THE ROLE OF MEDIA RELATIONS DURING A CRISIS
The urge to read landed me onto an online story where customers joined efforts to boycott services and products offered by a certain company. This followed a local newspaper report about a government official for assaulting the company’s female guard. It was alleged that the official assaulted the guard when she insisted that he must be checked to access the company premises.
I remembered a famous saying from school that “A good leader leads by example”, I wondered why a government official did not want to follow protocol yet it is a mandatory routine. We have all obeyed security rules at check points to rule out security threats at banks, supermarkets, hotels, schools among others.
In response to the local newspaper report, the company was quick to publicly apologize to the government official ignoring the guard. This reflected the company as a bad employer and ignited public outcry in the court of public opinion. To make matters worse, the company issued two contrary statements from different departments. You cannot afford to make mistakes when managing a crisis.
It is true, a crisis instantly brings to mind a sense of panic however the company should have initiated a relationship with the local newspaper, write one statement and request the newspaper to publish it to rectify the matter instead of taking sides.
Remember the saying: ‘Public Relations is about relationships and engagement!’
For starters, if ever your client is faced with an image crisis, creating and maintaining a good working relationship with the media is very important. Responsible journalists are not interested in baseless chitchats that fuel negative narratives. They check and cross-check the available facts before a story is considered credible and newsworthy. In this regard, communicators, PROs and the media share the same goal during a crisis: getting reliable and updated information. The sensationalists and rumormongers cannot win in such circumstances.
On the other hand, Public Relations practitioners have the job of protecting their clients’ brands but, journalists see an opportunity to break a story that will enhance the visibility of their media houses. This is why media relations are crucial during a crisis, because it allows for engagement and not confrontation. Journalists will be eager to attend and cover a press conference because of the good relations you have established with them. This provides you with a platform to disseminate press statements and facts to protect and defend the brand/product you represent.
In times of crisis, leverage social media to protect your brand. In fact, it should be your first line of defense. Post press statements and articles on both your personal and company Facebook, twitter, LinkedIn and Website channels. Drive the narrative instead of being bulldozed by the falsehoods.
What next if the digital communication sites are being taxed?
It all started in 2018 with the levying of infamous OTT tax, widely known as social media tax, but which our president jokingly referred to as the ‘gossip tax’.
Ugandans were charged 200 shillings every time they wanted to access any of over 50 platforms including Twitter, Facebook and WhatsApp.
Three years later and constant public bickering, the tax was ditched officially because the revenues fell far short of expected targets. Secondly, in the interlude there had been a marked reduction of internet usage.
Instead, in 2021, the government imposed a 12% tax on data purchases which of course, the telecoms passed over to the customers in some very imaginable ways. Mainly by saying, paying a bit more, you get even more data which then raised the question of how exactly and what formula do the telecoms use to price these data bundles?
Ugandans feel hard done by. They pay some of the highest charges in the region and on a wider scale, according to the World Economic Forum, Africans spend 17% of their average income to buy 1GB of mobile data.
Why overly tax something that has become an essential component in communication for everyday life? Besides sparking concern among digital rights activists and individual users, the financial burden limits access and enjoyment of online content. It equally limits the ability to access information and the exchange of ideas. WEF says unaffordable internet is a major contributor to the fact that half the world is unconnected. Lack of connectivity has major negative impacts on a country’s education, health, productivity and growth.
Meanwhile, with the recent announcement by Twitter to charge a ‘slight’ fee for commercial and government users, digital communication is likely to become even more costly. Twitter will remain free for casual users however there are chances of imposing this charge onto the consumers in one way or another.
The business networking website, LinkedIn, in Kenya increased subscription rates after the Kenyan government rolled out the 16% Value Added Tax (VAT) on digital transactions. This was a result of the implementation of the digital tax in January 2022 by the Kenya Regulatory Authority (KRA).
LinkedIn pushed this onto the consumers resulting into a hike of fees for career accounts, sales navigator accounts, and recruiter Lite accounts. Several other tech companies such as Facebook, Digital Ocean, Google have increased their costs to comply with the taxman.
The trend of introducing digital communication taxes is something worth being discussed in greater detail. While governments seek revenue, the obligation to respect, protect and promote freedom of expression should not be ignored in a pursuit for economic gain.
