Seven Keys to Unlocking Great PR

Dave, I think this is great advice. I especially like key #5, “Be in the know.” I find this to be so important every single day, even while I’m still in school. I walked into an interview for a short feature story the other day after spending a lot of time researching and trying to understand the topic of my interview. It was inevitable though, I asked a stupid question. A question that I should have known the answer to from my research. The person I was interviewing looked at me like I was an idiot. And I felt like one. It was quite embarrassing. So, through real world experiences of feeling quite stupid, I agree totally that being in the know is vital to life in the PR world. Thank you.

I found your advice refreshing. Currently a senior in public relations, the bold faced terms are starting to become boring and irrelevant to me. I am in a class called PR Campaigns right now and we are designing campaigns for real clients. I am learning more in this process than all of my four years of studying pr. Being able to put what we have learned into an application process is extremely helpful. I am about to enter the field of public relations and I feel like I am going to be tested on everything I have ever learned and I will look at them with a blank face.
I can do everything I have learned, but all of the memorization and book work is floating around in my head. I am extremely appreciative that our department at Auburn will not let us graduate without an internship. This will help Auburn to produce more knowledgeable pr practitioners. Right now, I just want to get started. I want to use all of those bold faced terms.

Very good advice put into an easy to read list, much easier to read than a whole campaigns book! I especially liked number 4, “It’s about…Relations.” You would think it would be, but so many times it is not. People don’t care about each other anymore. There are sales people that are just trying to make money and waiter’s at restaurants that just want a tip, or just don’t really care. There used to be such a wave of customer service and everyone wanted to be involved and serve their customers better. But now there is an aura of ego where ever we go. Don’t be afraid to get to know me if I am about to hire you. Find out what I want and figure out how to do it. Relations!

Great advice, Dave!

In this dog eat dog world, I am so glad to be entering a profession that focuses on proactive habits, working together, transparency, and other positive traits. The keys that you just gave us cannot be learned in a classroom. We aren’t tested on them, and we will receive a diploma regardless if we are aware of their value.

The truth is what you have just outlined for us will separate us in the workforce and mean the difference between occupational success and failure. I’d like to tell you that I have all of these traits 100 percent, but the ability to evaluate what I need to improve on will last my entire career, well, my entire life.

A huge pitfall of many professionals is convenience and assuming that they know it all. I will never have that mindset, and continually improving myself will assure that I will always be marketable.

“What it takes” is easy to put in a list. There is no doubt it will be more complicated once we are out there fending for ourselves. I noticed that none of your points required a natural gift in the field. The common theme throughout was “hard work.” You have to work to be proactive, work to know your audience and client, and work to raise the bar. Succeeding isn’t easy, but one thing is for sure, you can’t succeed when you are lazy or accept less than the best.

Your points are applicable, not just for PR, but for anyone coming out of college and into the workforce. For some reason seniors long to break away from our nice, college bubble and out into the working world thinking that it holds something easier and success will be there for us because of our college degree. Your formula proves the truthful point that hard work is what will see us through. Best of luck at American University. I know they will appreciate your willingness to interact with college students as much as we do.

This list NO DOUBT takes an enormous amount of discipline, but the discipline required to accomplish these objectives on a daily basis (I firmly believe) will pay off. Proactivity is the one that jumped out to me the most. I know it is SO EASY to get lazy and not pursue all the possibilities with the busy schedules that all college students have today. But it is essential that we ARE watching those that are the best in our field, soaking up knowledge and taking notes on what works, and what doesn’t work. In my marketing textbook several days ago, I read something that is nowhere near profound, but spoke volumes to me. Research has been done to show the number one way someone learns an art (or a habit) is shadowing those who are in that field. How are we going to figure out the “special sauce” for PR? By watching the guys who are good, and learning from their mistakes. Observation. That’s a huge key…Just like Dave said - be proactive, but learn how to sit back and observe. Thanks for the great advice Dave.

I recently took Covey’s habits and applied them to blogging. They are such a great framework to apply to anything, and PR is no exception. When you have a strong foundation and you know what you are about, it makes it simple to make decisions, collaborate with others and become more effective. Start with the end in mind…Thanks for a great post!

