Tag: public relations

The ethics of PR expertise

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The Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) had an interesting webinar recently as part of a series on ethical values. The series is hosted by the organization’s Board of Ethics and Professional Standards (BEPS).

Each webinar in the series involves a panel discussion about the importance of a particular value in the PRSA Code of Ethics. There are six such values, which form the foundation for the six provisions of the code. The session I attended recently was focused on the ethical value of “expertise.”

The panelists, including two professionals and one educator, made some excellent points about the importance of the value of expertise in ethical practice of PR. Some stressed that a commitment to life-long learning is shown by valuing expertise, since the field is constantly evolving. Others brought up the importance of Accreditation in Public Relations (APR), because the process of earning accreditation helps a professional develop and prove and ethical mindset. Panelists also stressed that having both ethical and practical expertise enables professionals to counsel the C-suite.

As I listened, I had some of my own thoughts about expertise in public relations, and why it is an ethical concern:

  • It is important to know what public relations is. I have heard more than a few times someone claim to be a PR expert when they lack a fundamental understanding of what it is. Such people claim that PR is about image, or “getting the word out,” or the most cringe-inducing from an ethical standpoint–“putting an organization in a positive light.” This is unethical because it misrepresents the field and other professionals, and it provides a disservice to clients or organizations being served.
  • You can’t extend expertise in one area of public relations to the entire profession. I have heard people say marketing and public relations are all the same. Or they state that they will impose their corporate experience onto a nonprofit. Or they assume their years in media relations qualify them immediately for investor relations. The field of public relations is vast. Some core principles extend across the profession, but one should be hesitant to claim specific expertise in an area where they lack specific knowledge and experience.
  • Expertise requires knowing the context of the business or industry in which you work. You can’t be a good PR expert for a company or nonprofit or government entity if you don’t know intimately what they do and how they do it, their sources of revenue, their competitive landscape and history.

In a nutshell, pretending to have expertise when one does not is unethical, because it lacks transparency and honesty and does not have the best interest of others in mind.

But, all this means is that to truly be an ethical public relations professional, one must have the humility and integrity to admit a lack of expertise and then gain it. Becoming expert can involve asking good questions, doing robust research, attending a PRSA seminar, or reading good books and articles on the subject at hand.

A professional will be better for developing and maintaining true expertise. Even more so, so will the organizations served and the profession at large.

New app today helps brands engage individual investors

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Brands that are also public companies have a new tech tool to help them engage individual investors on a more personal level. And it comes from a PR firm in Grand Rapids.

Tiicker is available for download from the Apple App Store today. It is touted as a way for individuals to invest in the brands they love, and to be rewarded for being an investor.

The new tech tool, an innovation for investor relations (IR) professionals, was developed and launched by Lambert, a Grand Rapids public relations firm with a long-time specialty in investor relations. Lambert Founder and CEO Jeff Lambert spoke about Tiicker with PRWeek for its Dashboard newsletter, a bi-weekly offering of articles about emerging communication technology (registration required).

Lambert notes that such direct and personal communication between companies and individual investors have often been set back by legal concerns, but that there is significant potential for marketing and investor relations teams to work together. The app is a method to convert consumers to investors and vice versa.

In fact, there is research that says many investors make stock purchase decisions based on their own consumer experience, or that of personal acquaintances. The consumer loyalty programs of punch cards, apps, email coupons and more have been around for years. Technology now makes this model possible for investors.

There may be multiple upsides to such a technology, including increasing outstanding shares, driving share price, converting day traders to buy and hold investors, and making consumers and investors complementary vs competitive publics to brand managers.

Whatever happens, it will be interesting to watch how this latest form of communication technology affects a specific area of public relations practice.

The role of PR in post-election civility

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Civility has been a hot topic for everyone, both personally and professionally. The lack of civility, particularly on social media but also in face-to-face interactions, has made the concept more front of mind. We think about things more as we lose them.

PR pros can be leaders on the topic of civility.

Civility has been especially an issue in the election that just ended (at least the voting part) yesterday. So it is a good time to consider civility, both as individuals and as public relations professionals. Global PR firm Edelman is counseling clients on how to communicate after the election, as reported in PR Week (subscription required). Hot tip–don’t remain silent, but keep comments to process and not anything that hints of partisanship.

Meanwhile, I can share two resources that can be helpful for both personal and professional civility.

Personal Civility-The Argument Framework

My good friend and fellow Page Society member Michael Merk, CCO of designvox, was drawn into a long dialogue in the comments on a post I made on Facebook. He was into a dialogue with another Facebook friend of mine with whom he was not acquainted. The conversation became a step or two removed from the content of my original post.

