 This video series we're going to take a look at different kinds of public relations techniques And we will have an emphasis on media relations in this series too But but you know focusing on public relations specific techniques and and tools of the trade for public relations So I find the best place to start with these things as at the start So we want to look at if we're going to help a media relations program or public relations program Where do we start? How do we set something like that up whether it's starting from scratch and you know totally new in an organization or whether it's you know We're coming in and bringing our own flavor and trying to set up the program that we want to institute But whatever the case we got to start somewhere and so let's take a look at setting up your media relations program This is you know, I can imagine that you're coming in either starting a media relations public relations area of an organization or taking one over and really trying to Structured in a way that suits your particular skill set and the needs of the organization So let's take a look at how we do that. How do we where do we start in setting these types of things up? So when we're thinking about setting up a PR program or media relations program I like to think of things and in systems format If you're familiar with systems, you know that that we're looking at input throughput and output then Everything in an organization really has you know has inputs that we have to be concerned with things We're gathering in like a funnel and taking them in and then we process those things And we put our own spin on them and make them work for us in the throughput area And then eventually we have output things that we actually produced then right as a as a product or as a service or Whatever it is we have that output then and setting up a public relations program really involves all of these stages So when we look at input, it's important to remember that we have inputs for any kind of media relations or public relations program We need to understand what is the mission of this organization? What does this organization do? Where are they going? What's their mission? What's their vision? What are the philosophies that guide the management and the actual work of this organization? What are the values that this organization and the executive leadership and the employees hold and And how is this organization seen in terms of what it values and how it values those things and What are the public's that are involved here both? What are the public's that that that can provide inputs to this organization that have an influence on What comes into the organization and also those that we need to be concerned with in reaching through public relations and media relations Who are the public's that we're most interested in in connecting with and reaching we need to understand all of this as Input right so before we ever get started. We have to have a really solid understanding of what makes this organization tick What was it founded for? What is it doing now? Where is it going in 10 years and 20 years and whatever? What's the mission of this organization? What is their vision and then again one of those guiding philosophies and values that this organization holds you just look at Companies across the United States and you can see that there are a variety of different value systems and philosophies in place In terms of how organizations are structured how they how they operate on a daily basis So you look at you know very traditional organization, maybe a manufacturing organization It's probably very structured and hierarchical and there's a process for everything very specific You know the goal is efficiency and things like that, but you look at some maybe new tech company like Google or you know Facebook Meadow, whatever Twitter those types of places are a little looser They're not as structured than not you know You might have the ping-pong table in the in the lounge or whatever the nap pods and those are great But it's also just they encourage creativity and and you know more of a hipness so to speak and So what are the values of this organization? What is it that they pride themselves on? How do they operate? How do they see themselves? We need to understand all of that before we ever do a single thing in terms of public relations or media relations We have to have a really solid grasp of who that organization is what that organization is. What's there? What are they value? What's the leadership there? What's the general? Communication tone and style and so there's a lot of things to consider in far as inputs. We've got to have a really firm understanding of what we're dealing with right so once we gather all that though we gather all that information we have that as our input and then we can start looking at throughput, which is How do we use all of that information from the input? How does that impact what we're doing and how do we use that to structure a program? So here we're looking at things like these are things that will influence and then we start creating things like strategy and policies and tools and procedures. So thinking about Okay, what's our strategy going to be? What's our social media tone and voice going to be? What's our strategy for reaching media and connecting with media? How much media exposure do we want or do we want to keep it limited? Is that our goal? Are we trying to stay under the radar and not be as as known? And or do we have information that's proprietary that we need to protect? So we need to have a strategy for how we're going to Based on what we know about that organization then a strategy for how are we going to handle our public relations and media relations? We need to develop an overall strategy for those types of things Then we develop policies around You know when when should things go out? Who has authority to release information and and how should it be released? And and how does that fit in with the rest of the organization? Remember? We're not on an island here We're part of a group we're part of a team that includes You know executive leadership and accounting and marketing and production and whatever you know departments you have It's not just you so we have to have policies that fall in line with the overall organization as well But we certainly ought to have policies within our own department that say this is how things are going to be handled That kind of ties into procedures as well in terms of who's responsible for what how things should be done How should a press release be organized? Is there a particular letterhead that we need to use or a particular? You know branding thinking in terms of branding or the particular Image and logo and ways that needs to be presented a particular color schemes What are the procedures for making those decisions and deciding when something goes on things and then what are the tools that we're going to use? Are we going to use social media? Are we going to have? The ability to produce things in-house in terms of video and audio and help media out in that way help our help our Media partners out in that way by producing some of these things in in in-house And so what tools do we need what kind of software do we need