Dave, thanks for the keys. I think there’s something about having all of these concepts grouped together and in print that makes these concepts drive home just a bit more. These are things that aren’t always published in text books ya know? Our teachers do a good job of telling us to make sure we do certain things like watch the news and make sure you are on top of current events, but having all of these bits of advice in a set of guidelines like this really helps us learn. You should definitely share them at the PRSSA event.

Students do learn well from textbook-like information and although you can’t fit real-world experience in a textbook, you’ve done a good job of giving us some things to make sure we’re doing without having us learn the hard way. Thanks for the info!

This is great advice and will make for an interesting presentation. As I was reading, I couldn’t help but think that many of the points were common sense; however we often overlook such simple things. It is a good to be reminded of the basics from time to time. I also found that while these points are geared toward success in PR, many of them can be applied to life in general. This goes to show how practical and useful PR can be.

I found point #6 to be particularly interesting. I have seen and heard of many organizations that are still struggling with collaboration of various departments. This is a great thing for us (students) to be learning because hopefully we can help move along the relationships between different departments in the organizations we end up working for.

Again, great advice…very practical and real!

Thanks Dave for all your good advice!

Like everyone above has said, the eight points you have listed above are stimulating and inspirational for all of us preparing to graduate. As my graduation date approaches closer and closer, I find myself very eager in wanting to get out there in the “real world” and apply all that I have learned from school. My only concern, however, is that I will land a job and when asked to do a task on the first day, I will give them a sort of “deer in headlights look.” While I know I am not alone in this thought process, it is intimidating to think that we are now responsible for understanding and applying all that we have learned (about PR) in the past four years to create successful PR for clients. Your eight keys to successful PR are a great jumping off point from college student to PR practitioner.

Courtney said above that one of the beneficial aspects to your points is that they are not just applicable to public relations. Not only are these points a great recipe for a successful PR career, but also for anyone who is graduating and looking to create a successful career for him or herself.

Dave, these seven key points are essential ingredients to defining the recipe of success in PR. I recently had an exam in PR Campaigns that covered the entire book. I think that you just summed up all the important areas of the book. It was refreshing to be able to read through these points and relate them to what I’ve been learning in class. A couple points that jumped out at me:
Identifying your Position - I think that advertisers often spend millions of dollars on campaigns without thinking through this step. There are some neat commercials and bilboards out there, but if I don’t understand the product or service that is being conveyed through these ads, how am I going to take action? When PR practitioners try to see things from the publics’ point of view (What’s In It For Me?), they are able to effectively position a message. Understanding the needs and wants of your key publics is essential. This ties in to focusing on results. PR practitioners must be results-driven. By having clear, measurable goals and objectives, PR pracitioners can evaluate the strategic plan. Having a way to measure each objective is critical. We can’t get on a road and drive half way to where we are trying to get. We have to be able to reach our destination.

These seven public relations points are prime to any successful public relations practitioner. It seems as though these seven things are a brief summary of our entire textbook….in EVERY CLASS!

The two points that caught my attention were points number four and five.

Point number four said that it’s all about relationships. What more can you say? Public relations is completely, 100% about relationships. Your clients have to be able to trust you, so it is YOUR responsibility to give them reason to trust you. Building a lasting relationship is a key component to most business endeavors.

Point number five states that you must be “in the know.” Successful public relations representatives know everything that is going on in every aspect of the company’s world. You must know in advance what questions might arise, as well as the answer to the questions. Point number five is a necessity as well in PR.

These seven points are very noteworthy. I am going to print off a copy for my own records because I think this is a great bit of advice to give future public relations hopefuls. Thanks for these, Dave!

Have you noticed that almost all of these keys are re-iterated in every PR class that each of us take? You see if something is embedded in our brains enough it will become practice. These keys have been told to us so much that the hope of our professors is that we will act on these without even thinking. This is the way to become an honest and hardworking PR professional.

