D’oh! The 5 Most Common Public Relations Mistakes

Even as a professional in the field, the term “Public Relations” can sometimes feel ambiguous and is easily misused. I often hear phrases like “All you need is some good PR to boost your business” or “Wow, that’s a terrible PR move.” But what does any of this really mean? I suppose like any word, the meaning is all in how you define it and the way I define Public Relations is the way you communicate, interact and serve your customers (aka or your public). So really, I’m in the business of managing and building good customer relationships and there’s a ton of vehicles which can be used to achieve this.

Most usually the businesses I step in and help simply have no public relations focus whatsoever. I like this. It’s a blank slate, people are usually open to trying anything and the things we do try tend to make an immediate impact. But what’s a bit more cumbersome is stepping in and fixing mistakes – especially easily avoidable ones. I always think that it’s so unfortunate that the business simply didn’t know what not to do and have now wound up in a mess because of it. So instead of just thinking, I got to writing. For this blog post I decided it’s about time that I express the 5 most common PR mistakes I see weekly if not daily to hopefully help even just one business owner avoid them. The good news is that for the most part, these mistakes are easy fixes that can be implemented in your own business almost immediately – or simply avoided altogether:

Mistake 1: You have no core values statement

When a customer does business with you, very rarely did they make this decision based solely off of the product or service they’ll receive. It’s a much deeper emotional decision than that – even if they’re not aware of all these factors that ultimately influenced them. As a business you never just sell a tangible item, you sell your values, your level of quality, your years of experience and your expertise along with it. This is what customers are really paying for after all and highlighting these core values is a critical way to helping your business stand out among competitors.

So what’s the best way to clearly and succinctly highlight these values? Have a defined core values statement for your business. This can be as short as a tag line below your logo or as much as a small paragraph on your web site, but it needs to be used. One of the biggest mistakes I see in Public Relations is businesses who overlook the power of creating this type of statement. The majority of customers will never take the time to read your full business biography and compile this for themselves – so do it for them! Make this statement your go-to description when introducing your business to someone. What do you offer beyond your product or service that makes you different? Maybe you’re a 5^th generation family-owned business, maybe you use only locally grown and manufactured products or maybe you donate 10% of proceeds to a charity. This unique statement is what customers will remember and what will resonate with them emotionally. And I’m not sure much else can compete with the powerful role emotions play in decision making.

Mistake 2: You have no distribution of your message

Once you’ve developed your core values statement, this should be a message that you communicate consistently throughout all of your channels. Website content, social media profiles, monthly newsletters, business cards and promotional materials should all include this message somewhere. Sure your customers will become used to seeing this message and when they do they will subconsciously associate it with your business name, logo and brand. Also, by keeping these channels updated and in use, you will build a community and create a platform to distribute future messages – like a special announcement, promotion or opportunity to your customers. Another one of the biggest mistakes I see in PR is not taking the time to create and build your communication channels until you really need them – and by then it’s too late to broadcast your message to everyone you want to.

But more than just distributing your message externally, there is also the internal distribution of your message which is equally important. Your employees can act as ambassadors for your business if you empower them with the right information to do so. Every employee should be able to tell you the core values statement of the business and demonstrate it with their actions every day. If you know what you’re working for and what makes your business special, it makes you want to work harder and better. Also, the internal distribution of your message will help guide you whenever a tough decision must be made. Do you need to raise your prices? Are you considering merging with another business? These both have pros and cons, but the key to which decision is right for your business lies in your core values. With the regular distribution of this message, you and your employees will understand the foundation of the business and these decisions can be made methodically to preserve this foundation. For example: if your core value is to offer the absolute best quality of service, raising your prices might be necessary. But if your core value is to offer the absolute lowest price, a merger might better help you to continue to offer this to your customers. No matter the decision, a well-known core values statement will help guide you toward the right answer.

Mistake 3: You have no crisis plan

Plain and simple – bad stuff happens to even the best businesses, regardless of product, service, size or industry. And when it does, it’s too late to begin outlining your crisis plan. “By the time you hear the thunder, it’s too late to build the ark.” This is why one of the biggest PR mistakes is not having the faintest idea of your crisis plan until the flood waters have raised well over your head. The good news is that this is completely avoidably with just a little effort right now. A crisis plan does not need to be as intensive or consuming as a business strategy or marketing plan (though it could be). This is just a part of your overall Public Relations plan, but if you ask me it’s by far the most important since it could be the plan that saves your business entirely. A crisis plan can be as simple as answering the question, “Who will be my point person in overseeing a crisis?” And the best answer is not always “me.” Think of the other responsibilities that will likely fall on you during the time of a crisis. If it’s due to a break down in internal operations, you’ll need to focus on correcting this right away. You won’t have the time or capacity to deal with social media, customer service calls/emails or the press. Also, are you the best communicator in the business? Just because you have the most insight, doesn’t mean you’re the best person to communicate this insight and make it relatable to your customers. Think of the most professional and responsible communicator you have in your business and have that direct conversation with them about their role in a potential crisis – now.

