When was the last time you had your broadcast interrupted for an important public service announcement or PSA? When was the last time you did the interrupting- either for your own cause or on behalf of a client? If you are doing public relations outreach especially for a non-profit organization, public service announcements when done right, can be a great way to spread the word about your cause.

I spoke to Dan Lyons, an expert in PSA production, to get insight on how to create a PSA and when. His firm has created award-winning PSAs for national non-profits, federal agencies and trade associations. Here Dan shares his experience with PSAs.

Mopwater: What is a radio PSA and who needs one? DL: A PSA or public service announcement is a tool to generate awareness, educate the public about important issues, and encourage positive behavior. In our case, the platform for these messages is radio, so our PSAs are geared to engage radio listeners.
Radio PSAs tackle a variety of topics, including consumer safety, education, health, environment, family, etc.  They’re an ideal communications tool for non-profit organizations, trade associations or federal agencies that are striving to reach core audiences with key information and raise awareness for a cause.

Mopwater: What considerations should an organization or company make before developing a radio PSA campaign? Should they hire a professional copywriter or voiceover? DL: If an organization chooses to develop and produce a radio PSA on their own, there are several factors to keep in mind. First off, they need to be mindful about their intended audience—are you trying to reach a certain demographic, a certain region, or are you creating for general appeal.

Next, while the overall concept of a PSA campaign can be utilized across a variety of media platforms, radio PSAs need to be created for the ear.  With radio, you don’t have visuals to capture the attention of your intended audience. You must capture the listeners’ attention, set the tone, and provide a reason to keep listening within the first 5-10 seconds of a PSA. This can be accomplished with a strong script, distinct voices, various music beds or sound effects. For example, one of our PSAs begins with a middle-aged man with obvious angst in his voice stating, “My son was drinking too much…” accompanied by dramatic music. Instantly, the scene is set. On the opposite side of the spectrum, one of our PSAs features the sound effect of a toilet flushing in the first few seconds (nobody said writing PSAs couldn’t be fun.) Very different approach, similar results. Both PSAs have educated listeners and received thousands of airplays on radio stations around the country.

Radio PSAs must be broadcast quality, top-notch productions, and ready for air. Professional voicetalent is highly recommended. Unless you have a recognizable voice (aka celebrity or public official) or someone within your organization with a “voice for radio,” professional voice talent can lend instant credibility to your PSA campaign. Copywriters can also be helpful, and if you attempt on your own, you need ensure that you’re “writing for radio.”

Other radio PSA tips–PSAs should be evergreen, and scripted so they are relevant for a period of at least several months.  Offer different timed versions of your PSA, the most common being :60 seconds and :30 seconds. Provide scripts of you PSA for live DJ reads and offer PSAs with a “donut” where stations can add their own local information.

Mopwater: Do you have any statistics about responses to radio PSAs? How do you know that they’re effective? DL: On average, our national radio PSA campaigns receive airplay in over 100 markets around the country, and reach millions of listeners. Radio reaches 90% of the U.S. population 12 and older each week, and 4-out-of-5 adults listen to the radio in their car each week. Radio PSAs are a cost-effective and high-impact tool to reach out to these listeners and motivate them to take action.

For many of our PSA campaigns, as soon as it begins to air, our clients begin to see spikes in their website traffic, and an increase in calls if a toll free number is provided.
However, the impact of certain types of PSAs can be harder to measure because they encourage an on-going change in behavior, as such is the case with our PSAs encouraging designated drivers. But we do know that as drunk driving fatalities decline, our PSAs are playing a part. I always like to think that if a PSA stops just one person from drinking and driving, and saves a life, it’s effective and worthwhile.

Further, online radio listenership is at an all-time high, one in five Americans aged 25- to 54- years-old listen to online radio on a weekly basis. This greatly benefits our campaign because PSAs are often used in heavy rotation on radio station online streams.

Mopwater: In your experience, what characteristics make for a really effective radio PSA? DL: Here’s part of the reason I’m passionate about PSA campaigns, and really enjoy working with the Lyons PR team on creating them. There are no strict rules or guidelines for what constitutes an effective PSA. Successful PSAs can be straight reads with no music beds or sound effects, while others are mutli-track productions, heavy on both. Above all, an effective radio PSA will clearly communicate a message or cause, and successfully educate listeners and prompt action.

