The Public Relations Blog

You can’t control it so let PR show you how to best prepare for it

Severe thunderstorms and heavy winds strike when you least expect them. Potential hurricanes and flooding, which can occur anytime from June to November, are a yearly threat. Lightning that strikes with or without rain is especially troublesome. Tropical storms can ruin anyone’s best-laid plans. Is your company ready?

Mother Nature can be both splendid and cruel, and many companies may find themselves in crisis due to her whims. While we are ultimately at her mercy, we don’t have to stop creating events and programs. Your company can weather any storm with the right foresight, and planning and PR can help.

Is your company doing all it can to attract and retain the best and brightest employees?

Many companies still believe that all it takes to attract the best and brightest job applicants is to offer a competitive salary and benefits. Smarter companies have learned that, these days, it takes much more. Which of these sound like your company?

Beyond salary, companies must strive to build an environment that considers many important elements, including work-life balance, opportunities for career development and advancement, training and office culture. Axia Public Relations is here to help with tips for how to promote your workplace excellence and culture as well as earn award recognition as one of the Best Places to Work.

From CEOs to entertainers, take steps to protect your privacy

People often believe that once a patient is in the public domain of a hospital, the media can access any information about the individual. This is not true. The American Hospital Association has guidelines for releasing patient information to the media.

When United Airlines CEO Oscar Munoz was hospitalized after a heart attack, the media found out quickly. Once the news of Munoz’s hospitalization went public, United Airlines’ stock price dropped.

Your company could face a slew of negative effects if the media finds out that your high-level executive was admitted to the hospital. Here are five tips you need to know in order to take control of the situation before it takes control of you.

Strong media relations are important to your company’s earned media coverage

Earned media coverage is more credible and resonates with audiences more successfully than advertisements. Media relations is one of the key responsibilities of public relations practitioners. Any company can send out a press release; anyone can email a news correspondent. But building personal relationships with the media is what will make earned media coverage accessible for your organization.

Hospitalization could cost your company more than you think

United Airlines’ newly named CEO Oscar Munoz – immediate past COO of CSX – was admitted to the hospital on Oct. 15, following an alleged heart attack. It happened just 39 days after he took the position. The company’s prior CEO resigned in September in the shadow of a possible bribery scandal. Now, United Airline’s image is suffering even more thanks to the publicity of Munoz’s hospitalization.

When media learned about Munoz’s hospital admittance, the news spread quickly.

Learn why you shouldn’t let just anyone manage this vital tool

To do business today, everyone says you must post, tweet, share, update, like, pin, snap and follow on a daily basis. You also have to take great care to prevent costly mistakes and pay close attention to what others are saying about you. This is in addition to everything else you do to keep your business successful. How do you find the time?

Consumers find comfort and reassurance in the opinions of others. In fact, 52% of consumers reported that positive customer reviews make them more likely to invest in a local business, compared to just 28% who make selections based on factors including location and price.

The word-of-mouth referral predominantly in use today takes the shape of the online review. Whether it’s on Yelp!, Google+, TripAdvisor, Angie’s List, the BBB, or another digital review outlet, the opinions of others carry a significant amount of weight when it comes to where consumers invest their time and money. In addition, leading search engine sites place greater SEO value on “earned input” such as reviews, creating several key reasons for businesses to make a concerted effort toward encouraging reviews.

Ethical implications of using this favored PR tool

Several Axia Public Relation team members, including me, began our communications-based careers as journalists, serving as media gatekeepers. This added expertise often comes into play when counseling the clients we represent as public relations practitioners. We’re bound not only to the Public Relations Society of America Code of Ethics, but to the Society of Professional Journalists Code of Ethics. Each derivative, interestingly enough, shares a multitude of overlapping guidelines – one of which focuses on the use of the phrase “off the record.”

To those unfamiliar with the parlance, “off the record” is a public relations tool used by any individual (source) who wants to share information strictly as background or context when speaking with a member of the media.

Speaking at conferences, community meetings and expert seminars is a wonderful opportunity to get in front of your key audiences and grow your business. How does your company benefit from such speaking engagements?

Let PR show you how you can benefit from disaster

President John F. Kennedy remarked, “When written in Chinese, the word ‘crisis’ is composed of two characters. One represents danger and the other represents opportunity.” A crisis typically indicates that something was wrong and has now reached the stage where you can no longer ignore it. Still, it is also a chance to make changes and make things right.

After a crisis, you must quickly assess the situation and determine what you can learn from it. PR can help with this process.