competition while also focusing on customer value. Understand what’s out there – and what’s needed - to set your organization apart.

Be More Persuasive

Herbert Simmons said persuasion is “a process of communication designed to modify the judgments of others.”

Daniel O’Keefe says it implies some measure of freedom (i.e. free will, free choice, voluntary action). “Forcing others to act is not the same as truly persuading them.”

I like O’Keefe’s perspective because it suggests the two-way-ness needed to change minds.

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY..

The 7 Elements of 'Good' PR

was searching for some information related to my PR assignment and came across this..
a guideline for myself if in future i would like to build a career in public relations :)

THE 7 ELEMENTS OF "GOOD" PR

What is good PR?

1. Good PR is telling the client what they need to hear instead of what they want to hear. Good PR recognizes that the best “PR strategy” needs to be followed-up with the client’s good products/services or else it’s all a vain and wasted effort that harms everyone’s reputation. -> true.. should practice this more often.. sometimes i dont understand why we do things because we were told to do.. showing them what is the right thing to do and stand to ur opinion.. justify with them the result and why it is needed..


2. Good PR is not just about the over-glorified launch. Good PR helps build and sustain a groundswell of brand support —> incrementally changing consumer behaviors via a steady stream of relevant and candid communication to both “media” and “consumers.”


3. Good PR celebrates the client’s customers in an inclusive, non-exploitive way. And, good PR welcomes the input of “neutrals” and especially “critics,” and adapts strategy accordingly.


4. Good PR is proactive in idea generation and responsive in a crisis. Good PR finds the balance. ->nice one


5. Good PR is measurable. ->And yet also hard to measure, since most clients want to measure different things.


6. Good PR leverages pre-existing relationships with influential people — relationships built on trust and credibility earned over years of service.


7. Good PR doesn’t need to know Larry Ellison or Kevin Rose or anyone in particular in the media, either. Even though such relationships can come in handy, good PR almost always “gets ink” because a good story has been well-told to the right people. -> sometimes a good connection is needed.. a person may write very well but if a she/he does not have a connection with the media, it would be very difficult to publish the writin.. unless u r a somebody... :)