Does an individual key stand out to me the most? No. My philosophy is that there are seven keys because you need all of them to make the process of being a great PR professional work. No one key can work without the others. Well I guess it can, but there would be something missing. If I am proactive, but lack the relations that I need to make my client feel special then I will not be respected. If I raise the bar, but lack the knowledge to know where to raise it, then I am a failure.

These keys are what we as future PR professionals need to succeed in the business. I guess I should say not to just succeed, but also be honest and respected for our trip to the top. Thank you for the advice and I am sure that other students will resonate my opinion at the PRSSA conference.

Great post Dave! Like Courtney, I believe that most of these seven principles are not only applicable to public relations, but also to any college grad entering the professional world. It is important to remember and practice these skills, as they will help set us apart in the cut-throat world of job hunting. While I found all of these key points to be helpful, a few stuck out to me as extremely important and worth noting.

First, proactivity. Being proactive allows a company to respond in the manner that best fits them, as well as the situation. Being proactive forces you to remain up-to-date on current happenings in the industry (kind of like key #5). But proactivity can go beyond PR. In whatever job situation, it is important to take initiative and develop plans that your company can use to anticipate any unforseen events.

I also like key #4 “It’s about….relations.” Aside from PR, as I am preparing for graduation and looking for jobs, people keep stressing the importance of networking and building relationships with potential employers. Personal interactio is key. But we all know relationships are important in PR. It’s relationships that help improve your credibility and help get your message across.

Those are just a couple of points that I found to be interesting, although all seven points are great pieces of advice! I’m definitely keeping these as a reminder!

Dave, I think those are great things to discuss at American University. We would benefit at Auburn if you were able them present to us. But I guess the blog will have to do.

You hit on a point that keeps coming up the past few weeks about building relationships. Everyone has been talking about how important it is to have a relationship with your clients and the media. Someone was talking the other day about pitching an idea and how important it is to know the person you are pitching to. If you don’t know the person directly or indirectly it is virtually a waste of time to even try. So if I had to pick the most important key I would pick building relationships.

I also like the key about having knowledge. I am a firm believer that knowledge is power. Not pushing around power, but success power. If I don’t know what or who I am dealing with how can I succeed? I can’t. So without knowledge I lose. And as PR practitioners we cannot lose. It isn’t an option.

Dave, I would be excited to hear a speaker share these points with me if I were a conference attendee. With all of the negatives surrounding the field of PR with regard to lack of transparency among other things, it is a breath of fresh air to revisit the positives of our future job.

I particularly like the idea of approaching goals with the end result in mind. We’ve been learning the importance of this approach in our Campaigns class, and it’s nice to see it applied in the real world.

Looking at the field from an active, goal-oriented position while retaining the focus on relationships that public relations is based upon. The PRSSA student should really appreciate your speech.

Last spring I attended a PRSSA conference in Birmingham, AL. The key note speaker had several points like you do and made a clear presentation. I think that the topic and the points are great for the speech. It has practical application. They are real things you can do, not just abstract ideas.

I had to read the BONUS Key#8 a few times to get it. I think what you meant was that drawing on the strengths of team members can make your job as a PR professional more valuable to the company. You can be proactive and more effective by using relationships around you to their greatest advantage. That is a great way to look ahead to the future. Once you get your foot in the door, you have to make yourself an important part of the company.

Of course, I could have it all wrong, but that is what I thought you meant. The rest of the keys were very helpful. I enjoy getting practical advice like these points instead of general ideas about being a good PR person. Good luck!

These are excellent key points that you and Mr. Covey make about what it takes to do great PR. I really think that each point stands out and is very important in its own right. Proactivity is a big key that I feel a lot of people overlook. Too many times PR practitioners sit and wait for the story or the client to come to them or for the perfect campaign to fall into their lap. The key is to not wait for the opportunities to come to you, but to go to them instead. I also agree that building relationships has taken a back seat to the pitch. Although the idea of building strong relationships in a field with a title such as “Public Relations” seems obvious, it is something that is ignored quite a bit. People spend so much time attempting to make an impressive pitch that they forget to form a relationship with the people they are making the pitch to to begin with. The funny thing about this mistake is if they would take the time to build a relationship with those people, then they will have already proven their credibility and earned the trust of their audience, therefore they wouldn’t have to push their pitch so hard because the organization already knows what they can do.