THE VALUE OF THE EXTRA MILE
Have you ever thought of the reasons why you prefer having your coffee or meals at a certain restaurant or hotel?
Perhaps it is because they go the extra mile to make you happy and satisfied with their services. For instance, you are offered a seat as soon as you walk in, served promptly and occasionally offered a free desert. Not to mention the fact, that the waiters and waitresses are always smiling, friendly and approachable.
The good customer services that you receive all add up to making it your best spot!
Going the Extra Mile means doing more than what is required of you. Doing more than what your job description dictates. Going the extra mile for clients is vital in ensuring they come back.
For the services industry, into which public relations squarely falls, keeping clients happy and satisfied can be tricky, but it is a crucial skill that one must master because it eventually determines your success as a service provider.
A regular happy clientele keeps you financially afloat to pay bills and allow you to make the improvements in your services that could attract yet more customers.
Showing empathy is one way of going the extra mile. As a PR Agency, avoid the rush to draft press releases and schedule meetings. Admittedly, this is what you’re supposed to do, but also try to cultivate good relationships with the client and understand what they want to achieve.
Clients we have built a solid relationship with are more inclined to buy your higher end packages, because they trust that you have their best interests at heart and that of their brand.
Developing and distributing press releases is still the most widely used form of branded communication for media. However it does no harm to pick a few highlights then share them on social media platforms as an Agency.
At a recently concluded client event, even before the event could start, we were already posting about it on our social media channels. This way, we were putting into practice one of our core values of ‘Extra mile’. This helped us drive traffic, increase brand awareness and enhance client reputation.
Going the extra mile applies to both clients and workmates/colleagues relationships; Remembering birthdays, accepting an extra task to help accomplish a task/goal. A simple ‘great job’ or ‘Thank you’ note can also make a positive impact.
Interestingly, the expression, “go the extra mile” originally comes from the Bible: “If anyone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles.”– Matthew 5.41. It was coined in a tale where someone was asked to walk a mile with another person but chose to walk two.
In other words, ‘give them a way to succeed and a reason to stay, by going the extra mile’.
PR crucial for startups to gain public awareness
There is a common view held by many owners, that a business will only require public relations when it has become big enough and taken on a certain scale of operations.
This view clearly reflects the fact that numerous people tend to confuse public relations with marketing. They miss the point that even the smallest entrepreneur with the best quality products needs to connect with his customers and that needs PR.
Marketing, which is an action of promoting and selling products, is made easier when the consumers are aware of the brand and that is the responsibility of PR professionals.
According to Steve Blank’s Customer Development Model, PR activities can happen at any stage, but should begin to increase at the customer creation stage. As soon as an entrepreneur is ready to position his company, that is exactly the right time for them to consider hiring PR services.
PR experts will have the skills and through market research, come up with a strategy that will position the entrepreneur’s products to the right audience and create the awareness that attracts customers.
PR also differs from marketing in that it is earned rather than paid for. For instance a favourable article in print media is earned publicity, but you have to pay for a billboard.
PR tactics for startups focus on spurring people to talk about the product or the company.
Practitioners do this by promoting newsworthy editorial content ensuring that the tone of conversations among the public about the brand remain positive. On the other hand, marketers would need to craft an advert, but which may not necessarily reach a wider audience.
Too often business owners underestimate that a positive story about their brand creates a bigger impact than a single advert. For one thing an article stirs up interest. It is true an advert can instantly grab attention, but for the purposes of making a discerning choice, people will look for more information in a newspaper story.
The other factor is if one analyzed the costs of creating awareness and promoting a brand, publicity is usually far less expensive. Gaining one piece of coverage per month can be much cheaper than advertising and steadily builds a company’s image in the eye of the general public.
Some startups owners worry excessively about being too small to deserve attention, forgetting that it is the quality of what they are selling and told in an interesting story that really matters. Editors tend to receive hundreds of emails with press releases, articles, ideas and interviews, but an interesting story, will always stand out. Often, it is also a bonus if the PR agent understands the business sector of the brand and has good media contacts.
Besides a news story, a comment on a topical issue related to the company’s sector or an opinion piece are also equally useful. Carrying out a market research and have results published, can also help create traffic because the media may use this information and quote the brand.
