Article by Ben Botes

Getting on the radio can be a great tactical move as part of your overall publicity effort, but you do need to have a story idea or an angle to present on a particular topic. Selling yourself as a guest on a talk show is a great way to raise your profile and if your subject relates to a topic that is currently in the news your chances of getting on is clearly improved.

The media is hungry for business stories. But sometimes it seems that the business community doesn't't blow its trumpet often enough.

If you get the opportunity to talk about your business in the press or media, it's important to get it right. Getting on the radio can be a great tactical move as part of your overall publicity effort. We offer some easy steps to get you on air.

As a business, non-profit or association manager, your public relations expenditure may give you names in the newspaper or product plugs on radio. But what about key stakeholder behavior change – the kind that leads directly to achieving your managerial objectives?

Since that's public relations' strongest suit, shouldn't you be getting that first, THEN incremental publicity exposure? Especially when persuading those important outside folks to your way of thinking can move many of them to take actions that help you achieve your department, division or subsidiary objectives?

If you are a department, division or subsidiary manager, your budget is a precious possession whether you work for a business, a non-profit or an association. So why stand by while your public relations team spends too much time and treasure on tactics like press releases, column mentions and brochures? Especially when you could be using an aggressive PR blueprint to persuade your most important outside audiences to your way of thinking, then move them to take actions that lead to your success?

The real public relations geniuses might be managers. You know, managers who pursue their objectives by reaching, persuading and moving those outside audiences whose behavior most affect their organizations, to actions those managers desire.

Their "secret" is probably a PR blueprint something like this one: people act on their own perception of the facts before them, which leads to predictable behaviors about which something can be done. When we create, change or reinforce that opinion by reaching, persuading and moving-to-desired-action the very people whose behaviors affect the organization the most, the public relations mission is accomplished.

Do it by restructuring your business, non-profit or association public relations program so that it delivers the stakeholder behavior changes you want. Changes that lead directly to achieving your objectives.

A good first step is to base the restructure on a reality like this: People act on their own perception of the facts before them, which leads to predictable behaviors about which something can be done. When we create, change or reinforce that opinion by reaching, persuading and moving-to-desired action the very people whose behaviors affect the organization the most, the public relations mission is accomplished.

by George McKenzie

Have you ever gotten one of those letters from your
local property tax appraiser, informing you that your
tax bill is going up about 20 percent?

I got one of those recently, so I took it to my friend
Joe Gross. He appeals property tax assessments for a living.

"Man," he said.
"I've never seen assessments explode
like they have this year."

My "news antenna" shot up. Then when he showed me his new web site, which gave property owners a chance to look up appraisals of other homes in their neighborhood, I told him--'You've got to pitch this to the news media.'

I helped Joe put together a short release and then faxed it to local radio and TV stations. A few nights later, there was Joe, on the evening news, describing his web site to tens of thousands of viewers.

Could it happen to you?

Could be, when unit managers in businesses, non-profits and associations don't get the really important external audience behaviors they need to achieve their department, division or subsidiary objectives.

They're entitled to wonder where their money went when they don't see behaviors like membership applications or capital contributions on the rise; growing numbers of engineering firms specifying their components, prospects newly interested in their products and services, or simply more repeat purchases.

Because, like you I suspect, they have key target audiences whose behaviors help or hinder them in achieving their organizational objectives.

But even in their own best interests, too few involve themselves in their public relations effort to the degree they should.

The result can be a PR program that overemphasizes things like special events, media relations or communications tactics, without a basic, realistic plan for delivering the key audience behaviors they need to succeed.

You're a business, non-profit or association manager who
needs to achieve your organizational objectives on schedule.
Since public relations should be helping you do just that,
why leave it wholly in the hands of others?

In your own best interest, get personally involved in your
public relations effort and ask the PR team servicing your
department, division or subsidiary a few questions.

Are they focused on a workable, comprehensive plan for
producing those key external audience behaviors like
customers coming back for repeat purchases; new prospects
starting to sniff around; capital donors asking for more
information, and others deciding to specify your services
or products, and similar good stuff?

Robert A. Kelly © 2003.

One of the strongest weapons available allows business,
non-profit and association managers to begin changing the
behaviors of their key external audiences in ways that
lead directly to achieving their primary operating objectives.

The name of that weapon? The fundamental premise of
public relations: People act on their own perception
of the facts before them, which leads to predictable
behaviors about which something can be done. When we
create, change or reinforce that opinion by reaching,
persuading and moving-to-desired-action the very people
whose behaviors affect the organization the most, the
public relations mission is accomplished.

In short, people in your operating areas really do behave
like everyone else – they take actions based on their
perceptions of the facts they hear about you and your
organization.