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Michael J. Cohen, Ed.D.
Lead Faculty
Greenwich University Applied Ecopsychology

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Michael J. Cohen, Ed.D.

Lead Faculty

Greenwich University Applied Ecopsychology

Public Relations Ideas Theresa Sweeny's Book Annotations Hi everyone,

Moving right along, here is my PR paper (report) on the two books I have read for ECO 522). I think you will all benefit from reading this - that is my hope at least!

I am sending it to my support group and to the list of people I think are currently taking the PR course. If I am missing anyone this should go to, Mike, please correct me. Thanks.

Weblove, Theresa

Report on Two Public Relations Books and Their Applicability To Project Nature Connect,s Publicity Efforts

Theresa Sweeney, MS July 31, 2000 ECO 522

The texts I have reviewed and a summary of each as I feel they can be of benefit to PNC follow.

The first book I read was: Holtz, Shel, Public Relations on the Net - Winning Strategies to Inform and Influence the Media, the Investment Community, the Government, the Public, and More!, AmericanManagement Association, New York, 1999.

The author stated audience for this book is public relations and organizational communications professionals trying to make sense of the Internet and how to use iteffectively on behalf of their companies and clients.

This book is organized in two parts. Part One - Communications on the Internet, begins with a report on public relations efforts on the Internet and then covers in detail the things that must be considered in any online communication. It discusses the ways in which the Internet tools have changed the way audiences get and use information. It also discusses the principles of influencing audiences online and how to monitor that activity.

Part Two - Audiences and Measurement, dissects each of the key strategic audiences that public relation professionals work with. These are: the media, the financial and investment communities, the government, communities, activist groups and audiences affected by organizational crises. It ends with a review of the various ways an organization can use the internet to take its message directly to a specific audience without relying upon other media, as well as with methods you can use to measure the effectiveness of your online efforts.

The appendices include a set of websites and other online resources for public relations along with sections on how to write for the computer screen and how to promote your online efforts.

This book contains a running dialog about the differences in "pushing and "pulling information, stating that the Internet is unique because it allows for users to pull the information they want when they want it. It provides receiver-driven information, giving you the opportunity to offer your audiences material they will come get. The author says that the public relations task of targeting audiences will go through a significant transition because of this model.

Both Microsoft and Netscape browsers have intelligent pull features. The author says to take advantage of these by adding the appropriate text code to your site.

While the book discusses how the web is a medium that works well for people to "pull information, it says that sometimes you may need to "push a message. The author suggests getting involved in newgroups and forum discussions. He also suggests using banner ads. * I had a thought while reading this section. I was wondering if perhaps in addition to PNC folks joining newsgroups, what if we were to form our own newsgroup? It seems to me this would be a highly effective way of reaching many more people than we do now.

This author touts trying to attract reporters to your site. To do this, the website should prominently display your most current news. Journalists will come to know your site as a resource for information. * This leads me to think that we could post information about what PNC is doing and the impact its making in local communities. We could keep a database of short personal stories journalists would like to use as fillers or feel-good copy. We could also maintain a database of press releases about PNC which journalists can query to find a given release or topic.

The book suggests you have a public relations staff and list their contact information on your website. Include links to them from other parts of your website. * In the text of our website, we could have links to people who could answer one on one questions about specific information. It might be nice for readers of the site to have an instant hyperlink for communication with someone at the point where they are reading. We could also maintain a list of contacts for regional speakers. If our folks were listed by region, we might get more people (both those looking for speakers and those not) to contact them out of sheer proximity.

The author gives an interesting study of the differences between how people read on a computer screen versus how they read information on a piece of paper. It says that when reading off a screen people,s eyes bounce all over and that hey don,t read what they see. It says if you want to get your message across you need to make sure they can find the message during the process of scanning. Also when they read online, they read slower. The copy for computer screens needs to be about 50% shorter than that which is written for paper. The appendix lists tips on how to write for the Internet including the need to write in chunks, not using more than two page-downs and the need to have a version that people can download as a single-file printable hardcopy of the information.

There are many related companies who generally compete with you for government funding. The internet serves as a means by which you can make your case for funding. On the website you can show how the funds you have received to date have been put to use, articulating that your institution makes outstanding use of the funds it receives. It states that you should detail the uses to which you would put future funds and the publics those funds would serve. * We could have a link on the website to a page which would have pictures and brief stories of PNC in action. The author says this is particularly helpful in gaining funding for groups such as Habitat for Humanity. I think PNC fits right in.

Sometimes companies are limited in the amount of money they can contribute to non-profit organizations so the author suggests you might ask for their time instead. * We could ask companies to donate people hours to our efforts in terms of advertising etc.