for our computers? And and just you know do we need style books? What kind of you know? APA or AP or Chicago style books are we going to use depending on what media outlets we're dealing with and and Or you know so what tools do we need we need to start gathering those things and also Gathering information for extra our external partners putting those tools together Do we have a website our web page where we're going to offer basic information about our organization about the history and about You know the the hierarchy the The public-facing executives and how to contact people how to contact that you know those types of things We need to think through those types of tools so based on what we learn about the organization Through input what we learn about the organization's goals Which should guide us of course our department should very much be in tune with and in line with the organization overall overarching organizational goals and driving them toward that of course we're part of that organization our job is to help a Guide and direct that organization toward those goals and help them achieve those goals So we have to know what they are first of all so we need to identify You know again through input mission and vision the philosophy the values and things like that and use those pieces of information They guide the the development and the the execution of our strategy Policies our tools procedures things like that that all still happens internally right that all happens within our department That's all going on within if you are the department then it's going on with you or your team Your public relations media relations team will work together Along with your partners in the organization the heads of different departments and the executive leadership to develop all of those tools And all of those pieces right so So we need to consider all of that as part of throughput So we have our input now We have our throughput when we're using those pieces to develop our own plan and then finally we need to consider Okay, what's this look like on the way out? What's this look like in terms of output? We need to think about okay What are our networks here who are networks not just not talking about like television networks I'm talking about our Networking right who are our media partners and what do we need to do to connect with them and develop those? Relationships media is all about relationships as we're going to touch on here in just second but relationships How do we start to develop the relationships with the key members and influencers in the media that are important to helping us achieve our Goals what we need to do and look at in terms of earned media meaning media that we don't purchase that's advertising But earn media mentions in the newspaper mentions in the news You know mentions in public events and things like that and how do we how do we go about achieving that earned media? That's an output a publicly facing output for our organization as well How are we going to use social media and engage if at all are we going to use social media? And then if so how are we going to do that? What kind of events do we need to be a part of or do we need to be putting together? those types of things are all externally that's what the that's what the public is going to see those the ways that we're going to To literally connect with our media partners and with our public. So that's our output Then so we need to think about all of these things from the very beginning First of all get a handle on what our input is that will guide our throughput So we can develop those and put into place those the strategies and our policies and and assemble our tools that we need So that we can create the things that will eventually become our output then so that's our process And then all of that will then influence our inputs again, and it's kind of cyclical really I have it here as a kind of a process But really is a life cycle all of these things feedback into one another and we use that that new information to develop and Refine our strategies and our policies and tools and things like that so we can create better output So it's really just this never ending cycle that builds on itself But setting up a PR program. We need to be to think about you know Take a step back and look at all of these things and what do they look like on the whole as we move forward So those are the kind of the keys to what we're going to be looking at in terms of setting up a PR program One of the things I do want to emphasize here though is building those effective relationships media relations in particular Public relations in general but media relations in particular. It's all about building effective Relationships so a couple of things to keep in mind as we think about building those key Relationships with our media partners is that first of all the media is made up of people media is not this you know Ethereal thing that's kind of out in the world. It's people You know, there are media organizations media companies media channels and so forth But really when it comes down to it the media is people is made up of people So we need to remember that and that's why we need to build those Relationships because the media is not it's not just a matter of identifying what TV channel or podcast you want to be on Those are things that are run by people and decisions that are made by people So we need to remember that when we're dealing with the media We're really dealing with people and we ought to develop and sincerely cultivate those relationships and and and really Focus on those people then behind the media We also need to be working in terms of mutual benefit The media is an organ that they're a company. They have they have responsibilities. I mean, they may be a Maybe a financial responsibility to make money for their stockholders Of course, but they also have a responsibility to the public if you're talking about the news media to be truthful to be honest To be to be sharing effective information and useful information with their audience. So They have responsibilities as well. We have to find that area where Our needs meet their needs right and where that intersection is where we find that mutual benefit Between what's good for us and also what's good for them what's appropriate for us and what's appropriate for them So we need to keep that in mind that they have a job to do they have they have responsibilities for their own So we need to Do our part in helping find and establish that mutual benefit between our goals and their goals Let's want to choose wisely in terms of what media we get engaged in It's and that's not to say that some is really evil and some is obviously it could be but but really what I mean by this is What's going to be the most effective for our organization? If if we're trying to reach a particular audience or particular public then we need to identify What media outlet is going to be the most effective in helping us do that? So we want to choose wisely we don't want to you know spend a lot of time developing relationship with People in an area that isn't going to benefit our organization You know they may have a wonderful newspaper or a podcast or whatever But if it's not going to reach the people