One of our most successful PSA campaigns aired over 37,000 times around the country and earned us a PRSA Bronze Anvil award. It was also the most unconventional PSA we have ever produced. In homage to the classic movie trailer, we produced a radio PSA complete with the “deep voiced movie trailer guy” and the dramatic choral music. The subject was tire safety, but presented in this manner, it effectively engaged the listener and prompted positive behavior, in this case, checking tire pressure.

Mopwater: If a company is in the middle of a communications crisis, for example the recent Toyota recall, is that a good time to produce and run a radio PSA campaign? DL: PSAs need to be totally non-commercial, so it wouldn’t be an outreach tool a company would use for crisis communications.  To effectively integrate radio into corporate crisis communications outreach, radio media tours or radio news releases are the best way to disseminate information quickly and get a spokesperson on the air.

Mopwater: What is the ultimate goal of a PSA? DL: The goal of a PSA is to influence positive behavior, educate listeners about important issues or a cause, and stimulate action. Ultimately, a PSA can be the first step in engaging listeners to take action, whether it’s changing behavior in their every day life or visiting a website to learn more about a cause.

Mopwater: In what instances should an organization NOT do a PSA? DL: If you’re trying to sell something or promote a brand—do not do a PSA. This would be a waste of time and money, and stations will not air.  And if you need the information to air quickly, for a very limited amount of time, a PSA would not be the right tool.

Dan Lyons in Founder and CEO of Lyons PR, a public relations firm based in Kensington, MD right outside of Washington, DC.

Last night I attended a public relations seminar at the WUSA Channel 9 Station in Washington,DC. The topic du jour was digital media and making the transition, but as it was a roomful of PR pros in a televison statio, questions naturally came up about pitching television producers in a digital world.

It’s no secret that newsrooms are shrinking. In December the Washington Post reported on WUSA9′s new approach to multimedia journalism; deploying anchors equipped with digital cameras, camcorders, and video editing equipment. This approach has been met with praise and criticism; but it still begs a question: how can PR pros successfully function in this new multimedia environment?

I found the comments of Khalim Piankhi, Vice President of Community Relations for WUSA9 to be extraordinarily spot-on. To sum up Piankhi’s thoughts, don’t pitch producers.

This may seem counterintuitive to public relations professionals, but the media industry is changing, which absolutely affects the way we work with media organizations. How do they liked to be approached? What are their preferences?

Piankhi says news organizations like his don’t particularly care about your client. They care about their audience. He suggests that instead of thinking of how you can get yourself or your client in the news, think how you can help a news organization meet its objectives. At the end of the day, news organizations need the most relevant content to keep their audience, and if a big story breaks they will be searching for content to pump out to their consumers.

So instead of thinking a pitch, think relationships, he went on to say.  Frame yourself as a resource to a news organization. Check in from time to time. Send background materials. Keep your issue on the back burner-close enough that when that major story breaks bringing your issue to the fore, the producer will reach for the phone and call you.

I had the pleasure of meeting today’s TDMJ PR Pro a few weeks ago, and was so compelled by her story that I knew you would be, too. In addition to being a new wife and mother like myself, Mrs. Lara is a tenacious public relations professional who started out in the world of academia and leveraged a thirst for knowledge and willingness to work hard to create her own  opportunities. For Lara, this has translated into a pretty impressive career track only a few years out of college-not bad for someone who didn’t study communications in college! Already a senior account exec with several  agency positions under her belt and a consulting practice in the works, Mrs. Lara is one to watch.

Name: Jacqueline Lara
Age: 26
Current City: Silver Spring, MD
Job Title: Senior Account Executive, Lyons Public Relations
Owner, Mpact Communications
Length of Time in this Role: 18 months

Web Site |LinkedIn|Twitter

Mopwater: Describe your path to PR. How did you wind up in this field?

JL: My path to PR was nontraditional, but I wouldn’t change it for the world because each step has molded my experience. I received my B.A. in Sociology and a business certificate from the College Park Scholars program at the University of Maryland.  While I enjoyed my major and loved analyzing groups of people and their behaviors, as well as organizations and the key factors influencing their effectiveness, I often wondered what profession I’d pursue after college.  I felt pigeon-holed between working in HR and becoming a social worker.  Neither of these options appealed to me, so I took a few communications courses and was intrigued by the power of words and the way media pundits ‘spun’ messages to advance their platforms. Read the full story

Eleventh Hour Requests: Turn it down or turn it around?

