The efficiency of listening
The other day, we were discussing one of our core values ‘Pleasurable’ and I realized that listening is an important aspect in communication.
As we try to create a pleasing working environment between us and our clients, it is crucial to always consider listening to them. In this way, we are able to be in tune with their objectives and satisfy their needs. Listening plays a central role in establishing and maintaining interpersonal relationships.
Public Relations (PR) practitioners tend to focus more on improving their public speaking, writing and media relations abilities and forget to listen!
True, these are important to anyone involved in PR, however, it is also essential to work on your listening skills which should not only encompass your clients but other people associated with them.
Listening is the art of paying attention, tracking, analyzing, interpreting and responding to the needs and expectations of a client/customer/workmate. Communications personnel ought to challenge themselves on knowing the right time to speak and which words to use to remain relevant to the client.
I have witnessed a back log in execution of work simply because the graphics designer did not listen and understand his client’s needs. Each time he submitted the art work, his client kept asking him to do re-do it insisting that what was delivered was not in line with his interests.
Therefore, effective listening helps us gather important information related to what the client feedback and it is the best way to understand how they feel about the products/services delivered to them.
Remember to pay keen attention to each detail whenever a client is briefing you on what they want done for them. Listening lays a foundation of any effective customer service interaction.
As a communications practitioner, endeavor to be ‘present’ in other wards listen actively. Pay attention. Maintain eye contact, nod your head if you have to and do not interrupt the speaker but ask relevant questions to clarify your doubts.
As a Public Relations (PR) / communications practitioner, listening will help you monitor, analyze and interpret the trends and emerging issues in the PR industry.
In cases where there is a disagreement on ideas, it is crucial that you create a dialogue form of communication, where each party is given a chance to present their opinions, discuss and together agree on which one is better. Never out shadow a client’s or workmates opinions.
Listening reduces instances of miscommunication. It helps us prevent the resulting issues that come from not understanding the customer’s interests and needs. Listening promotes effective communication.
Embrace Public Relations to effectively tell your Corporate Social Responsibility story
As a company, your customers are your community so the practice of ‘giving back’ has become a globally accepted part of doing business.
Technically known as Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), making periodic financial donations to deserving causes or giving out essential items to charity groups and institutions, helps enhance brand warmth as well as lift the company’s profile.
In recent decades, it is important for businesses that want to keep or attract consumers to convey responsibility towards social concerns like health or the environment as part and parcel of their own commercial existence. In recent years, the sensitive issue of human rights has also come into play.
For large scale companies involved in fast moving goods or critical services, CSR plays a central role because of the vast revenues they generate and the negative social perceptions that can arise because of this.
It is no longer enough for companies to just promote their services or products and make profits for shareholders. Consumers increasingly want to support brands that offer not only functional benefits but a social/charitable purpose as well. Companies that demonstrate an obligation to various charitable causes are generally perceived as more marketable than companies whose social responsibility activities are virtually absent.
For that reason, many individuals/consumers will gladly pay an exceptional for goods, knowing that part of the profits will be channeled towards social causes within the society. Embracing socially responsible policies goes a long way towards attracting and retaining customers, which is essential to a company’s long-term success.
Not only does having a CSR policy benefit society, it also boosts employee morale and frequently leads to greater productivity in the workforce, because they feel good about themselves and what they do.
On the other hand we cannot ignore the self-serving factor and this is when effective public relations is a crucial factor. When done well, it brings out and shares with the public, the objective of why a company/organization is taking on certain CSR programmes. Below are other reasons.
Why PR
PR plays the informative role in CSR through inspiring employees to take action, contribute or participate in the organization’s CSR initiative.
Through public relations, communities are informed about how an organization intends to transform the society through charity. This in turn, strengthens the organization’s image and position.
PR helps socially responsible companies to project more attractive images to both consumers and shareholders, which serves to positively affect their bottom lines.
PR gives the organization a voice to inform and inspire people about its CSR efforts. Public relations provides a platform to organizations to add a voice to a social cause through availing them media coverage as they carry on with their charity policies.
Despite the competition, CSR accompanied by public relations gives the organization a competitive edge, a commitment to CSR lets an organization stand out.
Companies can likewise witness increased foot traffic if they engage with the local community. For example, banks that dispense loans to low-income households are apt to see an uptick in business, as a direct result.
The bottom line
Socially responsible companies that embrace public relations, can cultivate positive brand recognition, increase customer loyalty and enhance stakeholder relationships. These elements contribute greatly to achieving increased profitability and long-term financial success.
Pitching stories to media: the do’s and don’ts
Imagine the pain of pitching a story about a client’s news conference to journalists and they do not show up for the event!
This reminds of a workshop I attended at a certain hotel in Kampala. The event which was meant to start at 9:00 am was delayed simply because the invited journalists had not yet arrived to cover the opening remarks of the managing director and other important officials.
I remember watching how the Public Relations Office grew increasingly restless and frustrated as she tried to phone up the journalists. Feeling for her, I was thinking how she was going to explain this fiasco to her boss!
News conferences need plenty of pre-planning to be successful. Pitching a story to the media is a key public relations component. Yet it is also one of the toughest PR tasks.
The aim of the pitch is to capture attention and create awareness about your event so that the relevant media outlets show a willingness to cover it.
From my experience, here are some useful guidelines to help you get a journalist/editor or media outlet interested in your pitch and decide to cover the event;
Newsworthy
The fact that you are competing for limited broadcasting airtime and print space, your pitch must be newsworthy. It must make people pause to either read, watch or listen. For example, if you have developed a new product, that story is more relevant and interesting to journalists than the news of an old one unless of course the company has cut prices. Another thing; you ought to be up-to-date with current affairs while pitching a story to journalists. This is where relevance comes in. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic and the new standard operating procedures (SOPs), few editors would be interested in a pitch concerning the launch of say, a new beer brand. Officially, the bars are still closed!