There are other options for maintaining brand relevance. Sponsoring a local sports team or event and donating to charity or giving talks at conferences as well as talk shows and taking a stand at an exhibition.
However, these are not substitutes for media PR because they can be used concurrently. These options are stand-alone, but help in delivering effective publicity for the company.
Besides traditional media, sponsoring a post on social media is a form of advertising. However, when the same post is sent to a blogger who genuinely likes it and posts or comments about it then it becomes PR.
On the other hand, the credibility needed to create a lasting positive impression and a first push to influence a purchaser decision that is where marketing comes in. Marketing is mainly about promotion and practically, it is the next step after PR to effectively deliver products and services to customers who have heard about them through the PR efforts.
Just to repeat: marketing becomes easier when the brand image has already been established and the customers have been motivated to buy.
USING PR TO COMBAT MISINFORMATION AND FALSE NEWS
Media thrives on grabbing the attention of the public.
With the emergence of the Covid-19 pandemic, media outlets and particularly social media platforms, have outdone themselves to be the first in breaking the news.
At the same time, with a 24/7 news cycle comes the mix of outrageous claims and stories masquerading as news and which tend to spread fast because this content is more titillating to the eye. The agenda here is to deceive the public rather than enlighten them. This trend now ranks as the number one nuisance in the internet age.
As Public Relations professionals, we have to be at the front lines to help protect individuals, brands and businesses against misinformation and combating the spread of false news about our clients.
We should fight against negativity, de-motivation and propaganda. Effectively addressing these attacks is critical towards managing what could otherwise be a very damaging situation. Those who have experienced it know exactly how difficult it can be to rectify false news especially when it goes viral.
Our top weapons in this fight have always been; keeping up-to-date with what is trending, timely responses and creating relationships with media outlets.
When a PR team is faced with a public misstatement, much depends on the severity of the mistake. But regardless of the circumstances steps must be taken to contain it, in other words, damage control. False information can cause irreparable harm to a brand or company’s image if left unchecked.
Combating the spread of false news and guarding a brand requires the following;
- Make sure you have all your google alerts set up so that you always get notifications of news quickly. This provides you with an opportunity to reach out to the news source right away and request the information to be corrected or for you to give the news source the right information.
- Create and publish as much content as possible around the company, brand or individual getting attacked by false news. This way you can easily suppress the spread of fake news. Remember to be clear, transparent and truthful, if mistakes are made, admit and rectify them.
- Think through your response first before you react, focus on how you should respond and which platform to use. Take some to choose the most appropriate platform. For instance, instead of engaging the source of fake news, consider using the brand’s communication platforms that have established a strong following to correct the fake news.
- Know where your consumers get their news. Once you have identified these sources, constantly follow, monitor and create a relationship with the source. Great PR professionals know people at these outlets and even get informed before stories are released.
- Get your brands on social media channels. If they own none, create pages for them. Online tools and social media human interaction provides ground for you to quickly rectify false news. Create proactive and engaging content that can easily defend a brand. Social media monitoring provides information on brand mentions, tracking relevant hashtags and discovering trending topics related to your brand.
- Craft responses to competitors ahead of time, as you craft crisis communications plans, put yourself in your competitors plans, they must put themselves in their competitors shoe, figure out the most outrageous claims they might make and craft their response strategies ahead of time.
- Most importantly, release a statement disproving the false news at the earliest convenience. Defend your brand with facts and question the legitimacy of all deceiving claims. Besides being factually accurate, ensure your response respects confidentiality and does not contain offensive content.
When all is said and done however, malicious content is most often set off when a customer feels aggrieved about something. Brands that merely give lip-service to customer services are the ones that are most frequently lambasted.
The untold story of crisis management
Mention Public Relations and many people will think of the glitz and glamour, press conferences and other high profile events. This is a misconception.
PR involves managing information flow between an organization and its publics. There is plenty of hard work that goes into creating any perceived glamour and there are days when you actually feel physically drained!
Take for example the issue of crisis management. A crisis is usually an interlude of intense difficulty that poses a risk to the image/brand of the institution or company your agency represents. For the most part, a series of quick decisions have to be made and it is the job of the public relations team to protect the client’s reputation.