Ah the constant considerations and mental multi-tasking that make up the ever-evolving job description of the public relations professional. We’re the unofficial keeper of the company brand. The assessor of image and public sentiment. But we also keep up with the daily duties that must be made systematic; the tasks that without our thinking must become second nature, commonplace, routine.

Long-range and short range pitching and planning.  Searching for angles, securing opportunities for spokespersons, leveraging excitement around campaigns/seasons/holidays. The list goes on. Yet all of these tasks fit neatly into a package that clients and the public will eventually see as a finished, polished product.

But how do we get there? And how do we handle those eleventh hour requests from would-be clients who think it’s so easy to get there?

How many times have you been approached by an amazing potential client with an amazing story or an amazing product for which you could create an amazing pitch except this would-be client gave you absolutely no time to do your job? As in, one week to pull off a campaign? Or better yet two days? [Yes, this has happened to me.]

While this may fly at a large agency that has minions working around the clock, you may be dealing with 2-3 people max when you are working with a smaller firm. As PRos, we have to ask for, no, we have to demand time. And this may mean explaining that hey, when you work with a smaller firm you’re not dealing with layers of bureaucracy, or dozens of junior staff members.  You’re dealing with a greater attention to detail, a higher level of customer service, and of course a lower overhead.

Don’t be ashamed to turn down a project because there isn’t enough time to turn it around. Believe it or not, just because you are a public relations pro, doesn’t make you a magician. As with anything else, it takes time to do a thorough job and produce professional results. Clients expect nothing less than that from you. Demand that same level of professionalism from your clients.

You know the feeling. You’re working on a new project and you’re in the zone. Your brain is rapid firing idea after idea; you’re drowning in a deluge of creativity. You’re thinking to yourself, “Wow...this client is doing some amazing work in the community,” or “This campaign is briliant; it’s so cutting-edge, the PR element needs to be over the top…” Especially when you have a new client whom you are trying desperately to impress, it seems that the ideas just keep coming and coming; you’re ready to produce the YouTube video and tie the Twitter campaign to a creative giveaway. PR superhero to the rescue!

Not so fast. Hang your cape back up on its hook.

If you find yourself working on a project and the scope seems to grow in medias res, take the time to solidify the details of your compensation before you continue doing your work. It can be nearly impossible to do for those of us who tend to get inspired and want to just do the good work. But a big part of our jobs as communications professionals, frankly, is communicating these evolving scopes with our clients.  Educating the client on how long things take, what steps are involved and how much things cost is all a part of that communications challenge.

Should you find yourself ready to rush to save the day, keep these things in mind first:

Don’t Squeeze: The same way you wouldn’t try to squeeze size 8 thighs into size 2 jeans, don’t try to fit a 2-Year campaign Into a 6-Month Contract. When you do, you’re setting yourself up for failure. If your client has limited time and goals that would normally exceed the time frame, let them know that in the future they should plan ahead so that everyone has the time to do a great job. And then let them know what in your professional opinion can be successfully achieved in the time they have left. Read the full story

This morning I attended the PRSA National Capital Chapter’s panel in Washington, DC: How to Get Big Media Hits in a Social Media World. Joe Johns, a correspondent for CNN, gave this great synopsis of how he uses Facebook to get information for his stories. While he loves Facebook, he’s not such a big a fan of Twitter. So the lesson here is, know your journalists’ tastes.

Enjoy the clip.

Name: Anne Williams
Age: 36
Current City: Washington, DC
Job Title: Customer Services Program Specialist
Company Name: DC Office on Aging
Length of Time in this Role: 1 year
Twitter Handle: annieb1113

Mopwater: Describe your path to PR. How did you wind up in this field? AW: As a radio,tv & film production major at Howard University, I had interesting internships that sparked my interested in the public relations field: promotions department at Majic 102.3 and the White House Office of Communications. After HU, I got my graduate degree in public communication from American University. I’ve worked at a non-profit organization in the DC area and a marketing and PR firm in Northern Virginia. In 2000, I landed in the marketing and communications department at BET Networks where I stayed for a little over seven years. Now, I work for the DC Office on Aging.

