Guest Blog: What is PR And How Does it Benefit Your Organization's Reputation?

what is PUBLIC RELATIONS AND HOW DOES IT BENEFIT YOUR organization’s REPUTATION?

Written by Guest Blogger Pete E Cento, Managing Director, The Cento Group, Naples, FL  

Naples, FL – August 20, 2013 – What is public relations and how does it benefit your company’s reputation? Whether you’re a communications professional working in the PR industry or a business deciding whether to hire a PR professional to enhance your organization’s reputation with the public including consumers, it’s a question worth asking.

In today’s fast-paced world the role of a public relations practitioner is changing with a host of new channels of communication. These channels include social media strategy and messaging, content marketing, inbound marketing, and so on. The skills being used to deliver the message to the public is very much founded in public relations.

The reality today is that effective communication is a combination of strategic PR, digital media and online marketing. All of us should be incorporating best practices from each other’s disciplines to provide clients with creative communications that persuade and influence.

Public relations can be defined in many ways, but ultimately, it can be condensed as follows: “Public Relations can create and protect reputations and builds relationships.”

Since graduating from the School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Florida International University, I’ve been a long-time member of the Public Relations Society of America, Miami and Southwest Florida Chapters (PRSA); the Florida Public Relations Association, Southwest Florida Chapter (FPRA); Miami International Press Club; National Association of Hispanic Journalists (NAHJ); and I currently serve as co-moderator and Southwest Florida Manager of the South Florida Public Relations Network (SFPRN) and the PR Daily Digest.

I first began my journey to “the dark side” of PR and media relations in the mid-90s at Burger King Corporation in Miami. The transition from working as assignment desk editor and news producer for CBS Miami, Telemundo/NBC and Univision Network in Miami to the corporate world was difficult.

I was accustomed to working in a busy newsroom environment with police scanners blasting in the background, phones ringing off the hook on the assignment desk, with the preferred communication of yelling about “breaking news events” between reporters, news producers and assignment desk editors. Then there were the shouted assignments for news crews to cover the weekly county commission meetings. That was then.

But in the corporate word, I found myself sitting in a small cubicle on the seventh floor of a waterfront, glass-paned building across from Biscayne Bay on Old Cutler Road and Eureka Drive in south Miami-Dade County. My role at Burger King included working as media relation’s specialist in the global communications department and managing crisis incidents at Burger King’s company-owned and franchised locations in the Caribbean, North America and Canada.  There were days I would stare out the window at a school of dolphins frolicking in Biscayne Bay. I managed numerous crisis incidents, including tainted iced tea, Mad-Cow disease, alleged food poisoning cases from customers, i.e., salmonella and E-Coli, shootings, robberies, hostage situations, and the bombing incident at the 1996 Atlanta, Georgia summer Olympic Village.

After working for Burger King, I represented a number of global clients at The IAC Group, a Hispanic marketing, advertising and PR firm in Miami. I was responsible for developing strategic media relations and integrated marketing campaigns for Pfizer, Target Corporation, AT&T Wireless, The Real Yellow Pages from BellSouth, Publix Super Markets and Anheuser-Busch. I developed a disaster preparedness manual and disaster communication plan for AT&T Wireless senior-level executives in Atlanta and also served as media spokesperson during four hurricanes and tropical storms that impacted South Florida and The Florida Keys.

After working for two years on the agency side, I accepted a new job as Associate Director, Media Relations for the University of Miami. I managed a staff of four writers and six interns and was responsible for promoting the UM School of Law, School of International Studies, UM Nursing School, UM Department of Psychology and the Rosenstiel School of Atmospheric Science. During my tenure at UM, I managed several global issues, including a Billfish research project in the Florida Keys, “How Hurricanes Form in the Atlantic Ocean” and U.S. and Cuba relations with the Elian Gonzales crisis, the 5- year-old Cuban boy who was found floating on a raft, his mother drowned at sea, while escaping the Communist regime in Cuba. Every day for more than 8 months, UM professors were interviewed by global media, including the Boston Globe, New York Times, Atlanta Journal Constitution, Miami Herald, Sun-Sentinel, MSNBC, CNN, PBS, CBS News, ABC News and NBC News. I also served as UM spokesperson during the annual Atlantic-basin hurricane season and during numerous crisis situations at the university.