In the middle of the storm, the image of the company, its employees and other stakeholders rests on the shoulders of the PR team. If poorly handled, the crisis could make a transition from bad to worse. Being prepared is crucial. You cannot think of all the eventualities, but you can have a basic strategy in place to work with when a crisis hits.
This will involve gathering all the available information about the crisis. Fact-checking and aligning the facts to explain the circumstances then monitor all the emerging the trends the story is taking. In doing all this, the team can determine the most appropriate medium of communicating their response.
During a crisis, the main goal of a PR department would be to inform all interested parties about the current situation, potential risks, and planned actions. A well-prepared crisis plan should contain the first type of message that will be sent out to the public. The public relations and marketing team is the first line of defense for a company.
The unsaid rules of the game are that kindness and empathy should be portrayed at all times, because these present and restore confidence within the public. To avoid conflicting statements when handling the media, responses should be directed to a person who has been designated by the management of the organization. This eliminates the possibility of clashing narratives that make the situation even worse. You don’t want to have a crisis within another!
Not long ago, a leading telecom company in Uganda had a technical fault with their mobile money system. They were quick to apologize to the public through various digital platforms and explained that a broken fiber-optic cable was the cause of the disruption. In other words, any public fall-out was nipped in the bud.
This is a good example of crisis management. A positive rapport creates a more sympathetic public and helps maintain brand warmth because the company is caring and has apologized for any inconveniences caused.
Former US President Barack Obama recently tested positive for Covid-19. The world got to know about it through Obama’s Twitter account. There was no room for people to spread an alternative or false narrative. Within the Tweet, Obama emphasized his support for the vaccination saying his positive test was “a reminder to get vaccinated.”
Whenever possible PR teams should take advantage of a crisis and turn it into an opportunity, notably because it gives room for further interaction with clients/customers.
Pepsi is well known for creating some of the best ads in the marketing world featuring the world’s stars, either football players or actors and musicians. In April 2017, Pepsi kicked off a new ad campaign with a commercial starring Kendall Jenner, a model and actress. Over the next 48 hours, the ‘short film’ received nearly 1.6 million views on YouTube.
In this ad, the world was treated to Jenner leaving a modeling gig to “join the conversation” which she and her fellow marchers seem to “win” after she hands a police officer a Pepsi. The backlash was immediate and fierce, but in Pepsi’s defense, so was their crisis management.
The brand did initially release a statement defending their campaign by saying, “This is a global ad that reflects people from different walks of life coming together in a spirit of harmony, and we think that’s an important message to convey.”
However, less than 24 hours later the soft drinks company had pulled down the ad and paused the whole campaign. A second statement followed: ‘Pepsi was trying to project a global message of unity, peace, and understanding. Clearly, we missed the mark, and we apologize’.
Pepsi’s response was timely, empathetic, apologetic and straight forward. Pepsi was not ready for it, but according to its strategy, the interest of the customer is given first priority.
The unspoken rules of Social Media
During the past 20 years, information and communication technology has evolved into all kinds of wonderful things, but the key development being the emergence of social media.
The global village created by social media is expanding on a daily basis and shows no signs of slowing down, trampling the rules of decorum that marked the early days of online dialogue.
This is largely fueled by the convenience of mobile technology which has played an essential role in determining the impact of social media platforms in our lives. With just a click on the phone, one is able to communicate to millions across the world anytime and anywhere.
Being basically a social animal, human beings are constantly reaching out with a range of content from serious educative stuff to all manner of gossip and sleaze.
They want to define themselves, prove themselves, nourish relationships and most important of all, remind others that their personal views and opinions matter. Be it about politics, the economy, sports or entertainment, they want to be heard!
These factors have caused social networks to evolve from simply being a means for keeping in touch with friends and family to being used in ways that have a lasting influence on society.
Increasingly, content on social media is shaping politics, business, culture, education, careers, innovation and many other areas of human endeavor.
However a worrying trend is gaining currency; that of using social media platforms to inflict hurt, spread misinformation and all those other negative attributes.
People are ignoring etiquette, the unspoken set of social rules for personal and business behavior online. These dictate how people conduct themselves on social media so they remain not only honest, but also polite and respectable.
