Public relations: a glossary of terms.

Here are a few definitions of some of the key terms and strategies you need to know:

Public relations -- According to the Public Relations Society of America, public relations helps an organization and its publics adapt mutually to each other. The Institute of Public Relations defines it as the planned and sustained effort to establish and maintain goodwill and mutual understanding between an organization and its publics.

Publics/target audiences -- An organization should develop effective relationships with the following publics/target audiences--employees, members, customers, local communities, shareholders, national, state and local government officials and with society at large. The better you define the target audience, the easier it is to choose the best medium to deliver your message. The definition should include demographics such as geographic area, age range, race, sex, job title and company size. Psychographic information including personality type and emotional and behavioral characteristics of the audience is useful as well.

Strategy -- The strategy is the recipe for developing a successful action plan to reach the objective of creating a better understanding and more awareness of your company. Like any good business plan, key components of this strategy include research, definition of target audiences, key messages, measurable objectives, tactics and evaluation. To get the best results, create strategies that are measurable so they can be properly evaluated.

Research -- Marketing research can be done in a variety of ways--via communication audits, surveys of customers and industry competitors, private interviews with key customers and other audiences, focus groups with a cross-section of your key audiences or via the Web with online research tools. Research helps you define your key messages and to determine the best method for reaching your audiences.

Key messages -- Choose three to five main points that are most important to tell your audience about the company and its strategic direction. Judging by the Detroit Regional Chamber's marketing, one key message would be "small businesses mean big business to Michigan's economy."

For ease of use, develop bulleted statements that are easy to remember and to weave into any conversation with your target audiences.

Tactics -- To effectively develop understanding about your company, you can employ a variety of tactics.

* Submit a case study or feature article to editors of trade publications covering your industry or business in general (see page 19).

* Exhibit at a tradeshow and/or speak at an industry conference where you can help create a better understanding of the company's expertise to a captive audience (see page 21).

* Prepare a press kit with executive biographies and press releases that feature the latest company news and issue to editors of industry and business publications.

* Press releases are documents written in a format that journalists prefer. The most important information is detailed in first few sentences of the release. Editors take just a few minutes to decide if the story is interesting so write the release concisely, usually no more than two pages (see page 20).

* Submit an opinion editorial (op-ed) piece to a business publication or local newspaper on a topic that affects your business.

* Network with your industry trade association or local businesses at a chamber event to make more people aware of your products and services.

* Engage your company in community relations activities that help promote your products or services. If you are a technology company, use your technology to help the community at large.

Evaluation -- After you have implemented the tactics, review the results of your project. Ask yourself these four questions:

1. Did you meet your measurable objectives?

2. Did the story placed in the magazine emphasize your key messages?

3. Did the story appear in a magazine your audience reads?

4. Do your key target audiences have a better understanding of your company?

After you have reviewed the results of your program, make adjustments to your strategy and objectives and continue implementing your revised strategy.

For more information

The Public Relations Society of America (www.prsa.org) and International Association of Business Communicators (www.iabc.com) both have local chapters that feature monthly programming where you can learn more about how to create a public relations strategy.

The Public Relations Society of America Detroit chapter is hosting a two-day state conference, "Leadership PR--From the Breakroom to the Boardroom," May 6-7, offering a variety of topics on public relations, media relations, corporate communications and marketing communications, and featuring White House veteran Dee Dee Myers and "Dateline NBC's" Chris Hansen as keynote speakers. Visit www.prsadetroit.org for more information.

Janine M. Krasicky is founder of J9 Media Solutions LLC in Ferndale, a member of the Detroit Regional Chamber.

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