Mopwater: What aspects of the industry are you most excited about? AW: Entertainment PR.  I have always been a huge television and movie addict and pop culture junkie,  so everything entertainment related really excites me.

Mopwater: Describe a typical workday including your work hours. What do you do all day? AW: My work day begins at 8:30am and ends at 5pm. On a daily basis, I manage the ADRC website, create publicity and marketing materials for upcoming events and agency initiatives. Because all media related public relations is being centralized under the Mayor’s communications team, I work on collateral publicity and marketing materials. A lot of time is spent using desktop publishing programs to create flyers, brochures, advertisements, program booklets, etc.  I also design and edit the ADRC newsletter.

Mopwater: What are your favorite and least favorite PR tasks and why? Do you love to pitch? Dread writing releases? Adore blogging for your brands?  AW: I love writing! Being creative and making people take a second look at what would normally be considered “the usual”. I’m an optimist so I try to find the positive an every situation.  I’m not as big a fan of pitching but with digital media, that aspect of pr is evolving. You can establish relationships and creatively pitch clients via email, Facebook, and Twitter a lot faster and reach a broader audience.  Pitching has become so much more than just a phone call to a reporter. Read the full story

Name and News Organization: Kate Michael, KStreetKate.net and The District Dish
Beat: DC topics (People, places, events, charities, businesses)
Job Title: New Media Personality
Length of Time in this Role: 3 years
Web Site and/or Blog: K Street Kate/ The District Dish
Twitter Handle: @kstreetkate

Mopwater: What kind of stories/people/companies are you most interested in covering, and in what context?  KM: Both the online magazine and talk show feature the best of DC, lifestyle stories that highlight the real District of Columbia and its eclectic neighborhoods.

Mopwater: What’s the best pitch you’ve gotten recently and why?  KM: A unique and interesting business (trapeze school) moved into the area and featured lessons with the instructor who taught “Carrie” on the trapeze episode of Sex and the City.  We booked him immediately to tell people about the trapeze school on The District Dish!

Mopwater: What’s the worst pitch you’ve gotten recently and why? KM: The sister of a local woman asked me to do a feature on her because she was “so nice” and “people should know about her”… I’m not sure why.

Mopwater: What’s the easiest way to get ignored by you when pitching?  KM: Forget to take out the name of the other publication you were pitching when you were cutting and pasting your pitch.

Mopwater: What’s your preferred method of contact? Phone, email, your web site, your twitter account, your Facebook? KM: Email and twitter, equally.  My actual e-mail is listed on my facebook page, so why use a facebook message?? Read the full story

Traditional media outlets are, sadly, a thing of a bygone era. It has become almost an improbable proposition to start and sustain a pricey print publication, or an expensive-to-produce television show. Journalism is evolving, some would say dying;  and we have not hit rock bottom yet.

With the number of major news organizations downsizing and/or folding altogether, public relations professionals have to begin to develop a stronger roster of new media contacts  to get their clients’ stories told. As a PR2.0 professional, I am always on the lookout for the New Influencers: professional bloggers (many with journalism backgrounds), freelance writers who write for both the Web and print publications, and new media producers.

Though media database services like Cision and Vocus are great tools that still very much have their place, scrappy PR2.0 professionals realized long ago that Facebook, Linkedin and Twitter have made it much easier to find and connect with journalists. In the same democratizing way,YouTube, Vimeo and other free video sharing sites have destroyed the barrier between the would-be television producer and the audience, and   WordPress and Blogger made it possible for anyone with content to easily publish that content on the Web. Producers don’t need tons of money or the backing of major networks to get a show up and running: all they need is a camera, a YouTube account and a great story to tell.

Which is where we come in. Read the full story

Name: Colleen Moffitt
Age: 39
Current City: Seattle
Job Title: Founding Partner & Author

Company Name: Communiqué Public Relations
Book Title: “Strategic Public Relations: 10 Principles to Harness the Power of PR”
Length of Time in this Role: Five years since founding Communiqué
On the Web
Facebook
Blog
Twitter: @SeattleCM

Mopwater: Describe your path to PR. How did you wind up in this field? (Be sure to mention your course of study in college).
CM: My path to PR was not direct or necessarily a traditional one. I graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Psychology from the University of Puget Sound with a minor in Business Administration. While in college I also earned a certificate of study from Centre Universitaire d’Etudes Francaises (CUEF) of the University of Grenoble III.

