It is important for an organization to have one or more spokespeople who are experienced and can stay calm when communicating during a crisis. Crisis communication is how people know what is going on and it is very important when it comes to public relations. This is why it is important to have an adequate number of spokespeople for your organization because sometimes it isn’t sufficient enough to have just one person doing the talking. It looks better on the public relations side of things if you have more than one who are both on the same page and can effectively speak to the media and people on a face-to-face basis.

There are several things that must be done in crisis communication. It isn’t just a matter of looking at the situation and coming up with a response within five minutes. To give a proper response, it is important to evaluate the situation and follow a certain set of rules to make sure the public gets the adequate information. These steps are:

- Developing and delivering at least three key points about the situation. These messages must be relayed in such a way that everyone can understand what is being said. Sometimes these messages do not have to be anything extensive, depending on the situation. Such an example is when a company is going through a lawsuit. Most companies do not allow commenting on pending litigation, so the spokesperson may simply say, “no comment.”

- Make sure that all employees are up-to-date on what is going on. This creates consistency and allows for adequate response for various situations that may arise during a crisis. Many times this interaction should take place face-to-face instead of in a memo.

- Make sure you identify who can be trusted with information and who cannot be. These can be considered your unofficial spokespersons if they must be asked questions. These are the people who will adhere to what you tell them to say. In crisis communication, it is important to stay sensitive to various pieces of information that could cause an even bigger issue.

- A rumor-control system should be put in place. This means that the system must be up and running, allowing others to ask questions and get immediate answers before they begin communicating their speculations with others. What starts out as a question soon becomes fact when it is passed from person-to-person. This can cause a situation to become much more difficult. Rumors result in new issues that must be given attention. This can take attention away from the issue at hand.

Just make sure that those on the inside know exactly what is going on because they are just as important as those on the outside wanting to know what the crisis is, how it is going to impact them, and how to rectify the situation. It is even fair to develop key messages for employees, but to have key messages that are used for those on the outside as well. It is important to implement a system and a strategy that will not cause any type of mass panic, depending on the situation. Sometimes those situations are limited to a company and other times they can influence an entire population.

Just be sure to not jump the gun. Instead, develop strategies that will relay the message effectively. Both inside and outside communication go hand-in-hand in order for things to run smoothly. This shows that crisis communication in public relations is very important when ensuring the safety of people, their affairs, and of those directly involved with the situation.

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People tend to confuse PR and advertising, but the truth is that they are quite distinct and while good advertising can bring your business plenty of publicity, theres nothing like great PR to give you that boost in the public eye.

First of all, you need to realize that PR is public relations. Its coverage that isnt paid for in cash, like advertising. It takes a lot more effort to create good PR, but it is well worth it, since this method is far more effective for publicizing your business.

PR Advantages

The advantages of using PR are many, so lets take a look at a few of them.

Cost.

PR is usually free. It may cost you in printing out your press release and stamps to send them, but its still a lot cheaper than advertising which can run into the thousands of dollars!

Placement.

No matter how much you pay for an ad, youll never get a big front page placement. Thats reserved for news and offering great PR is a good way to get that position for absolutely nothing.

Credibility.

People know that ads are paid for and they take them with a grain of salt. While a good ad can still convert, people are automatically suspicious of an advertisement. However, with media coverage brought about by PR, people wont have their guard up. Theyll read your story and be interested in it without being suspicious because it is assumed to be un-biased.

Angles.

Once youve been featured on the front page, its quite possible for other areas of the newspaper to pick up on your story and redo it in their own way. This can provide free repeat coverage, within the same publication which is a real boost to publicity. People need to see information a lot of times before they make the decision to buy, so the more publicity, the better.

Exposure.

Youd be surprised at how far a good news story can go! Unless you have something to do with a piece of major breaking news, chances are you wont be the number one story on the news tonight, but that doesnt mean you cant enjoy repeat coverage. If one television show or newspaper reports on you, it’s quite likely that your story will also show up on other channels!

Details.

You can offer far more details about your company or product within a public relations story. Most newspapers will want to print more than a few lines, which would be standard for an advertisement, so youll want to include information that will catch the public eye.

Connections.

Having connections with the media is never a bad thing and can stand you in good stead later on when you want to give your business a boost. Make sure that your press releases are exactly what editors are looking for, which will give you a leg up next time you have a press release. Theyll know that you provide quality work and this will reflect in their treatment of you.

There are many reasons to choose PR over advertising, if you have to make a choice. The truth is that combining the two publicity methods is an excellent method for gaining the optimum number of sales. However, when it really comes down to it, good public relations trumps advertising the majority of the time. Building connections and relationships with the media is invaluable and should definitely be utilized in every business that wants to be successful.

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Press releases are a great way to draw extra attention to your business and create a bit of a buzz around new events and products. However, if poorly written, your press release will never be picked up by the media and your great news, even if newsworthy, won’t see the light of day. Here’s how to write a press release that will have the media begging for more.

Give It an Angle Your press release needs to have an angle built in so that it is easy for an editor to turn it into a front page story if necessary. Write your press release as if it were an article and you have a very good chance of it being picked up. Editors love it when they don’t have to work too hard.

For your press release to garner favor, it’s a good idea to turn it into a story that people will be interested in reading. For example, no one will care that you just got new carpet in your office, but what can create a newsworthy release is the fact that the new carpet is made from recycled plastic and marks the beginning of a green era for your business.

Make It Snappy A press release is not a college essay and it shouldn’t read like one. Write it like a magazine article. A good tip is to take a look at the publication you want to get into and write the press release to fit that style. This gives you an added advantage . . . the reporter won’t have to struggle to make your article fit into the magazine. To keep your press release interesting and fun to read, make sure you write actively. That means using active instead of passive verbs and making the action leap out to the readers.

For example, rather than say; “The new carpet was installed”, write “We lay the carpet ourselves to save money” or something similar, using an active voice. Also, you will want to keep the press release fairly short. Most editors don’t have time to be reading fifty pages on how your business is coming out with a new product.

Split It Up Using subtitles and bullet points is an excellent way to make your press release easier to read. To do this easily, write down all the information you want conveyed, in a magazine style, then go back and divide the report into sections. Label each one with a short subtitle. Extra ideas or resources can be listed with bullet points.

Using bold or italics for some important points will help them stand out as well and can be a good way to get busy editors to check out your report. They will be able to simply scan it and get an idea as to what your press release is about, making it easy to decide whether or not to use it.

Headlines Count The title you give your press release could mean the difference between it getting read or just tossed in the junk pile. You want a title that isn’t too long, but catches people’s attention. Again, a quick look at the publication you want to get into can be a very helpful way to figure out what they are looking for. In general, stick to active verbs and get straight to the point. A vague, wishy washy headline isn’t going to win you any points!

Short, newspaper type headlines are almost always good. The editor may change it, but chances are, if you offer something usable your press release will get used pretty much as is.

Writing a press release is fairly simple. Make it newsworthy and interesting to read as well as nice and easy and you’ll have a very good chance of it getting featured.

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