From 2005 to 2012, I worked as PIO and External Affairs Field Specialist for the Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). During my tenure working for the federal government, I was deployed to more than 40 disasters from California to Massachusetts and effectively communicated FEMA’s role before, during and after a disaster with local and national media in response to aftermath of severe flooding, tornadoes, tropical storms, hurricanes, ice storms, wildfires and severe droughts. I also produced a Disaster & Hurricane Preparedness television program for Space Coast Government Television (SCGTV) and Orange County TV in 2008 in the aftermath of Tropical Storm Fay. (Sept. – Dec. 2008)

During my career in Communications, PR, media relations, marketing and now social media, I’ve represented a number of clients as Managing Director and President of The Cento Group, a multilingual and multicultural PR firm founded in Miami in 1996. For more than 16 years, I have developed strategic communications, PR, marketing, social media strategy, public affairs, disaster preparedness and government and community relations for The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, Southern Florida and Puerto Rico Chapters, Fox Broadcasting Company’s launch of MundoFOX, Spanish-language broadcast television network in August 2012, Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP), the National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals, New American Alliance in Washington, DC, NOAA, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.  

According to the Public Relations Society of America, “Public relations is a strategic communication process that builds mutually beneficial relationships between organizations and their publics.”

Simple and straightforward, this definition focuses on the basic concept of public relations — as a communications process, one that is strategic in nature and emphasizing “mutually beneficial relationships.”

“Process” is preferable to “management function,” which can evoke ideas of control and top-down, one-way communications. Instead of defining process, relationships and publics, how about providing examples of creative ways you have engaged in these efforts as they correlate to public relations. The goal of the blog is to share personal business experiences so freelancers can relate to and learns from your efforts.

As a management function, your public relations strategy may also comprise some of the following tactics:

·        Anticipate, analyze and interpret public opinion, attitudes and issues that might impact, for good or ill, the operations and plans of the organization.

·        Counsel management at all levels in the organization with regard to policy decisions, courses of action and communication

·        Take into account the public ramifications of business decisions, policy, products or services and the organization’s social or citizenship responsibilities.

·        Research, analyze and measure the progress of, action items and marketing communications to determine if you successfully reached your target audience.

·        Collaborate with internal partners to identify goals, budget and give staff the tools to manage programs and organizational

The good news is that public relations pros are doing something of significance to help bridge the gap between the public and organizations. And, if you’re thinking about hiring a public relations expert – because you feel reputation and relationships are important to your organization and you need to be persuasive with people who matter to you – be assured, you’re thinking along the right lines.

Media contact:

Pete Cento

Managing Director, The Cento Group

239-287-8061

thecentogroup@me.com | www.thecentogroup.com

Notice: The views expressed in the Guest Blogs are solely the opinion of the Guest Blogger and may not coincide with the views of the Organizational Freelancer Blog. 9/9/13.

Effective Business Communication

Effective Business Communication

August 26, 2013

Post #6

I had an interesting conversation at work last week about the art and skill of business communication. Despite our technological advances and the ability to send and receive information online instantaneously, some people still need to work on their basic business communication skills. This includes me as well since communications skills can always improve over time.

According to research, communication skills are still the top skills that employers seek in new hires. It is the art and craft of developing a readily understood message that makes a person stand out at work or during interviews. The only way to achieve this goal is by following a few simple tips at work.

Listen. Non-verbal skills such a listening help you identify the needs of your audience, shows respect and will help you craft an understandable message to share with your audience.  Listening involves the mind, body and heart which will allow you to internalize the message and respond accordingly.

Check your written work before you send it out. Remember when you were in college writing papers for class at the last minute hoping to garner a good grade based on your last minute witty repartee? Those days were fun weren't they? They are now over. When you develop and distribute poorly written messages, they not only reflect poorly on you they also reflect poorly on your organization. You can avoid this type of issue by checking your work before you share it with others. Your writing is like your business attire- people will recall how the message was crafted, relayed and subtly destroyed by minor mistakes. When you are under dressed for business functions, people tend to notice. It is the small stuff like spelling, grammar, and sentence structure that can reduce a good idea to a puzzle piece of words. Once you check your work, ask for a second opinion to ensure you obtain objective views about your message and its accuracy.

Don't haggle via e-mail. Can you recall a time you sent a message and you went back and forth with the receiver because a disagreement occurred based on what you sent out? The continual email haggling will not resolve your issue; it will only belabor the confusion. Instead of electronic wordplay, take a moment to talk with the person face to face or call them live to find out where the confusion lies. Then make a non-judgmental attempt to clarify your message with your colleague.

Respect. In the grand scheme of things, everyone wishes that every day will include a wealth of respect from their co-workers. However, respect in business includes taking the time to understand and accept that differences at work will happen. And, it’s okay for the differences as long as they are not illegal. People will disagree about the weather, payroll issues or who gets to speak first during an event. Yet, that is no excuse to disrespect others. If you feel a full on rush to verbally tear someone down whom wronged you or you perceived that they wronged you and step away. Cool off. Calm down. This process takes a lot of respect and internal locus of control.

Creativity at work (When was the last time you had fun at work?)

