Public Relations Pitfalls

What are some of the common pitfalls to avoid in public relations? Poorly written material, too much content, lack of enthusiasm for the pitch, over-hyping, poor research, noisy background during phone conversations and bad timing.   

Written material that is poorly worded, contains spelling errors and is poorly structured will ensure that your press release will end up in the trash. Watch the length. Too much content leads to irrelevant information that needs to be waded through before the reporter can determine what the point is. If you want to grab the reader’s attention, you must be write your pitch concisely. Cover all the relevant points and follow up with information about the event or activity. Use simple, clear language and avoid jargon.

Enthusiasm for your pitch is essential, however, you must ensure that you don’t overdo it.  Remember to smile when you pitch, don’t use too many superlatives or you won’t sound credible. Use facts to support your statements, don’t exaggerate and avoid generalisations. You want to boost the reputation of your brand, generate leads and then convert those leads. To achieve these goals you must protect the brand, promote it through fact sheets and use strong writing skills.   

Poor research will result in a number of issues, including sending your press release to multiple reporters in the same office or targeting the wrong reporter in multiple offices! Do your homework. When emailing, only email one reporter at a time. Know which reporter covers your topic, follow them on social media, create a relationship with them. If you use Twitter, consider following them and use Direct Message so your communications remain private.

Poor research can lead to a lack of purpose, for example, sending out press releases too frequently which don’t provide important updates. Have a plan, know what you wish to communicate and why. If you don’t plan you risk an important announcement being ignored by the press. And don’t forget to check your competitors’ PR efforts. The reporter you are pitching to may have recently written a story on your competitor, take time to research their angle to ensure that your story pitch has a different angle.

Make sure you call from a quiet location with a reliable line, pitching from a mobile phone could be problematic in areas with poor coverage. If you are unable to contact the reporter, consider calling back, rather than leaving a voice mail, which most likely will result in your call being ignored. Be prepared to close the deal by following up. You want to be heard, so be ready with additional information if a reporter has additional questions.

Avoid bad timing by considering lead time for magazines, newspapers, and other media. Consider reading the papers and online publications to keep up with what is going on in the world. This ensures you can avoid poorly timed media releases and could give you a way to relate your event to those recently mentioned in the news.   

Interested to learn more? Toastmasters International is a worldwide non-profit educational organisation that empowers individuals to become more effective communicators and leaders. Contact Picnic Point Toastmasters at Club Picnic Point – 124 Lambeth Street, Picnic Point, NSW 2213.  We meet on the 1st and 3rd Tuesday of the month at 7pm and look forward to helping you attain your communication and leadership goals.  

Public Relations Influencing Choice

Public relations has been around as long as civilisations have existed. It has informed and influenced consumers – changing attitudes, making personal lives public and informing us of the latest trends. Today, we have a range of tools to disseminate information, including blogs, social media, news releases, and hosting events. The methods may have changed over the centuries but the core purpose has remained the same. To influence choice.

How do we influence choice? Through engaging our audience, by enlightening the public and by sharing your thoughts and fostering discussions. The idea is to influence the reader’s choice and take some action. Yet, as Toastmasters, we often forget that we are publicly relating to a vast number of potential members. Each with their own needs and interests. How do we influence their choice to join our club and not another? Can we “relate” to them efficiently via certain social media outlets? Does it further our brand conversation?

By focusing on our end goal, we look at why we are engaging in public relations and what are we trying to achieve. However, we cannot improve our strategies if we don’t measure the results. One of the best ways to measure results is by using data. Consider researching consumer sentiment to understand how the public feels about the company. What we measure will drive success. In Toastmasters, we have a 10 goal system to drive club success based on our individual members success. These goals define the characteristics of a quality club. How does this affect our brand? By gaining an understanding of members and their experiences we can use these insights to create better choices, better marketing campaigns and better strategies.  

How do we support the Toastmasters brand? Firstly, use the art of storytelling to engage your   target audience, and the influencers that reach them. Who is your ideal audience? Who influences them? How can you influence them? Use this information and the strategic combination of technology, data, processes and analysis to drive your club’s marketing campaigns.