Another highly confusing, but critical part to your crisis plan is the timing of your communication. There have been disastrous examples of people speaking too soon or not soon enough and both scenarios have the power to produce equally damaging consequences. You want to be the first to speak and tell your story, but this should not be the result of a knee-jerk response. My rule of thumb is to speak as quickly as accurate information is available. There are three components to the initial message you should communicate in response to a crisis. First, admit to the mistake (if it was indeed a mistake in any part related to your business). Second, express how you are working to fix it quickly and fully (are you offering a recall, refund or changing your operations). Third, let your customers know exactly what they can do to avoid feeling any further impact from this error (should they return a product or discontinue use).

By having a solid crisis management plan in place before a crisis strikes, you are in a much better position to recover quicker and stronger than otherwise. The bottom line is that you don’t want customers to remember the crisis; you want them to remember how well you handled it.

Mistake 4: You attempt to erase mistakes

It’s a common analogy for a commonly made PR mistake, “Deleting a comment on social media is like hanging up the phone in the middle of a customer service call.” Social media is a powerful tool that businesses have openly embraced all across the globe, but as soon as a comment turns negative, the first reaction always seems to be to hit delete and make it all go away. The truth is that it won’t go away. Once it’s live out there in cyberspace, you can rest assured that at least one other person has seen it or shared it. Because of this, it will never fully disappear and so deleting this feedback is only going to flame the fire. Whether the negative comment is the result of a crisis or a single unhappy customer, it’s an opportunity to communicate your side of the story and show how much you do appreciate your customers. Much like the crisis communication plan, this is your critical moment to turn a negative into a positive.

Some businesses have even taken this mistake one step beyond just erasing the error or deleting the comment. They have deleted the entire communication channel (for example their Facebook fan page). If a comment goes viral or your business is being bombarded with questions regarding a concern or crisis, the task of managing all of your communication channels may be overwhelming. But it couldn’t be more important to keep it active. Don’t delete any communication channel solely as the result of a negative comment or mistake. Just as you wouldn’t discontinue your customer service call center or shut off your email account, don’t tune out and turn off thousands of customers by shutting off an important means of communication.

Mistake 5: You use too much “fluff”

So often Public Relations is associated with fluff, flack and spin. All these words – in my mind at least – conjure up a negative and even dishonest connotation. It’s certainly acceptable to toot your own horn, but you must keep a level of honesty and believability in your content to prevent the risk of having customers simply tune you out. A big PR mistake I see made in web site content, social media statuses and press releases is the use of too much “fluff” language. This makes the business look and sound like an infomercial, stuffed to the gills with buzzwords and hype. There’s nothing relatable or memorable about this type of content and people tune it out just like they would flip the channel from an annoying commercial. Most distressing is that some people think this is an example of very effective Public Relations strategy. “Hey, doesn’t our business sound awesome? This here says we’re the best at everything so you know it’s true!” Just because you plug a bunch of sugary sweet phrases into your content doesn’t mean your customers will eat it up or even enjoy the taste. Instead, engage your customers through content that is more relatable, more human and maybe even a little bit vulnerable in the right places. Public Relations should tell an interesting, honest story and build meaningful relationships with your customers. Aim to engage your customers with your content, not put them into a sugar coma.

So, which of these 5 common Public Relations mistakes would you say is the most detrimental to a business? Or maybe you have a few other examples that should be included on this list. Be sure and share your comments below so we can all benefit from being aware of these mistakes and make the effort now to avoid them in the future!

 

Quarter Life Crisis As An Indicator of Differentiation (Guest Blog by Todd Shirley)

The following blog post is part of the Bennis Blogger Battle. Support Todd by “Liking” this post, leaving a comment and sharing it on your social media! The blog with the most hits, wins. (I should also mention that Wednesday March 7th is his birthday–so be sure to give him some extra love!)

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While presenting a workshop and working late, a close friend from childhood sent me an email that hinted at the hidden influence his loved ones continue to have over his career decisions.  While reading it,  I felt confused at how such an independent soul could be stuck in an unsatisfying career.

As a self proclaimed “counselor nerd”, who loves both of his jobs, I felt the best way to understand his predicament was to think of it in terms of a continuum (counselor nerds love continuums). At one end of this continuum sits enmeshment- the process of moving close to an individual or group. At the other end sits differentiation- the process of recognizing you are separate from others and their expectations. People cycle through periods of enmeshment and differentiation throughout their lives.  It’s also possible to experience them simultaneously in a paradox that is always difficult. Career development is the stage for which this paradox plays out in two dramatic ways.