There is need for one to be consistent. Some people have accounts on more than one social media channel. It is better to ensure that the information in terms of biography on the different channels is identical. This portrays you as an authentic person and will enable you win the trust of people interested in following or engaging with you.
Use an appropriate image and resist the temptation to improve your looks with Photoshop or similar software. The picture accompanying your profile, defines who you are, therefore it must be easily recognizable. Avoid using blurry pictures and preferably, use the same picture for all profiles on the different social media channels.
Do not post too much stuff. It leaves your account or profile with too much traffic which may result into followers ignoring most of your posts. Give them time to miss you and what you have to say. Having fewer posts also allows you to monitor all of them and pay attention to feedback.
Also avoid long-winded hash tags. Hash tags give posts a wider reach. However, it is not right to use so many of them. This makes the post look untidy and unappealing to those that may see it.
Finally, understand the various platforms’ best practices. Some social media etiquette principles are applicable to all channels, but some are platform-specific like Twitter and LinkedIn. It is always advisable that before you become an active user on a new social media platform, that you read and understand its best practices.
Working remotely, staying productively connected
One of the lasting effects of Covid-19 has been its impact on the way people work.
Remote working or work from home (WfH), which initially seemed problematic for many people, has now become the new normal. Some employees have been wondered aloud why no one had ever thought of it before!
According to the Owl labs State of remote work 2021 report, over 90% of employees say they worked productively outside the office environment.
However, working remotely cancels human interaction that comes with mingling in an office which is an important element for nourishing motivation. This becomes especially disadvantageous especially for young people who are starting out in their careers and need mentors to guide them along the way.
Being away from the office can also blunt your competitive edge. The workplace allows people to find their professional competence by sharing ideas with those in the same field.
After the early excitement of not having your boss looking over your shoulder wears off, many employees have admitted that WfH causes isolation, stress and depression. These health risks do not affect everybody. However due to the risks, many employees have resorted to using Rota system to spell out who works in the office on particular days and who stays at home.
That said, there are numerous positives that come with working at home. It can strengthen relationships. That detour to the bar at the end of the day is no longer applicable and sharing housework in a more equitable manner is also much easier because you can schedule your activities.
Other advantages include the fact that people always know where to find you. It is easier to create time for them because of the self-monitoring that comes with remote working. It avoids the stress that comes with daily commuting, that is associated with traffic jams, fuel expenses and travel bills.
However, teams must maintain contact with co-workers and cultivate a sense of belonging that an office offers through social media, emails and the like. It is this connectivity that can help us sustain productivity and combat any sense of isolation.
The team will stay intact only if members want to. This is something that should not be underestimated.
Celebrating success on team level, can be done during team progress meetings or whenever teams meet online.
It is not always about work. To stay connected in production, teams need to make it a point to share with each other what happens outside work. Trust and transparency can be created by ensuring teams update each other using their different communication platforms so that co-workers know where one is at all times.
Digital PR: A game changer for Public Relations Agencies
Traditional media has not disappeared as some doomsayers had predicted not long ago nor will it anytime time soon. However, the increasing popularity of digital platforms and ownership of smart phones, is giving public relations agencies a clear sign of where they should be focusing their attention.
The outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic and the counter-measures being imposed across the world, has caused a surge in the uptake by consumers of online services and sparked a rising interest in digital marketing.
Digital PR is an online marketing strategy used by companies, organizations and individuals to increase their internet presence. Digital PR/marketing is one of the ways through which PR agencies can target diverse demographics or individuals with content tailored to what suits them.
Social media in particular is cost-effective, fast, interactive, and the easiest means of getting feedback from the targeted audience. Lately, newspapers are purchased and read online, the same applies to television content. Therefore to capture a wider audience for communication as PR practitioner, we ought to adapt and leverage on the various digital channels.
Online publications, blogs podcasts and social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube and email marketing, among others, have been added to PR practitioners’ toolbox.
Digital marketing delivers many benefits to clients thus playing a key role in raising their profiles, building brand awareness and generating more visibility for the companies that we work with.
Agencies can now network with journalists, bloggers and influencers. Sharing online press releases leads to high-quality back-links, social media mentions and improves Search Engine Optimization (SEO). Search engines such as Google place a great deal of value on high-quality external links back to your website.