As I watched this debate continue on my feed, I emailed Michael privately to apologize that he had been drawn into this back and forth. But he actually was fine with it, and I had to admit I was learning from both participants, although they obviously disagreed. Then, a woman who is part of my Facebook circle, commented that she appreciated the dialogue and had enjoyed reading it, and she noted how rare this was.

I spoke about this to Michael, and he shared with me the Argument Framework, which is a national civic initiative to bridge the divides among us. Michael said it really changed his way of thinking and conversing for the better. The initiative put forward a 5-step approach to civil dialogue that includes a focus on relationships and understanding over winning. I would have to agree that if everyone weighed their next social media post or in-person expressions against this framework, blood pressure would be reduced and mutual understanding would be increased.

Professional Civility–PRSA White Paper on Civility

If we can improve our personal civility, then as public relations professionals we can also perform a great service to society by demonstrating and advising clients and the organizations we counsel to a more civil organizational discourse.

Toward that end, the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) Task Force on Civility recently released a white paper that serves as a guide to the public relations industry.

The white paper, titled “Modeling Civility: How Public Relations Professionals Can Restore Quality, Integrity and Inclusiveness to Civil Discourse,” makes its case in the introduction:

The public relations profession has not only a professional obligation to respond to this growing crisis of incivility, but a moral one as well. Based on strategies of mutual engagement and adaptation, the public relations sector has the reach and expertise to deliver guidance and positive examples at scale to help institutions and organizations of all types function more effectively and realize their goals.

PRSA Task Force on Civility, White Paper

The PRSA effort then helpfully spells out the causes and effects of increased incivility in society. It then offers concrete strategies professionals in various sectors of PRSA can do to become educated and adept at civil discourse, from the students in PRSSA to the advanced professionals in the College of Fellows.

I applaud this effort by the professional association that represents public relations professionals. I would hope that in time the result will be that PR professionals understand their role is to offer counsel, strategies, and tactical execution that has civility top of mind, coinciding and not conflicting with the objectives of clients and CEOs.

I can end here with a few thoughts of my own as to how and why public relations professionals should take a lead role on civility:

  • we are professional communicators, and the mark of a professional is the decorum and ethics of communication, not just clever rejoinders or snark deemed humorous only to those not offended;
  • while persuasion is a worthy and honorable goal, it must be achieved honorably, with honesty and rhetoric that shows respect for those with whom we engage;
  • persuasion is most effective if publics are drawn in, and least effective when a line is drawn between organizations and the people with whom it engages (i.e. civility is not just a moral obligation, it is a strategic wisdom);
  • the role of public relations in society is to enable informed decision making, which is best accomplished when people are fully and honestly informed;
  • the role of public relations for organizations is advocacy, to clearly and professionally present a point of view. As such the goal is often to ensure a voice is heard and a perspective is understood, not to defeat or suppress another point of view;
  • the normative and empirical theories of public relations stress that its best form is two-way symmetrical or dialogic, not one-way broadcasts and broadsides. Part of the practice then is listening and understanding the public, not just pressing our view upon them.

I often say to my students and clients that every problem presents an opportunity. The deterioration of civility is a problem that presents opportunity on a personal, professional, and societal scale. We can help to improve the conversational landscape in society, we can improve results for the organizations we represent, and we can improve our own interpersonal relationships.

Many Reasons to Get Your Accreditation in PR (APR)

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How do you know and prove that you are “legit” as a public relations professional? How do you know a PR person you want to hire as a consultant or employee knows what they’re doing?

One way is street “cred.” Another is professional accreditation.

Yesterday I spoke about Accreditation in Public Relations (APR) at the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) International Conference. It was to be in Nashville, but as everything else this year, it was virtual. Check out the conference program description of the session: “The Why, How, and What of APR.”

As co-chair of the PRSA APR Marketing Committee this year, I discussed why professionals would want to seek accreditation, which is the emphasis of this post. My colleague and co-chair Elyse Hammett, APR of the Atlanta Community Foundation went over the what, or process. You can also find more about that on the accreditation page of the PRSA website. Finally, two chapter APR chairs–Dan McFadden, APR, Strategic Communications Director of Sunrise Hospital and Medical Center in Las Vegas, and Denver Peacock, JD, APR, ABC and Principal, the Peacock Group in Little Rock–shared a chapter program to encourage professionals seeking accreditation. (Email me if you want a copy of the full presentation).