The best way to accomplish this is to build a relationship first, so that the potential for influence is based on understanding a guest’s needs. Next, demonstrate how you (the Toastmaster) can make the guest the hero or heroine in his or her story. Build trust, be transparent, learn about your guests needs and goals, maintain rapport and demonstrate how your club supports its members. The way to influence your guests choice to join your club is to greet the guest warmly, introduce them to the members, acknowledge them formally, find out what their needs are and explain how your Toastmasters club can help them achieve their goals.

Contact Picnic Point Toastmasters to learn more. Drop in at Club Picnic Point – 124 Lambeth Street, Picnic Point, NSW 2213 on the 1^st and 3^rd  Tuesday of the month at 7pm. You’ll be glad you made the choice!

Toastmasters Open House

Toastmasters is all about helping people overcome their fears of public speaking. The program is designed to allow each member to progress through the individualised program at his or her own pace. If you have never experienced a Toastmasters meeting then consider coming along to an open house meeting. There will be laughter, surprises and entertainment of the speaking variety!

What does it entail? An experienced speaker with an irresistible topic, a good explanation of Toastmasters, and an invitation to visit or join. This event is more than a special occasion….. it’s an experience!

When you arrive at a Toastmasters Open House you will be greeted warmly. The event will last anywhere between 1 to 2 hours, depending on the length of the regular meeting. It’s a fun, casual and relaxed event where guests can ask questions, meet members and get a feel for the club’s culture. The meeting opens with a brief introduction from the club president and then the meeting is turned over to the Toastmaster (Master of Ceremonies).

The experienced speaker will then present, and the audience is allowed time to critique the speaker, this is followed by a fun segment called “Table Topics” – similar to Trivia nights at your local club. Anyone and everyone is encouraged to participate in Table Topics. Finally, a few members give a short overview of their Toastmasters experience.

Then we get to party! Food and drink is provided as Toastmasters mingle with guests. Guests are presented with an information packet at the end of the event and invited to join up or visit the club if they need more information. Why not visit your local Toastmasters to find out more?

If you are keen to learn how Toastmasters can help you with you public speaking goals there’s no need to wait for an open house. And if you happen to be in our neck of the woods on a Tuesday evening we would be honoured to have you as our guest at Picnic Point Toastmasters.

We meet on the 1st and 3rd Tuesday of the month at 7pm at Club Picnic Point – 124 Lambeth Street, Picnic Point. Our house is always open…..

Public Engagement

Transparent and honest business practice is valued above everything else….open communication regarding any issues identified help reinforce our branding. Public relations goes beyond media relations. The public wants us to be engaged with them. What does this mean? It means selling our product in a way that benefits the public.

Let’s start with culture. Whenever a visitor joins our meeting our culture is on display. Our shared values, belief systems, attitudes and the set of assumptions that we share form our club culture. A positive culture improves teamwork, raises morale and enhances membership retention. It encourages collaboration and trust, motivates members to work on their goals and ensures that respect and integrity are at the forefront of everything we do.

Our club culture is a reflection of club leadership. Is the executive committee dedicated to finding new and better ways to support, serve and adapt to the needs of the members? Are members actively engaged in promoting Toastmasters as the expert in the fields of communication and leadership? Are the programs adaptable for different generations and cultures, and for emerging technologies? How can we create alliances with the public? Start by leveraging relationships with individuals outside of Toastmasters.

As members, we are the representatives of Toastmasters International. This gives us a tremendous opportunity to be a successful brand ambassador.

What do you need to do to be a successful brand ambassador? Firstly, be authentic. People will trust you if you are seen to be real and open. If you are open people will automatically feel relaxed and more accepting of you and what you have to say.

Secondly, take a look at your online presence. As a Toastmasters ambassador you have the opportunity to use your online presence to promote your club. Always maintain a high level of professionalism. We can take advantage of feedback and remain responsible when networking online. Social media can reflect the best and worst aspects of networking as our written communication can be easily misinterpreted, leading to a potential hazard which can affect the Toastmasters brand.

Using our leadership skills will reflect positivity and confidence which, in turn, demonstrates our passion for Toastmasters and helps us to establish and grow relationships. Focus on the feedback you receive, then use it to improve your communication when engaging the public. We can maximise the benefits to potential members by understanding public concerns and expectations and responding to these needs in a timely fashion. With a little planning, scoping and analysis, you will involve the right people through your networking, tweak your communication to engage the public and develop your communication and leadership skills.