Online PR coverage, notably online trade magazines, will often include a link back to your website which, in turn, helps to improve your standing in search results.
Since decision makers are increasingly turning to the internet to research service providers, being well positioned on digital/online media helps increase brand awareness amongst your target market, enabling you to reach more potential customers.
Not only do these decision makers search for service providers online, they also use internet research to learn more about competitors or companies they are considering working with.
Securing positive media coverage in online publications and having a strong presence on social media enhances your credibility and improves both the quantity and quality of leads generated for your business. Therefore Digital PR strengthens your credibility.
In addition, Digital PR will increase traffic to your website resulting in free visibility by making it easier for other people, including media, customers and influencers, to share your news and content with their own audiences. This will enable you leverage the following of other influential social media accounts.
As you plan to adopt Digital PR, remember to incorporate videos in your digital/social media plan. Video content is shared and viewed more than text and images. Social media posts that include video clips increase organic reach as compared to those with images only. It all seems quite straightforward, but creativity in developing content is also crucial!
PR career demands being on top of your game
Too often, people ask what exactly a Public Relations Officer does, even before a reply is given, some will suggest that the job entails nothing more than looking pretty or handsome in order to make the companies they represent look good to the public.
In truth, that is part of the responsibility but certainly not the whole story!
There is much more involved and of it behind the scenes. Working with a PR agency, I constantly have to explain that we don’t buy advertisements and we don’t order journalists to write stories that suit our clients.
We build media relations that help us promote our clients’ organizations and products through unpaid or earned methods. Whether it’s the traditional media, social media or speaking engagements, we communicate with our audiences through trusted, not paid, sources.
If you have something important say or a product to launch, the media will always be receptive. However how you package it to raise editors’ interest to highlight the story, is the difference between a good PR firm and an excellent one.
It’s important for all businesses to have a strong public image and as a result those intending to work in PR are usually in demand.
On the other hand, being seen as an exciting career also means it can be very competitive to get a job in this industry, so you’ll need to make sure that you stand out.
To be successful in PR, you have to be always on top of your game and here is how;
Communication
Public Relations (PR) is a strategic communication process that builds mutually beneficial relationships between organizations and their publics. More than any other skill, communication is the one you will be using every day. On top of that, you must be an excellent listener and don’t let emotions colour your message.
Writing skills
It really helps if you possess the ability to write captivating content. Secondly, a strong grasp of grammar and attention to detail will make a huge difference. You should be able to walk into a job interview and present samples of articles, press releases, or copy you have written. Blog samples are another great way to show potential employers that you know how to write for new media.
Understanding social media
Having a strong understanding of social media does not mean that you know how to like a friend’s Facebook post or regularly post status updates on your wall. It means that you are knowledgeable about how to use social media to manage a potential employer’s brand and that you know how to use these platforms as tools for communicating with the public.
Multimedia
Multimedia skills play a huge part in presenting online content. As a Public Relations Specialist, it is important that you have at least a basic knowledge of how to manipulate various types of media. You may not be a blogger, but familiarity with where and how to post a blog is an advantage. Additionally, having a basic knowledge of Photoshop, YouTube, SEO (search engine optimization), and coding will make you more attractive as a potential hire.
Creativity
Creativity is not just for artists, public relations specialists need to be constantly creative; exploring ways to lift your client’s profile. Whether by writing, coming up with a new approach to an old idea, or finding a way to attract new customers, public relations professionals are constantly required to be come up with ideas. If you can think outside the box and come up with novelty then you’ll be able to make your clients happy. Creativity is the key to success in this industry.
Go an extra mile
The additional hour spent researching a story idea, an extra-thorough response to a client question, or that last creative session in search of the winning concept make all the difference in your PR career.
Learn the business of your clients.
A common failing of up-and-coming PRs is the thought that they need only master the content and media relations skills necessary to support a client’s business. But it is only in learning the fundamentals of that business that you can maximize the value of the PR investment for the organization. That means knowing how to interpret a balance sheet, knowing about product distribution, and understanding revenue models.
Be curious
Curiosity is one of the greatest assets in a potential new hire. It makes understanding a client’s business more organic and it separates the truly great practitioners from the merely competent. The more curious you are, the easier you will take to being a solid PR practitioner.
Do all this then thank me later!