After graduation I worked in the public sector for a few years before being hired at Microsoft as a recruiter. There I was responsible for finding and attracting some of the nation’s top technical talent to the company. I developed strategic recruiting plans for Microsoft’s consumer and hardware divisions and helped attract key talent from Moscow as part of an acquisition.

I joined RealNetworks (Progressive Networks at the time) in early 1997 to drive technical recruiting for the company. Ready for a new challenge, I moved into a program manager position in 1999 where I managed product-review programs, key customer relationships and product development. During my seven year tenure at RealNetworks I had an opportunity to work on it server solutions as well as its Windows and Mac based consumer products.

The experience I gained in these roles – influencing, negotiating, interviewing with various audiences including technology editors, product reviewers, customers, partners and executives – led me to public relations, to found Communiqué PR and to author “Strategic Public Relations: 10 Principles to Harness the Power of PR” Read the full story

I am of the mindset that subcontracting is not just an economic means to an end, but more of an opportunity to learn on the job, and contribute to a worthwhile project that you wouldn’t have otherwise gotten the opportunity to work on. So my philosophy is not subcontracting=side hustle/extra money. To me, subcontracting is more akin to a paid apprenticeship that you should use to bolster your career profile. The experience you gain from subcontracting should be leveraged to get the next job or project.

But sadly, I know many wildly capable public relations professionals who ride the subcontracting train for far too long. As I mentioned in How to Subcontract Your Way to Success, subcontracting is a great way to get your feet wet and gain experience in a new industry. But there is a time to do it. And there is also a time to quit.

Just like those unfortunate “consultants” who go out on their own way too early, there are also those who linger on the train way past their stop. Instead of jumping off, they hide behind the larger, more confident personalities of those who aren’t afraid to be number one. And these talented but fearful professionals seldom if ever get paid what they are worth. Read the full story

These days, everyone is trying to get more for less. And when you’re a public relations practitioner, that especially includes your clients.  We’re in a recession, so smart business owners are out to get more than their money’s worth. Clients want to see the impact of each dollar spent.

But what can you do to add value to an existing public relations contract without investing too many precious hours that you don’t plan to bill? Here are a few ways to easily add components to your contract and enhance the public relations work you’re already doing. Tip: Assign these tasks to a PR intern who is eager to learn.

Set Up a Facebook Fan Page

The new Facebook Fan Pages are much better than the old Facebook groups because they allow you create a profile for a business much like you would create a profile for yourself.  Fan pages allow businesses to list standard business info like hours of operation, web address and phone numbers, as well as update the status bar to answer the “What are you doing?” question much like you would do on Twitter.  I like the fan page because it allows business to combine the lightweight functionality of Twitter with a photo gallery, video, and more. The client can update their fan page to quickly reflect changes in hours, menu, prices, sales, promotions, etc. The client can also upload photos to show potential customers the interior of the establishment, etc.

Offer to Set Up a Blog 

I happen to love setting up blogs for clients because I’m a writer and content is my middle name.  If you’re a writer, researcher, or creative type (which you are if you’re in PR) suggest helping your client set up a blog focusing on their industry. But be sure to make the blog industry and solutions-focused, not company service-specific. Readers don’t want to feel like they’re getting sold; they want to feel like you’re helping them solve a problem.

Your client may want to build out a blog section as a part of their custom site. If not, there are tons of free blog publishing platforms out there, so the investment will be nominal. My personal preference is WordPress, but there are a few other blog services that offer powerful publishing capabilities for little or no cost.

Setting up a blog can be time consuming though, because you want to get the colors, design, fonts, headings, and taglines just right. If you need some help on this, subcontract some of the content development  out to a professional writer.  Be sure to suggest topics for your client to blog about, or be prepared to provide the first few posts to get the ball rolling.

Set Up a YouTube Channel

Another easy, free way to get your client maximum exposure is a YouTube channel.  Take the blog beyond mere words by embedding video. Bonus: Once you upload your video on  YouTube, you can tag it with keywords to make it instantly searchable.  This, of course will aid in SEO-one of those ROI factors clients love. Videos are also a great way to incorporate “how to” messages, product demonstrations, on-site facility tours, employee interviews and more. There really is no limit to where you could go with video. And again, since YouTube is a free service, the investment is only your time.

What have you done to add value for your clients?