Will PR practitioners be more ethical or pretend to be more ethical?

By: Jackie Sears

Public relations practitioners tend to get a bad name for themselves because of the way the media and how Hollywood portrays it as an “image making” career. From an outside perspective, public relations might look exactly like the previous statement. Contradictory to that belief, PRSA has stated that PR as a profession and its reputation is founded on a platform to protect integrity and public trust (PRSA). This is grounded in the PRSA Code of Ethics, which “promotes advocacy, honesty, loyalty, professional development and objectivity”.

The field in which public relations practitioners work within is one where ethical dilemmas are around every corner and cannot be avoided. Since this line of job has an intertwine of media and business environment, there have been instances of poor management correlating with problems of not being ethical in the field (Lee, 2012). Public relations may be founded on being honest and objective, but has leaned more towards loyalty of the client, prioritizing the client over applying the professional ethical code (Harrison, 2005). This is found in the practices of virtue-based PR ethics, which only focuses on what is ethical for an individual instead of what is the correct thing to do.

Studies have been researched over public relations and whether or not it remains ethically driven.  As of today there is not an abundance of support for ethics training and baseline education of current practitioners. If this is true, it highlights a misunderstanding of the career that needs to be reinterpreted and valued in current and future public relations practitioners. The value of following the code of ethics needs to be placed in top of mind in order for practitioners to make ethical decisions applied in difficult situations that aren’t being used today. In the end, it will be harder to dig the firm out of an unethical situation ignored by the PR practitioners rather than be ethical and honest with the public in the first place.

PR practitioners will be more ethical because of all of the training we receive as students studying the field and case studies that have been done about other companies that are made available to the public. The code of ethics may not offer what to do in certain difficult ethical situations, but there is never a new problem that a PR firm or organization has not faced. This highlights the importance of studying what other firms have done and taking note of what to do in crisis communication plans. There is never a way to be ready for a crisis or how to handle an ethical situation, but there is a way to take in consideration of the client, the public and the reputation of the PR firm through research and doing what is right. It is important to be loyal to your client, but if your client isn’t able to ethical and loyal to its audience, it is important to consider dropping the client or confronting the client to stand up for ethical practices.

Sources Cited:

Harrison, K., & Galloway, C. (2005). Public relations ethics: A simpler (but not simplistic) approach to the complexities. Retrieved from http://www.prismjournal.org/fileadmin/
Praxis/Files/Journal_Files/Issue3/Harrison_Galloway.pdf

Lee, S. (2012). Ethics Management in Public Relations: Practitioner Conceptualizations of Ethical Leadership, Knowledge, Training and Compliance. Retrieved from https://learn.unt.edu/bbcswebdav/pid-3447337-dt-content-rid-47298209_1/courses/JOUR.4470.001-NT752.1161.1/PREthics2.pdf

PRSA. (2009-16). Ethical Guidance for Today's Public Relations Practitioners from PRSA. Retrieved from https://www.prsa.org/aboutprsa/ethics/#.Vvk9Hz_NWCS

Instagram, the Photo App that will change your PR Campaign.

By: Jackie Sears

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Instagram is an extremely useful social media platform that is either used correctly or is ignored for its potential to make powerful PR campaigns. Photography and graphics have become a great tool for drawing attention to campaigns and engaging more views to start more conversations. Here are angles to take when using Instagram:

Announcements. Instagram is the perfect platform to post on for upcoming events, milestones and awards and celebrations. Examples of this would be a grand opening of a store/firm, award for being a top company to work for or an event that the firm is sponsoring for a client. Develop a hashtag for a campaign and follow it through the event, so instagrammers can discuss and use the hashtag in conversations.

Raising Awareness. This is one of the most important things to do on social media and can be depicted beautifully. Raise awareness over the social causes and issues that your firm or organization supports. With this said, Instagram posts should show how your firm/brand or organization benefits local and national communities.

Highlight the Company's Culture. What better way of showing off the culture of the company than photos? Get creative with your company's voice to attract Instagram members and potential clients. With this, go behind the scenes and show what really goes on at the company- capture a moment, an interview or an educational post about your company.

Instagram has highlighted a guideline for PR campaigns on Instagram. If your organization builds a national or international campaign, it is important that reference Instagram. Once the press release is written for the Instagram campaign for your organization, the Instagram communication team responds and then your organization can release publicly what the campaign is. 

Make your Instagram unique and bring excitement to the instagrammers so they can look forward to your posts and support your organization.

Sources Cited: 
 
Feldman, E. (2015, January 27). 6 Ways to Use Instagram for PR | Cision. Retrieved from http://www.cision.com/us/2015/01/6-ways-to-use-instagram-for-pr/

Instagram. (2016). Instagram Help Center. Retrieved from https://help.instagram.com/155465357989685/

Infographic, the Prime Teaching Skill in Public Relations

By: Jackie Sears

Public relations is the form of communicating with a client and promoting two-way communication that is beneficial for the audience and stakeholders with its client. In order to have a good communication base, it is important to consider different ways of communication and teaching that is available for public relations officials to display to the said audience.

An important communication tool is infographics. Many people outside of marketing and public relations may not be familiar with the term infographic. An infographic is defined as a visualization focusing on data from a story or study and is used to inform. According to the Customer Magnetism Internet Marketing Agency’s infographic, infographics that are well made can apply 30 times more readings than plain text articles. This is a huge difference and an opportunity that all public relations officials should build on.