The book talks about monitoring effectiveness of your efforts by asking users of your site to rate the site and to submit ideas for future enhancements. It talks about measurement tools to gage the number of users, the pages the read, how much time they spend on each page etc. You can also outsource monitoring of your company name or another company. The author suggest three services: E-Watch, which monitors 250,000 messages daily on 40,000 public discussions in cyberspace, M3, which combines three services monitoring, analysis and response, and The Delahaye Group which offers an image based on the content of online discussions.

In the chapter on Community Relations the author suggests you have a community relations report page. You should list those organizations to whom you have given time and/or money. Here the author also talks about holding open houses for the local community. * This led me to wonder if there might be a way that PNC could hold a cyberspace open house.

Appendix D of the book is of enormous help for anyone seriously pursuing a career in Public Relations and even for those who are not. It lists websites and contacts for public relations resources, tools, communications associations, discussion forums, mailing lists, crisis communications and resources for writing and designing for the web. Just a few of many links I,ve singled out to note are:

Pressline (http://www.us.pressline.com/tmp)

- a place on the web to post your press releases, Profnet (www.profnet.com)

- which accepts submissions from journalists looking for sources for their stories. Businesses subscribe to the email distribution of reporter,s needs and then offer their own experts as quotable subjects for interviews. PRFORUM (www.proform.com)

- a public relations forum to discuss PR issues and share ideas. PR Newswire (http:// www.prnewswire.com)

- A leading distributor of news releases, photos and other material destined for the media. PR Direct (http:// www.pionews.com)

- Distributes your press releases to online information services. Parrot Media Network (www.parrotmedia.com/pmn.html)

- Directories of television, radio, cable and newspapers. The Public Relations Society of America (http:// www.prsa.org)

. Internet Wire (www.gina.com)

- A resource for getting your news release out over the Internet. NewsPlace (www.niu.edu/newsplace)

- A collection of resources for journalists and other writers conducting research. Applying Writing Guidelines to Web Pages (www.useit.com/paper/webwriting/rewriting.html)

- A paper about research on website readability.

The second book I read was: Edited by Sam Decker, 301 Great Ideas For Do-It-Yourself Marketing, Goldhirsh Group, Inc., Boston, Mass., 1997.

This book, as its title states, lists and explains 301 ideas for effective marketing of your business and/or service. I have singled out a few ideas here which I think may be helpful to PNC in terms of our own public relations efforts.

Target journalists who can write about you and give free publicity.

Call into talk shows where you feel nature can make a point in the discussion.

Write to newspaper columnists and the opinions page of your paper.

Hold a workshop in an unusual setting such as a zoo or on a commuter train that many journalists have to take on their way to work.

Get people to write to you and send a SASE. Do this by offering them something free like a button or bumper sticker. Advertise by distributing press releases. Collect their addresses for future mailings.

We could have bumper stickers made up cheaply which would reach a wide audience. National Wildlife Association has window stickers saying you are a member. People seem to like things like this that give them a sense of prestige. We also could have PNC window stickers.

Give an award to companies that demonstrate love for the earth by their actions. Make an official certificate of honor from Project NatureConnect. Get the press involved.

Turn your PR text into a Public Service Announcement. Instead of sending plain press releases, public service announcements could offer a free copy of our brochure listing our website for environmentally responsible citizens.

File unique nature workshop photos with PhotoWire, a commercial service of Business Wire, which sends photos digitally into the darkrooms of more than 370 newspapers, as well as ABC and CNN. Under the picture we could advertise the website. Filing fee is $725 but could be worth it if picked up by many papers.

In mass mailings, include something that makes the envelope bulky. More people open mail that is bulky.

If you work for a company or yourself and are in charge of shipping out products include a brief newsletter about your PNC experiences and a website pointer.

Hire aspiring marketing students to help you do surveys and gather information. Suggested pay is $5 an hour.

It used to be that companies could send out Christmas cards to their customers and get publicity, but so many companies are doing this nowadays that it doesn,t work as well. This book gives a tip that you send a card on another holiday instead such as Thanksgiving (we could easily have a giving thanks for Nature mailing), Fourth of July and Valentine,s Day.

There was a tip called "A Prescription for Success which was about something which didn,t apply to us but it caused me to get an idea. I had a thought about writing prescriptions for wellness and sending them out online. People would come to our website to fill their prescription. (Or something like this).

Obviously I have only singled out a small percentage of the 301 marketing tips contained in this book. It is a good resource for empowering small businesses and I,d recommend reading it for anyone interested.

Project NatureConnect

Institute of Global Education

Special NGO consultant to United Nations Economic and Social Council.

P.O. Box 1605 Friday Harbor WA 98250

(360) 378-6313

nature@pacificrim.net

www.ecopsych.com .

Project NatureConnect
Institute of Global Education
Special NGO consultant to United Nations Economic and Social Council.
P.O. Box 1605 Friday Harbor WA 98250
(360) 378-6313
nature@pacificrim.net
www.ecopsych.com

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