Thanks Dave, this was a very good post and I have no doubt that it will make an excellent presentation at the American University. This information will be very useful to the students there just as it has been for me and my fellow Auburn bloggers. Good luck!

These points are all very applicable to us as students and future PR professionals, but like so many that posted before me, I believe that the strongest point is “It’s about…relations.” It’s in the title of what we do, yet so many people are forgeting that the basics of everything we do revolves around building relationships and having conversations with others. That’s what we are striving to do with the blogs-building relationships with others in the field. Butto be successful, we need to remember that it isn’t just about relationships with other professionals, but a trusting relationship with our client or target audience as well.

My other favorite point is “Raise the bar.” This isn’t just something we should strive to do occasionally or that only the truly talented PR professional should do. This is something that is embedded in our job description. We have to always stay on top of the newest techniques and topics, but we also have to be the ones to create them or introduce them.

All of these points are great and are a fantastic guideline for us to use as we are up-and-comer’s in the PR world.

I feel like I have heard many of these points before, but I feel unless that are reiterated to us we won’t fully understand them. I especially like point number 1. I think that it is so easy to just be a bystander rather than being proactive. Being proactive will not only prove yourself to your co-workers and boss, but will also help you stay ahead of the game.

Public Relations can be such a time-consuming profession that being proactive is not something that should be taken lightly. Although, I believe all of the points are important and applicable for us, I believe that being proactive is one of the most important. As a college student, it is so easy to stay out of any extra-curricular activities, but with that you miss out on a lot. The same goes for when you are in the real world. It is tempting to do enough to get by, but it won’t take you anywhere. You will never stand out, so how could you accomplish any of your goals and get that dream job we are all striving for.

I think the post you made is extremely helpful and the students you are speaking to will truly benefit from what you have to say. We are so lucky to be able to read the bulk of your presentation without actually being there, so thanks!

Dave, thank you for this wonderful post. All of these points have been drilled into our brains in all of our pr classes. This will definitely benefit the students you are presenting to at the American University.
Along with what other students have said, I think point number four is important. Public relations is all about relationships, all the time. The client must be able to trust you and the work you are producing for them. Just like you said as well, you, the pr practitioner, must know everything there is to know about your client. This does take a good amount of time, but the better you know your client, the better you will be able to serve them with the product they want.
Public relations is also all about connections and who you know. It’s about building these relationships with others and maintaining them also. Relationships with clients and other pr practitioners can benefit you later on. Most importantly, keeping the clients happy and maintaining a positive relationship with them so they will come back to you for more service.

Thanks for the post, Dave. I agree with Wes, I wish we could have had you present it for us. Reading the post is helpful too, though. Even though I had heard some of these before, I still got something new out of them. I think repetition is important, especially for something like this. I don’t think that we, as college students, can ever get too much good advice.

I especially liked number one. Being proactive can really give someone an edge on things. Reacting can take some time, but if you are prepared in advance things can be much easier. I also liked four and five. It’s called public relations for a reason. People need to remember that and try to build those beneficial relationships the books talk about. And, of course, you always need to do your homework. Research is important to any project. I don’t think going into anything blind is a good idea. I have been there, trust me. It didn’t go well. Thanks again for the post. I just hope I can remember it when it counts.

I look down this list of the 7 keys to great PR, and then I think about all the hard work and late nights that I and three other students from Auburn put in to run a PR campaign for Snickers, and I think one of these keys stands out - collaboration. Recently we spoke to Auburn’s Business Advisory Council, which consists of 30 of the most successful graduates from Auburn University in the college of business. They were extremely impressed with our campaign, and all the work that we had put in, and it was obvious that it paid off because we not only beat Bama in the competition, but we stomped them. Now to the point. SEVERAL of the big rigs that we had the privilege of meeting said that the campaign that we ran is as real as it gets, and that we would not face anything in the real work world that would be much different that that. Upon their saying so, several of them mentioned to us that we had to have great collaboration! Funny enough, that is probably the greatest strength of our team. Each one of us maximized the knowledge, networks, time, skills and talents that we possessed, and it was the reason why we won the competition with flying colors.