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Infographics are extremely useful tool because they present a narrative that is able to be quickly shared and re-

posted on social media as well as in blogs and in news. Infographics break down and explain what the client is trying to voice to the public.

In order to have your infographic become successful and go viral on your social media pages, it is important to catch the attention of your audience with a well thought out title and an interesting topic that relates to your client or what they support. It is also important to keep in mind to show trends that have occurred over time, making a statement on what causes are important to the client and how they want to see it change or progress. Many people are visual learners so by adding images that relate to the facts will help with content recollection which will in turn build brand awareness for your client.  

Infographics are a great organization tool for your client and what it stands for. Keep in mind to not overdo the process, but to use infographics to your advantage when narrating a topic.

Sources Cited

Customer Magnetism. (n.d.). What is an infographic anyway? Learn about them here! Retrieved from https://www.customermagnetism.com/infographics/what-is-an-infographic/

Infusionsoft Blog. (2013, May 07). Infographic Marketing | The Whys and Hows. Retrieved from http://learn.infusionsoft.com/marketing/content-marketing/infographic-marketing-the-whys-and-hows/

Planning Posts for Social Media

By: Jackie Sears

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What better way to promote an event, bring light to an issue and communicate with your public than social media? Social media has brought an instant interaction for two-way communication with the public and your organization. With social media comes great responsibility, but it is unlikely that a professional will sit at the computer 24/7. Because of this, it is important to have a social media calendar and invest in timed posts with an outside website like Hootsuite.

First thing is first, it is important to research the audience that follows your brand or organization to see what will catch their attention. It is important to keep in mind the analytics for Facebook and Twitter in order to see what kind of posts that you have that have made an impression on your audience. This way you will know what kind of posts to continue posting and which ones to avoid.

Once you have your background on analytics, make sure to plan how many times you’d like to post on each social network. Twitter is the most acceptable platform that allows you to post up to five times a day versus Facebook, which is 3-10 times a week according to Sprout Social.

In order to post to Hootsuite, it is a good idea to have a social media calendar that follows your organization's goals by tactically planning ahead. Google Calendar is a great way to organize what is going on in your organization and share with your team. Once a calendar like Google Calendar is created, it will be easier to create a template for your social media plan so you wont miss important dates and events.

To achieve the goals of your organization, set out objectives on what is needed to be posted each week, then narrow down what posts should be posted on which day. If there are any events or social causes that tie in with your organization, make sure to include them on your social media calendar. The posts you make will set the organization's voice and needs to be followed throughout all platforms. When posting, make sure to have a tone that is appropriate for the organization. Bring into consideration on what important announcements need to be highlighted with multiple posts where others may only be posted once.

By staying organized and planning ahead with a social media calendar, PR professionals can strategically plan for their audience to reach the posts at the right time.

Sources Cited

Patterson, M. (2016, January 07). 4 Steps for Creating a Social Media Calendar | Sprout Social. Retrieved from http://sproutsocial.com/insights/social-media-editorial-calendar/

Rast, H. (2012). How To Build A Conversation Calendar For Social Media. Retrieved from http://soloprpro.com/how-to-build-a-conversation-calendar-for-social-media/

Becoming a Publicist for Someone in the Media

By: Jackie Sears

Photo There are many branches of PR that a recent graduate can consider when applying for their first job. The great thing about public relations is that it is very versatile and the professional can only benefit from diving into different types of PR throughout their career. One branch of PR that sparks interest to know more about is being a publicist for someone in the media. What all does it take to be a well known and well liked publicist?  The job description of a publicist for someone in the media gives and takes from these few things: Oversee the overall making of public image Manage media relations for the said client Coordinate events Make sure the client knows what is best to do and where to appear at Release statements, press releases, attend and managing press conferences Pitch story ideas to media, make client available for interviews Among these tasks, there is much to consider before choosing to become a celebrity publicist. Like most PR jobs, it is a full time around the clock job that requires a lot of maintenance. Needs are required to be met just like any other PR job, but in this instance, you are serving what is best for the person themselves, not just for a product or promotion. A powerful skill to have as a celebrity publicist is crisis communication. Dealing with a client that is human, there are bound to be mistakes and mishaps to happen during the time you are working for them. A quick thinker who is able to strategize what is best for the situation and for the client is a requirement, along with being an open communicator. According to Study.com, many publicist start in a PR firm or mentor with a celebrity publicist in order to secure and grow clientele following.  As of May 2014, $64,200 is stated as the median salary for a celebrity publicist according to the Business of Labor Statistics.   Do you think you have what it takes to be a publicist for someone in the media?

Works Cited 

Bureau of Labor Statistics. (n.d.). 13-1011 Agents and Business Managers of Artists, Performers, and Athletes. Retrieved  from http://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes131011.htm

Dube Dwilson, S. (n.d.). What Does a Celebrity's Public Relations Representative Do? Retrieved  from http://work.chron.com/celebritys-public-relations-representative-do-22353.html 

Study.com. (n.d.). Celebrity Publicist: Job Description, Duties and Requirements. Retrieved March 04, 2016, from http://study.com/articles/Celebrity_Publicist_Job_Description_Duties_and_Requirements.html