Motivations from Altruistic to Practical

In 2019, there were 196 PR professionals who passed their APR exam, joining a growing number of accredited public relations professionals. This includes those who earned APR+M, a special accreditation for those who work in military public affairs. The question is, why?

It turns out, there are multiple motivators for pursuing APR. Yours may be among the ones I mention.

In 2015, I co-authored an article about these motivations for accreditation. We took data from a survey of those who took the APR exam and analyzed it for some insights. One general insight is that by far the majority of people seek the APR for altruistic reasons, such as simple personal satisfaction (82%), to be a better professional (80%), or to gain confidence in their own competence in strategic management (72%). Respondents obviously could answer all that apply.

Others were more practical in their desire to be accredited. The most common answers in this category was to get a promotion (33%) or to obtain a new job (26%).

Other motivations had to do with individual characteristics or where in the vast public relations arena a person practiced:

  • Younger professionals were more likely to seek the APR because of the added potential for a job promotion;
  • Men were more likely than women to see the APR as a way to earn respect from an employer or client;
  • Professionals who had been in public relations their entire careers were more likely to see the APR as a means to leverage a salary increase and promotion as a primary motivator;
  • Those in a tactical role were more likely to seek APR to position themselves when interviewing for a new job;
  • Those in a manager role saw the APR as a boost to get them a higher salary;
  • Those working in agency, nonprofit and government/military PR thought accreditation would help them gain respect from employers or clients.

You may see your own motivation to put APR behind your name on that list. Or you may have your own reasons. One thing is important to stress for everyone: there is an excellent ROI on the APR. The return on investment, relative to a master’s degree or a professional certificate program, is quite good. The APR process is less costly and time consuming than a master’s degree.

And, compared to professional certifications, which often certify in specific skills, the APR is a designation that a professional has an understanding of the field that is deep and broad. Anyone who earns APR has proven that they understand not just how to do tactics, but the theory, history, strategy and process of the field across all segments.

There’s one final motivator–to enhance the profession. Not only is that the sixth provision of the PRSA Code of Ethics, it’s a reality with regard to the APR. The more professionals who are accredited, the more the public at large will recognize with respect the hallmarks of an accredited professional and a profession worthy of credit.

The PR response to Americans overwhelmed by news

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A recent study by the Knight Foundation showed that Americans are overwhelmed by news, particularly online, and they are adapting by picking a few trusted news sources.

Few. Trusted.

Those are the key words.

I have commented on this phenomenon before, including in a previous post where I proposed social media outlets like Facebook and others divide their content into channels to separate news from noise.

But we are arriving at something else I have predicted. In time, the allure of having so much free accessible content online will become counterproductive to both the news industry and consumers. And this recent study shows that consumers have determined the volume leads to more difficulty in staying informed, not ease.

As is often the case, industry finally changes when consumers change their own behavior. And the behavior of news consumers is a lesson and strategic insight for public relations professionals.

Consumers are self selecting fewer sources of news. Instead of gorging themselves on an open buffet of headlines in a social media stream or clicking through multiple apps and websites, they are ordering off the menu and exercising portion control in their daily diet of news.

They also want trusted sources. There is much anxiety about misinformation and disinformation from unreliable and even nefarious sources online. One example of the scope of the problem is the organized professional response, such as the Institute for Public Relations 2020 Disinformation in Society Report. So consumers are starting to weed out the nonsense and amateur punditry and look for actual news.

Here’s what this means for public relations professionals.

  • media relations rises in importance. The value of news releases and pitching stories to mainstream media was considered at least in part diminished when it was possible to do an end-run on reporters and get our information directly to publics via blogs, social posts and email blasts and other means that appeared alongside traditional media content in the user’s environment. But that may be less likely to be seen if people are only paying attention to a few sources. Or, if they do see it, they may not trust it. The old fashioned notion of “source credibility” as the primary value of earned media is returning.
  • don’t flood the market. We have to remember that even with opt-in email campaigns or engagement efforts on social media, the average person is overwhelmed. Less may be more.
  • reputation precedes content. The study shows trust matters more than ever. Public relations people who know what they are doing have always worked on building and maintaining reputation, not just awareness. Now that has to come first. People evaluate whether they read a newsletter, brochure, blog post or any other content from an organization based on reputation and trust. It does not good to simply push content without building a reputational foundation first.

The bottom line is to remember the public any PR pro wants to reach is likely overwhelmed. The strategy is not to add to the problem, but solve it by becoming among the few trusted sources of information that meets their needs, not just ours.