News cycle
Media houses usually have morning meetings to plan for the day ahead that falls into specific deadlines.
Journalists are also expected to have news tips that can potentially turn into good stories. It is therefore advisable to pitch your story before the meeting starts, so that the editors have it on the assignment list and get someone to ‘follow-up’. That way, you will have planted a story in the journalist’s mind during a time when he or she might have been looking for one. In other words, have a few journalists on speed dial. You never know when it comes in useful.
As for deadlines, unless your event is graced by the president or some such VVIP, it is best to hold it in the morning and not the afternoon. This gives the journalists plenty of time to beat relevant deadlines. They can dash back do a well-thought out write-up or carefully edit the video clip so that the editor can line up the story for use. Journalists also have a chance to cross check with the relevant PRO when necessary.
The message
A media pitch must explain why the audience will be interested in your story.
Why it matters to their daily lives. A straight forward brief will get the attention of a journalist more than a detailed one, but offer to send additional information if the journalist remains skeptical.
Punctuation and grammar
Always check your grammar, spellings and punctuation before you send your pitch to a journalist/editor. A pitch filled with typos and grammatical errors is a red flag for ‘I don’t care less’. You will not be taken seriously.
Follow-ups
Journalists are always busy or like to give the impression that they are. All the same, do not patronize them or show irritation. If you get no response from an earlier email, don’t assume they saw it. Remind them with a friendly call, text or WhatsApp message about your pitch/event.
From the above it is clear that pitching is an essential part of public relations. This is how you get your company/client’s stories to appear in newspapers, radio, TV or online news websites. A successful media pitch helps businesses stay in the limelight and builds good relations with the media for future coverage.
Use social media to grow your business
Recent disruptions of the internet notwithstanding, advancing technology has presented small medium enterprises (SMEs) with plenty of more options on how to promote their businesses.
Using digital channels like social media, blogs and websites allows SME owners to communicate, market their products and hopefully sell to a wider range of people not only locally, but across the world.
On the other hand, running a small business is not as easy as it sounds. Budgets are usually inadequate for the required advertising on different media channels. Fortunately, social media provides you with all the tools you need to generate sales.
Recently, my friend started selling ladies undergarments but after a few months, realized she was operating in losses. Most of her limited customers were still made up of people in her own circles.
She approached me for ideas on how to increase exposure of her business. Reflecting on the fact that many people are more active on social media, I advised her to create social media platforms for the business.
We then together created content that is appealing, combined it with pictures of her products and details on how potential customers can contact her. This worked wonders! She soon started receiving orders via these online platforms and recorded an increase in the number of customers.
As a small business owner and as much as possible, you need to put yourself out thereif there is going to be any chances of success. Social media/digital marketing boosts visibility. Other bloggers and customers may also link and share timely stories about your business across their pages. This keeps it in search engines, which in turn yields possibly more customers. It is also a cheaper way through which an entrepreneur can reach out to his/her audience, build awareness and create a positive business image.
Images or videos have an enormous impact in triggering various responses to your content marketing. Endeavour to include visuals of your products on social media. Visual effect can attract more traffic, receive more likes, shares, and engagement than grey text updates.
The other point about social media is, it creates long-lasting relationships between you and your customers since you directly interact with them in their inboxes. These results into two things– customers referring you to other people interested in the same products. Secondly, it also helps you get feedback directly from customers for purposes of serving them better.
Most importantly, digital/social media marketing develops trust and credibility for your brand without you spending excessively. All you have to do is ensure you serve your customers with diligence because they will keep mentioning your brand/products in their circles, thus growing your business in the long run.
Commit yourself towards updating your pages on a daily basis, showcasing new products and timely response to customer queries. You will witness the returns regarding new customers and more people talking about your business. Interestingly, you will get all that visibility for free.
Social media marketing is a powerful way for businesses of all sizes to reach prospects and customers.
Volunteer your way into a job
All you fresh graduates should read this article if you want to increase your chances of getting a job!
You have been selected for several job interviews. Up to this point, you have already sat for some interviews, but no one is calling back with positive news!
Your self-confidence has taken a definite knock and you ask yourself–why? Usually, it turns out it is because you do not have the experience needed by the prospective employer.
Instead of getting frustrated, start volunteering as an alternative way to gain the needed experience. Volunteering is an ideal way to build your skills and develop a network of contacts that eventually will get you closer to that dream job.
Always accept opportunities for volunteering. You may not be earning loads of cash, but you are gaining relevant experience that is going to stay with you for the long haul.
Being a fresh graduate, I found myself in this situation. I had applied to the Makerere University Public Relations Office requesting for an opportunity to volunteer, which I was thankfully granted.
I used the chance to learn as much as I could about the practical side of public relations.
In addition to putting in as much energy as possible in order to do a good job, I also made an effort to befriend and socialize with the people in the industry. You never know what good things can come from expanding your network. Keep in mind that expanding your network is one of the most important reasons as to why you are volunteering.
Through socializing, someone referred me to Ms. Primrose Kiberu, the CEO Prim and King Communications Limited and that is how I was able to get employed as an Accounts Executive.
My experience as a volunteer at Makerere University PR Office came in very handy when Prim and King Communications considered my suitability.
As I look forward to learning and gaining more experience at the organization, I am enjoying working with clients on different media campaigns, making new friends, organizing and attending press conferences among others. This has positively impacted on my confidence and self-esteem.
After you’ve landed a volunteer opportunity, be sure to list it on your resume and profile it on your professional networks, such as Linked-in. Hiring managers consider volunteering work experience and it shows you’re not just sitting around, but are out there always trying to freshen your skills.