This paradox manifests in an ugly manner when people take a prescribed path while recognizing they resent doing so. Ever hear of a mid-life crisis? People who don’t untangle this manifestation of the paradox at their quarter life crisis end up with a mid life crisis.

The other manifestation of this paradox is much prettier.  I’ve seen it play out with loved ones when they moved across the country to take a new job despite a dramatic drop in salary and prestige. Their career shifts were expressions of being differentiated from outside influences. This prevents the mid life crisis.

My friend’s email outlined themes regarding going through the motions of work and his reservations about pursuing a line of work he wants. With the continuum above, his job struggle is clearly linked to a familiar identity struggle. There are some points I’ll quote in an effort to illustrate his concerns in the context of our friendship:

1. Money will always be of concern to me. The last thing I want is to burden my friends and family because I am broke and can’t make it.
Reading it took me back to a difficult two year chapter in my own life.  My wife and I were differentiating from each other. I was intensely afraid that our inevitable split would burden my family.  Through hours of conversation- where he was sincere and genuine- he helped show me I’d be OK and my family would too. If he’s broke, I could care less.  He and I have had great times in our adult lives without money.

2. What monumental thing have I accomplished while unemployed?

The time unemployed he references in this rhetorical question was a period of 5 weeks. He was looking for work because he had to move due to his wife’s career. His self consciousness overshadows his hard work.  He ran his first marathon in under three hours and thirty minutes. Built an amazing desk. AND found a job with improved pay and working conditions over his last one. If those three things aren’t monumental, I’m not sure what is…. I don’t think I’ve done anything like that in the last year while employed.

In times past, he’s proven himself to put time in at a job he hates to pursue new heights. This time for him is no different from any other identity struggle he’s pulled through in the past.  His loved ones are waiting for him to make his move…

Todd Shirley works a full time as a school counselor and carries a caseload of clients who are in the foster care system. When he is not working, he is reading, working out, cooking paleo and discussing all that is arbitrary about life. Oh-and his favorite animal is the manatee. Please support Todd by “Liking” this post or by leaving a comment below!

Oh–and HAPPY BIRTHDAY Todd!

 

A Month of Independence: A reflection of where one month has led me since my biggest life change

It’s been once month since my blog post Independence Day which received a lot of encouragement and words of wisdom. Having declared July 15^th as my personal independence day has provided me with a date and a benchmark that I will forever be able to look back on and see where one month, one year or ten years has taken me since that life-changing and life-defining moment.

My last memory of leaving my cubicle on July 15th. Even when I was working there, it looked just about the same.

One month ago was my last day of work with the Department of Health. Nothing had really changed for me yet. I was still working a desk job and sitting in the same cubicle I had occupied for the last 6 months. My desk had been completely cleaned since the week prior—in fact I never really moved-in. It’s almost like when you’re renting an apartment and don’t even both to hang photos on the wall because it never quite feels like home. That job wasn’t my career. I must have subconsciously sensed it since day one.

After a wonderful and somewhat sad lunch spent with my co-workers for the last time, my boss told me to take off early. Really, my responsibilities had become irrelevant since my 2-week notice, so I walked out of the Department with the remainder of my desk in a single bag and I feel somewhat cold to admit I didn’t look back. I miss the people I worked with terribly. Even in my short time there, I made a family out of my colleagues. I owe them a visit this week—and really I have no excuse. I live 3 blocks from the Capitol complex where I used to work.

The weeks following that day were a whirlwind to say the least and my blog acts as a journal that reflects the highlights as to what I’ve been through. On July 20^th I immediately picked up and took a week to travel. I spent time in Chicago and Miami visiting cities I had never been to before and for no better reason other than I just didn’t make the time. I knew a week out-of-pocket was going to cause work to pile up when I came home, but nothing could prepare me for what I returned to. I felt out of control, like I was treading water but not nearly fast enough to keep my head above the surface. I wanted to get everything on my to-do list done at once which is neither feasible nor necessary. That amount of stress may have shaved a year or two off my life, but it also led me to write the blog post Strive for Progress, Not Perfection which has become my new mantra and has really helped me to re-center my priorities.