As I looked through the archives of Marcom, I was glancing by the enrty titles to find something I thought would be useful. If I ever see a list of things that will make me a great PR professional I am drawn right to it. I would love to attend a PRSSA event to hear someone speak on these things to be able to understand them better. It’s easy to read things, and not quite apply it correctly. The key that I want to apply to my professional life, is the Raise the Bar. I feel that if I strive to do my personal best and be fliexible to change when needed. It’s great to have motivation from people in the real PR world. Thanks for posting.

Dave,
Stephen Covey’s book, Seven Habits of Highly Successful People, gave us direction as a general population; I love what you have done by taking it a step farther. One of the ‘habits’ that stood out to me was 4: It’s about Relations. This is obviously important because someone put it in the name. But for some reason since it’s in the name, we don’t always feel like we have to pay attention to it. It is my view as a student that there is not a lot of emphasis on the relations side of the game because it is harder to measure the productivity of relations. But like you said, you can pitch, pitch, pitch and write a million press releases but without the relationships you will rarely be successful. Thanks for the advice.

I thought all of these keys were very good at pointing out what all goes into PR. The one that stuck out the most to me was key #5 Be in the Know. In class, we are constantly reading about new technology and other new concepts in the PR world. Our teachers try to get us to keep up with the changing time so that we will be a step above the rest when we graduate. However, the education won’t stop once we get our diploma. Especially in the PR world, things will always be changing and if you don’t keep up you will fall way behind. Companies don’t want PR practioners that are stuck in the old days. They rely on you to be keep yourself educated to better represent them. I don’t think students my age realize that the education will not be over once we graduate. We are entering a business that will always require us to read, read, read and understand every detail to be able to relay the message to others.

I saw where some of my classmates have stopped by and commented in the last couple days, so I thought I would catch up on some of the archived readings as well. These keys seem like they would be common knowledge, but sometimes it nice to just be reminded of what it is that we need to strive for in our profession.
I was always told that since I am a “people person” I will be great in this field, but Im glad you have outlined why it takes more than being just a socializer. Number 2 and 5 really hit home for me. I like to focus on my results and aim high. Also, my pet peeve is when people are uninformed about anything that they should know about. It especially bothers me when someone asks about current events and people don’t know what is going on in the world today.
Just as being informed about the company you are applying for or the person you are interviewing is important, it is also important to know how outside events will affect your company or the subject of your story. Thanks for all the great advice!

Oh archives. My main problem with public relations right now is the first step in the door. People want experience, but we are still students. How is very much experience expected right now?

Your list is helpful. I feel like with blogging we are all “in the know” more than we were before this class. I have also read several things that have helped with the job hunt. I just wonder if these self-help kind of tools will really pay out in the end. Call it my frustration with even finding an internship outside of our little “loveliest village,” but I feel like I’ve done them. I have set high goals for myself. I would never go into an interview without google “newsing” the company. So, while I appreciate your wise words, is there really one specific thing that companies are looking for? People person, check. Focused on results, check. Identify your position, check. I’m sure you get my drift.

This is great advice. The first key really caught my attention because as humans, many of us tend to be lazy, and this usually calls for us to be reactive instead of proactive. But what a difference we could make if we were proactive in every situation! I feel like I should be anticipating every move that lies ahead in order to prevent the worst-possible situation from happening, or at least to be prepared when an overwhelming situation arises. Do you have any specific tips about how to become proactive, other than knowing about what is going on and retaining the basic information needed about a situation? What should be my first step in averting crisis when the agenda I have set doesn’t go as I plan? I’m always looking for ways to be one step ahead of the game when I begin my career, so any and all advice is appreciated. I hope to be implementing your tips soon when I start my internship this summer!