we want it to then it's not going to do us any good We need to choose wisely in terms of how we're engaging and how we're using our time and expending our energy So we want to be sure that we're choosing and investing in these relationships That are going to benefit us and and so we need to choose those wisely then We need to remember to again these these are people they have jobs they have Responsibility so what what can we do to make their life easier as we look to build these relationships? There are things that we can do to make their jobs easier make their life easier and there are things that we can do to make it Harder Which is not going to please them right? I'm talking to make do us any favors or make us any friends So what can we do to make their life easier just some very simple things like what kind of writing style are we using are we using? I mean if it's a print publication are we using the appropriate You know we're using AP style format for writing or do they use Chicago depending on the Depending on the the venue depending on the the requirements of their publication They may have a particular writing style so we can keep that in mind and we can use Appropriate style so that if they're using that information it makes it much easier for them to just kind of I don't say copy and paste But essentially that's it You know for them to take that information and not have to do as much editing it'll save them time It'll save them energy and effort. So well, you know, can we use a writing style and in particular again like AP style or whatever that is effective for that Organization and helps them do their job move easily. What can we do to develop media kits that really? Work for them that make their job easier What kind of what can we do to develop things like press releases and imaging and things like that that will make their life Easier as they're trying to package and decide how to present this information So we can make their life easier by having effective media kits for example and one thing We're seeing more and more in public relations and media relations specifically is The development of packaged content by the organization. What can we do to develop? I know it's people in media love, you know visuals and audio Effects and things like that But they don't always have time to put that kind of thing together themselves So if we can develop the tools to say hey, we've got this going on Here's a quick video if you want it or here's some images and here's some photographs of this Here's some audio that you can use and it's already built in and that's saving them time It's saving them energy doesn't mean they're just going to take it and Without looking at or thinking it out and just put it on the air or put it in their publication or whatever But it can help make their lives so much easier All right, so and help us then develop those relationships with them by making their life easier So these are some of the things we need to think about as we think about again The media is made up of people so we want to do what we can to find the mutual benefit in the right venues and contexts And then make their life easier to develop those relationships so that that we have that kind of symbiosis that positive You know working relationship with the people from those outlets One last thing to consider is social media. This is because it's coming more and more prominent We need to think about social media as we develop these programs we set up our programs We need to make some decisions about these types of things so First we want to know our purpose again that goes back to input. What is the mission of your organization? What's the vision? What are the values? What's the you know general tone and feel that organization? What is our purpose? And what value can we find here in social media? Is there any value in having social media? And if so what is that? So we want to go into this with a very clear idea of what we're trying to accomplish in social media That's what I know our audience Are we trying to reach an audience that's younger and it's gonna enjoy like cultural references? Or is it an older audience or is it you know, it's a more traditional one So they're not gonna like a lot of joking and sarcasm things or whatever it is We need to know who we're trying to reach again so we can develop our content specifically around giving us the best opportunity to reach that audience Let's I'm gonna find our voice in social media, you know Corporate accounts are great and some of them are very straightforward They just share news releases and information others are kind of fun and snarky and and you know trying to reach Your audience in that way whatever it is you need to find your voice What what is your organism? How what's best going to represent your organization in the values? The the philosophies the mission and vision of your organization What best represents the kind of the spirit of your organization? And and express that then through social media be consistent with that You don't want to be you know very straight laced and straightforward and then all of a sudden throw in some Really sarcastic comment for your audience That's that's not gonna be something that they really understand and appreciate you don't want to go back and forth You want to find your voice be consistent and when you know your purpose and know your audience That will help you identify your voice and then stick with that and be consistent with it and be committed It's a social media if you're gonna be on social media be on social media If you're going to use social media and be prepared for comments both good and bad be prepared for interaction Know that it's very much a two-way thing So use it and be committed don't just you know post a tweet Every other week and then expect people to really care about what's on your social media You've got to be if you're gonna do it do it right be committed and and really jump in there and follow it and be consistent And and to the best of your ability just like you should any other tool You know really the key here and when you're getting started is just to start you got to start somewhere So start by gathering that information all that input information Then start piecing together some of these policies and then follow through and then again come back to it It's a cycle. So when you get through to your outputs Then that will inform your inputs again, and you'll have to revamp and and rethink things and then it's just gonna be continuous flow But the most important thing is to start is just to start you're at the starting line So that's how we get going and we begin at the beginning If you have questions about starting a PR program starting media relations program and what's involved in that please feel free to email me I'd love to hear from you there. Otherwise, I hope this has been informative for you And I hope you're looking forward to more videos along these same lines as we look at the different PR techniques now that we've talked about Starting a program. We're gonna look at some different public relations Techniques that we can use and media relations techniques that we can use more specifically as we learn to develop these types of public relations programs