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How to Engage Decision Makers in PR

Has one of your really great marketing ideas fallen flat due to lack of engagement from key members of your firm? Have you presented a solid PR proposal to seemingly deaf ears? Have you ever left a meeting feeling frustrated by the lack of enthusiasm for a communications campaign?

One of the main PR missteps is not garnering and maintaining “buy-in” from key firm decision makers. To succeed, you program needs both financial support and professional involvement from top firm executives. The firm’s executives need to not only provide financial support, but also resources and their professional involvement for a program. Our job as marketing communicators is to help management understand the power and value of PR.

Need some help? Then consider these four tips:

• Drop the lingo. No more “organic reach” … “search optimization” … “traction” … and “hits.” If you want to engage management to get behind your program, they have to understand what you’re saying and how it impacts that they care about the most. Stop with the marketing jargon and start speaking in terms they understand … like ROI and increasing website visitors.

• Connect with their goals. Now that you’re speaking their language, work to align your goals with the firm’s overall business goals. Increasing awareness and driving traffic can seem abstract to some executives. Define business-oriented objectives for the campaign that they can understand and value.

• Measure! Executives analyze measurement reports daily and a well thought-out plan for measuring the success of your program will lend credibility to your effort. Consider benchmarking to demonstrate the progression of your campaign. Stick with big picture measurements that are related to overall company goals and values.

• Offer training. Consider hosting a short breakfast or lunch event to providing background training on the firm’s PR effort. Give your executives the opportunity to understand PR, ask questions and learn how your efforts can help their efforts. With a better understating of your work, they will be much more likely to support and participate in your next project.

 

 

Excerpts borrowed from: http://www.cision.com/us/2013/07/5-tips-to-get-c-level-executives-on-board-with-social-media/.