Creativity at Work

Organizational Freelancer

Post #5

By Tracey Batacan 

When was the last time you were creative at work? Did you solve a task? Or maybe your idea sparked a process improvement that saved your organization money. Whatever it is, creativity is critical to ensuring your work meets and even exceeds requirements as a freelancer. It will also help your organization continue to focus on achieving annual goals.

Edwin Land, co-founder of Polaroid once said "An essential aspect of creativity is not being afraid to fail." Organizations will always have the ability to find people with certain technical skill sets to hire. However, creativity includes being innovative and fearless. An organizational freelancer will take a look at a task that has been done the same way for years and identify steps to improve and implement new ways processes to benefit the organization. 

One of the ways to use creativity at work is to share your original ideas with team members with a tangible plan to execute your ideas. The idea is your creative skill, the plan says you know how to initiate and manage the new process. 

All too often, some people have great ideas at work, but keep them to themselves because several reasons. Workers may not share their concepts because:

• Fear of rejection
• Lack of leadership support
• Fear of failure
• Concern about carrying the project to fruition without any help
• Fear of success

Fear of rejection. If a person makes suggestions regularly and always hears "no", they may no longer feel the need to speak up and offer suggestions. Try a new brainstorming sessions and individual meetings to gain stakeholder support in your efforts. Also, you may want to suggest new ways to generate ideas by taking the team to a neutral location for brainstorming sessions. Get out of the office with your team to share your ideas about projects. 

Lack of leadership support. It is challenging to kick start a new idea when leadership does not support your efforts. I've experienced this issue both in public and private sector roles and realized that sometimes a one-on-one approach to leadership support is crucial. For example, if several leaders express their lack of support in a group setting, it may be helpful to schedule individual meetings with them to obtain more insight into their concerns about the project. Once you identify the leadership concerns, research ways to overcome them. Then meet with those "on the fence" about your suggestions and manage their expectations about the issues. 

Fear of Failure. Show of hands, how many of you have failed at work before? Failure and mistakes are not the terrible things that you want to hide from the world. They may serve as learning opportunities for you to move forward by identifying your limits and additional training you may need to manage new projects. Failure is often thought of as negative thing. However, we may want to consider where the failure occurred in the process and implement corrective measures. 

Concern about carrying the project to fruition without any help. Great ideas require a person who can serve as a catalyst for positive change. As a change agent, you may also need to show initiative to keep the project moving forward even when everyone else is either busy or moved out of the organization. Sometimes the organizational freelancer will have moments of solitude at work as team mates will be pulled in multiple directions especially at critical project moments. Your goal is to keep moving forward, even if you are the only one driving the project bus.

Fear of success. It may happen more often than not: you are on a winning streak and you are asked to take on more work. Then the little voice in your head might say "how can I do this again and create a win for my organization?" The fear of "repeat success" may stop even the most advantageous agent of change in their tracks. 

One last thing to remember about creativity is to have fun. Fun at work reminds you of why you work in your chosen industry. Sometimes we select our careers based on how much we enjoy the work and it is not about the money, access to resources or successful people. Sometimes, it is just about the having a good time starting and managing a new project.

Online resource: Creativity at Work web site.

Disclaimer: Online resources identified in this blog are for informational purposes and are not a promotion or endorsement of online entities.

Redefining the Meaning of Teamwork

Redefining the Meaning of Teamwork

#4

August 3, 2013

We often feel motivated at work based on our personal interests or maybe to help others. Often, creative moments serve as a catalyst for getting us up and implementing cutting edge projects. Motivation can be a great thing or a drain on resources depending on how you manage your time and team. Moreover, some freelance projects may unintentionally result in an "us" versus "them" mentality under the guise of being a unified team. 

For example, once teams are created they evolve and are evergreen based on the work they need to complete on time and under budget as well as how they relate to each other. Teamwork is similar to waves in which members of the team ebb and flow in and out of the group with a direct impact on those that remain as well as the workload. As an Organizational Freelancer, it is challenging to maintain "team" boundaries because you are always moving from one team to the next on various projects. Team lines may become blurred in the process. It is easy to get connected to people only to move on to new projects and switch sides in the eyes of former colleagues.

The challenge is staying motivated as transitions in teams and work continue to occur. There are two types of teams: 

• primary work colleagues 
• those in other organizations where your freelance endeavors are focused

Change in organizations and teams can influence our ability to stay focused on assignments. One way to stay motivated is to accept the people on your evolving teams as individuals without judgment.

People move on from groups and the work remains. An Organizational Freelancer may need to leverage flexibility, project management skills and patience to keep the evergreen team progressing towards their goals. 

Also, consider expanding your definition of the meaning of teamwork to include those outside one one's primary work group. Creative and innovative ideas happen when we partner with diverse individuals. Therefore, it is crucial to omit the "us" versus "them" concept of teams in your work environment and vocabulary. 

Copyright 8/3/2013 

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