Interested to learn more? Visit Picnic Point Toastmasters! We meet at 7pm on every 1st and 3rd Tuesday at Club Picnic Point – 124 Lambeth Street, Picnic Point, NSW 2213. We look forward to meeting you!

Online Public Relations

More than ever, Toastmasters clubs have an opportunity and a responsibility to grow their brand through social media. Understanding how social media works, how it affects brands and what makes opinions change in an instant is key to maintaining a strong brand. The opportunity to relay facts and events to a wide audience has never been so easy and so inexpensive, offering a wide range of multimedia formats such as pictures, podcasts, graphics and videos. In 1996 Bill Gates stated that “content is king”. The belief that online content is central to the success of a website implies that readers demand quality and expect it…..

Our online visitors are looking for content that delivers value, expert knowledge, brand awareness, and is relevant. How can we deliver? Through unique, informative, entertaining, error free, structured text that is easily understood. To influence people through social media you need patience, good ideas and well-written articles. Social media is the ideal tool to to build a brand with some free publicity. How can we use social media to align with our mission to provide a mutually supportive and positive learning environment?

Firstly, we need to select members who know Toastmasters well. Members who have been a Toastmaster for many years, who care about the club and branding as much as Toastmasters International do. Toastmasters who can demonstrate quality leadership and communication skills. Creative thinkers, people with knowledge in-house, who are keen to have real relationships with visitors who are seeking to learn from us. They know how to build relationships, as a trusted source they persuade people they encounter through a strategic communication process which builds a mutually beneficial relationship.

Secondly, a good storyteller will protect, enhance and advance the Toastmasters brand. They find positive messages to share, create and execute special events, network, create an image, build credibility and trust. Understanding what you have to offer and why your target audience should care is what good public relations is all about. Online public relations through social media is a rapid way to get your message out there. Social media can augment PR efforts and serve as an amplifier. The use of images and videos, announcing special events and reporting on various activities can attract visitors and provide information that is helpful to them.

Online public relations  will lead to new members who are looking to improve their communications and leadership skills. Picnic Point Toastmasters is proud to support the local community with quality communications and leadership training. We meet on the 1st and 3rd Tuesday of the month at 7pm. Come join us at Club Picnic Point – 124 Lambeth Street, Picnic Point. We look forward to meeting you.

Public Relations Is Everyone’s Responsibility

Toastmasters clubs, like any business, rely on public relations – our main marketing tool. While public relations help reinforce our branding, there are a few things we need to steer clear of:

• misleading our target audience
• missing publication deadlines
• out of date contact details
• using the same run of the mill public relation procedures
• relying on the vice president of public relations to do all the publicity work.

Our club PR strategy must remain current and in line with Toastmasters International’s goals. With social media being at the forefront of communication, immediacy and transparency are two terms that should be of high importance to all of us. Due to the Internet-created 24 hour news cycle of our society, any news that an organisation makes—whether it is good or bad—can be spread all over the world in a matter of minutes.

Communication is important to ensure that everyone associated with Toastmasters is presenting a unified message. The smallest discrepancy or problem can make news, affecting the organisation’s brand. Given that social media is becoming an increasingly popular way to distribute information to the media, bloggers and consumers, it can be both an opportunity and a threat. Toastmasters clubs can take advantage of the free resources of facebook and twitter to generate good results by being active and creative with social media.

As practitioners in story telling, Toastmasters members have an opportunity to demonstrate our great training and what great value the Toastmasters program offers. One thing to keep in mind….PR is about creating relationships. Doing research on the demographics of your club’s surrounding suburbs helps you understand who you’re talking to and gives you the edge in building rapport. Social media is just one way to begin a conversation with someone. The key is to start building a relationship. Who do you know in your circle of friends or colleagues that could benefit from attending Toastmasters?

If you are reading this post and you are interested in communications and leadership then come and visit us at Picnic Point Toastmasters. We meet at Club Picnic Point – 124 Lambeth Street, Panania, NSW 2213 on the 1st and 3rd Tuesday of the month at 7pm. We look forward to meeting you!