After that week and a half of extreme stress, frustration and doubt, I’ve found my stride. I relied a lot on the people close to me to keep my chin up and work through the confusion and negativity I felt. I’ve added 3 new clients to my business and have a growing list of potentials I’ll be pitching to in the coming weeks and months. It’s a balancing act for sure. I may be my own boss now, but I have to juggle the needs of many different clients and sometimes they seem to pile up all at once. I keep a huge whiteboard that works as a fluid to-do list where I can assign the “must-get-done” tasks to each day and visually, it helps to keep me focused and from becoming overwhelmed. I’m developing a lot of other time structuring tools that help me to maximize my efficiency and believe or not, make some time for non work-related things. But that will have to be a blog post for another day…

If where I am today is any indication of where I’ll be and what I’ll feel 6 months or 6 years from now, I’m ready to embrace each day from now until then. I know it will be a rollercoaster ride with dips of stress and frustration and stomach-tickling highs of progress and pride, but it’s going to be a fun ride for sure.

 

You Don’t Have to Change Everything—Just the Right Thing

A summer sunset on the riverfront in Harrisburg--I'm lucky to be here!

I can admittedly say that I am going through a mid-life crisis. Okay, a quarter-life crisis. Let’s not get hung up on semantics. In any case, I recently went through the undeniable feeling like I wanted to make a huge change in my life. Not a little “I’ll dye my hair” change—I seriously considered selling everything I own but a suitcase full of clothes, quitting my job, packing up Pinot and moving to Miami. This thought was terrifying but invigorating all at the same time; it provided me with the rush of excitement my life in Harrisburg wasn’t anymore. In hindsight I wasn’t so much craving the geography change (although I would never turn down a vacation to Miami), but it was more a deep desire I had to find my passion again.

When working on the Pennsylvania Governor’s campaign it was hard and thankless work. We were overworked, under paid and stressed out. Often we had to choose between sleeping and drinking and, well, the decision was obvious. But I hit my stride there. It was around August of ’10 that I was busy from the time I woke up until the time I hit my pillow—7 days a week. I felt productive, needed and like the work I was doing actually had an impact. Unfortunately, after returning to normal hours at a job within the Governor’s administration, I lost that stride. I had my evenings and weekends back, but I never did find that passion. I guess I thought that passion moved South and I was hell-bent on doing whatever I had to in order to get it back, even if it meant leaving everyone and everything I knew.

As a result, I turned my back on Harrisburg and closed my mind to the possibility that I could ever be happy here again—for a long time. Within just the past 2 weeks, I made one single decision that changed all of that. I chose to respectfully resign from my day job and pursue my Public Relations business, Bennis Inc, full time. Starting July 15th I’ll be my own boss, set my own schedule, and yes, try to make ends meet off of this less than stable income. It will be stressful, hard and thankless, but it sounds exactly like what I’ve been looking for.

I’m so grateful that I stepped back from the edge long enough to realize I don’t have to jump. I have friends in Harrisburg, family close by and business contacts that would take years to build anywhere else. I’ve kind of fallen in love with the city all over again and am open to making a business here and a home here. So to anyone else who feels like a quarter, mid or full-life crisis may be coming on—take a breath and step back. You don’t always have to change everything, just the right thing to be happy.

 

Home Work

My cat, Pinot, made a less than productive co-worker.

As many of you may know by now, in addition to BennisInc I also spend my days working for the Pennsylvania Department of Health, Legislative Affairs. This requires me to commute a whole three blocks to the Capitol Complex where I work in a small cubicle without windows from 8:30am-5pm, Monday through Friday (try to contain your jealousy). While sitting in my hamster wheel, I often wonder how I would handle the coveted privilege of being able to work from home.

Well, the Work-From-Home Fairy must have heard my wish.

Due to 2 water lines breaking near the Capitol, I’ve been granted two days to try out the whole “Home Working” concept. I’ve gotten to work at my leisure, rotating between multiple clients’ work, Real Housewives of New Jersey reruns, cleaning, laundry and even a little Facebook. But I’ve gotten more done in 4 hours than I would have all day at the office. Maybe it’s the motivation to prove everyone wrong who says you can’t get work done from home or maybe it was the motivation for a nap and walk along the river once I met certain work goals, but no matter what it was…it was AWESOME.

I could certainly get used to this schedule. I still wake up early, set unreasonably ambitious work goals for the day and to my surprise, get most of them accomplished, but during the small breaks that everyone needs I can throw in a load of laundry, go for a run or meet a friend for coffee. I’m not bound to a desk.

I’ve heard this similar sentiment repeated from nearly all my friends who own their own business–When you work for yourself, YOU get to choose the 70 hours a week you work. I agree. I went from 8am through 9pm each day working on a variety of projects. But I didn’t work those 13 hours straight. I got personal things done throughout that time and when I felt like I needed a break, I could take it at my leisure. When I came back to it, I had a clear mind and produced better quality work as a result.

Working from home certainly takes dedication and self-control, but I can handle it. And if it provides me a life spent outside a hamster wheel, I can have my cedar chips packed in a matter of minutes.