Several people have recently asked me about how to get starting with a public relations practice, so I’ve put together a primer post on the subject. If, however, you are just looking for tips on how to write a press release, then I suggest you check out this great resource from PR Newswire. And, this diagram might be of use.

Ok, for everyone else, here’s something more substantial:

What is PR?

At it’s core public relations is focused on managing the flow of information that goes in and out of your organization and through third party intermediaries (The Capital “P” Press) between your business and your customers. Depending on how your organization is structured, this function may be managed by corporate communications, a public relations team, or under a general marketing team. What started changing PR was the advent of consumer generated media, company wikis, forums, and other online resources that have made the boundary between communities more porous. This has had the effect of distributing the public relations function deeper into, and across, organizations.

Still, organizations do make “official” announcements that are indisputably managed by public relations professionals. Official messages are not always intended for external consumption, but can also be directed internally for distribution to, and by, employees. It might be easiest to understand these messages as “accepted company stories”. These stories are often made available though communication guides embedded in wikis or FAQ pages. It’s also important to note that these stories are not always be defined in a top down manner. In fact, many of the most engaging and compelling stories arise from within organizations.

How is technology changing PR?

Companies are increasingly telling their stories through blogs, wikis, FAQs and other resources that are made available to internal stakeholders and consumers. Because of this, it is possible to efficiently deliver messages to the press without necessarily  having to contact them directly. In many cases, members of the press (including consumer generated media authors) are able to follow companies by simply subscribing to these services. Obviously, there are times when you’ll want to break news to specific news organizations in advance of making the story public through your website. In this case, customer relationship management tools (CRM) make this process easier. I’ve written about CRM tools in this earlier post.

CRM tools allow you to manage your relationships with your customers but also with people in the press (who may also be customers). When used correctly, these tools can enable you to serve your customers and the press more effectively. For example, they can help you keep track of how members of the press prefer to be contacted (e-mail, phone, fax, etc). They also offer tools for tracking the effectiveness of these approaches. For example, showing how many of your e-mails were opened and clicked through and where you get the best responses. And, in the case of phone conversations, you can capture notes about those conversations, schedule follow-ups, and make additional resources available to your contacts. You can also use CRM tools to capture articles that have been written about you in the past, tagging articles and making them available as a resource for your team. With a CRM system in place you’ll be able to understand what your contacts are interested in, while being able to share the relationship as a resource with the rest of your organization.

In house, or Outside Firm?

Not all companies have the resources to set up a CRM system and manage their press relationships, which means that it may make more sense to work with an outside firm. This decision is complicated  and there are many factors to consider including the size of your organization, your growth plans, and the amount of press interaction you expect to have. As a general rule, I would say that it’s preferable to develop an internal competence if possible, but that working with a PR firm along the way, and for ongoing support, can be very helpful.

Managing PR internally has several benefits:

• MORE EFFICIENT CONNECTIONS – The press is always more interested in talking to someone from the company who is us as close as possible to the actual story. PR staff should be focused on serving as a conduit between the press and the relevant story teller. It’s easier to do this if you’re already working internally.
• BETTER SUPPORT – PR teams should also focus on developing resources to support the story so that the story teller has everything s/he needs to make the story compelling and engaging. Internal PR staff will find it easier to obtain the necessary resources to support the story. External support can be helpful though to review and improve these materials.
• MORE VALUE FROM THE RELATIONSHIPS – As internal teams develop a PR practice, they also develop relationships that have immense value over time. Whereas working with external firms decreases the likelihood that organizations will capture these relationships. Of course, people in the press are constantly moving around so it’s hard to keep your contacts up to date. Again, external support can be useful here but depends on how often you are in contact with your network. The less frequent, the more support you’ll want from an external firm. As a general guide, if you are sending out one release per month you can probably manage on your own or with the help of a good freelancer. On the other end of the spectrum, if you are sending more than four messages a month you might want support from a firm that offers ongoing practice development.

Should I use the wires?

The short answer is probably not unless you’re a larger company announcing some really big news. That said, the same companies that send messages out over the wire, such as PR Newswire, offer a suite of support services that are useful. These services offer some of the functions of the CRM I mentioned above. They have tools to create lists, make notes on specific contacts, capture how they prefer to be contacted, etc. They also offer an updated database of contacts at most publications, which is a big deal because people in the press move around a lot. If you’re not using your list frequently enough to keep up, this service can be very helpful.

The problem is that the service is also quite expensive, so it only makes sense if you have enough volume to support a subscription. This is where the freelancers and PR firms that I mentioned above can help out. Since contacting people in the press is a core part of their business, they almost always have subscriptions to these services which they can leverage for you through your partnership.They also have experience working with the platform and can generally provide significant value, particularly if you’re just getting your practice started.

I should note, PR Newwire is not as savvy when it comes to consumer generated media, though I understand that they are making efforts to come up to speed. This is another area where PR firms can help out because they have established relationships with bloggers through their work for various clients.

How should I tell the story?

You should adjust the way you tell the story depending on how you are delivering it and to whom. The essence of the story, however, should remain consistent. For example, if you’re announcing a beta of a new product or service via twitter the message will not be the same as the press release you send out to your contacts via e-mail. In general, the formality of your message should be inversely proportional to the frquency on which it is sent out. Thus, twitter messages are frequent and informal and press releases, which are sent out only when you’ve got big news to share, are more formal. I am including a worksheet below that outlines three models to start thinking how a  message fits into a larger portfolio of messages.

Thanks for reading and I hope this is helpful. I look forward to your thoughts and feedback.