7th
What the heck is PR, anyway?
Those of you who know me well also know that I’m a little wary of writing too much about PR, PR 2.0, social media and the like.
I have my reasons, but chief among them is that there are people out there doing a great job of it already (see: Brian Solis, Kyle Flaherty, Aaron Uhrmacher, Paul May/Jeremy Bencken, and many more). The second reason is that I think that actions speak louder than words, period. The third reason is that things are changing so quickly that “best practices” quickly become mere artifacts — unless you are committed to updating a given blog post (whitepaper, podcast, etc.) regularly with new findings (read: clear understanding of personal shortcomings). Fourth, well, how to put this nicely, there’s also a lot of new media douchebags out there, and in many case the intellectual barrier to entry (either within an agency or in a freelance/consulting role) isn’t particularly high. If that’s an elitist thing to say, so be it (and I’ll follow-up on this claim in a subsequent post).
But here I am despite my stated reticence, because there are indeed a few topics that I think aren’t getting the attention they deserve. Right now they are roughly falling into two categories: PR 101, and PR and Money. I’m going to take Q1 (and maybe longer) to focus some time on these.
To expand:
PR 101 = basic stuff that everyone should understand, and especially entrepreneurs. I’m confounded by how little of this stuff gets communicated (in business school, by advisors and VC ‘s, and even by PR firms and consultants themselves). I’ll try to do this over the coming weeks and months without being too pedantic or self-serving.
PR and Money = one of the big elephants in the room that almost no one seems to want to talk about. This ranges from how much people can, should, and do spend on PR (and where to sweet spot is), to how $$ and class influence PR and marketing generally, to even just simple things like my favorite diagnosis that good PR is a blue-collar job (I’ll expand on this too).
Today, I’m going to start by answering the question of “what the heck is PR, anyway?” This is a PR 101 post.
There are LOTS of viable definitions out there, and many of them are more exhaustive and “accurate” vis-a-vis current trends and market conditions. The definition I offer here is meant less as a definition per se, and more as a framework for thinking about how PR can bring the most value to the table. And better yet, I didn’t make it up — the following has been in circulation for a long time:
Whereas advertising’s goal is visibility, PR’s goal is credibility.
Caveat — I should probably add the qualifier “primarily” i.e. “Advertising’s primary goal is visibility” — because, for example, PR absolutely brings visibility, in the form of a NY Times article or a TechCrunch post, perhaps. But the “higher purpose” of this coverage is the credibility that it moreover brings, not the eyeballs that it attracts (which are few in the grand scheme of things i.e. the 5-year view in which credibility trumps hype, every time). If all you need is visibility, the path to success looks very different. Also, as a caveat (the flip side of the coin) advertising can also bring credibility, there’s no doubt about it. In fact, the best advertising does this naturally, as a prerequisite, even.
But again, as a framework for thinking about what PR can do for you before the fact, and as a means of thinking about how and why you were successful with a given campaign (or not) after the fact —PR’s goal of bringing credibility to a given venture is the best “definition” you’re going to find. And particularly for start-up CEO’s , since credibility is really the name of the game in the early-going (much moreso than visibility) this is an especially useful way of thinking.
Accepting this framework does, however, go hand-in-hand with a more expansive view of what PR is and can do. When you sit down and start to strategize about your PR program, the question becomes — “What can we do to make XX more credible, and eventually, super-credible”?
Here are a few examples of ways in which PR can help build credibility, the typical ones first:
- Media relations
- Certainly, press coverage
- But also, for example, securing contributed articles/posts (both you on others’ sites/outlets, and they on yours)
- Not the mention introductions, generally “stocking the Rolodex” i.e. positioning you as a source for stories ongoing, check-in/brainstorm lunches, and any of the innumerable interactions that don’t result in coverage perse but build credibility
- Analyst relations
- See above
- Speaking engagements
- Not just the securing of the opportunities
- But also shepherding the content, and the ultimate delivery of that content
- Awards
- Likewise, involves much more than just “the application”
And here are some of the more atypical ones, in no specific order (and these are starting to take center stage, by the way):
- Building an advisory board
- One of my favorites
- Supplementing bizdev goals with introductions, ideas, back-channel activities
- We fill this function almost constantly
- Helping build a VC pitch deck
- Battle-testing it with “friendly” investors, rehearsing, etc.
- Making introductions to angels, VC’s who provide a good fit for investment
- Conducting original market research, market intelligence
- Primary or secondary (depending on client, role) branding and design, digital work
- Positioning and messaging work (absolutely paramount)
- Event management
- This often is taken to mean “parties”
- But it doesn’t, and shouldn’t
- Content development — whitepapers, blog posts, podcasts (interview, edit, publish) and more
- Recruiting
- Don’t forget that getting the right people on board both takes credibility and creates credibility
- There are a bevy of PR tactics that can help accomplish both
- Media training, public speaking training
- Big pet peeve here — most entrepreneurs don’t think they need it
- Trust me, you really do
- Social media counsel and enablement, community management, etc.
- The lay of the land + listening, what to do, how to do it, holding your hand and passing the baton (teach a man to fish…)
- Also, sticking around to give advice and encouragement, and the all-important measurement/evaluation piece
- And so on — this is by no means a comprehensive list
A note on social media counsel and enablement — there is a 101 course and a 301 course and everything in between — the biggest take-away for anyone should be the overarching cultural transition that takes place (indeed, must take place) as a result of these technologies — from that of a closed organization to that of an open organization. This is the bigger-picture operation, and I’m always amazed how easy it is to lose track of what you’re *really* up to re: social media (whether you’re new to social media, or a seasoned pro).
Any of the above (and many more) all effectively draw arrows pointing at your “thing” that say “this thing is credible.” If it falls under that rubric, it’s PR. And if falls under that rubric, frankly, your marketing department and your PR firm/consultant/employee need to capable of doing it, too (as does your exective team, as their individual roles dictate).
And in closing (for now), here’s a drawing from the most excellent Sunni Brown articulating as much, from a recent brainstorm we did together:
