This is important particularly when it comes to PR. Public relations is often one of those things that comes second to business operations.  And yet, relating to your publics well must go hand-in-hand with your everyday operations.  If you’re not forging good relationships and improving the ones you have every day through every interaction, then your business may eventually fizzle out and your operations will be for naught.

If you have a list of PR or promotional ideas for your business, either written or in your head, pick the top three and implement them. Be clear about your goals, do the best job you can, and enjoy the process of building strong relationships with the people that matter most to your business success.

So what are you waiting for? Your public is waiting. Reach out to them today.

Shortly after the market declined, we received an email from our financial advisor explaining the reasons for the decline, noting that it was predicted, and offering reassurance about next steps in terms of our investments. This told us that we may not be able to predict what the market will do, but we know our financial advisor is paying attention and watching carefully over our money, and will provide thoughtful advice and how we could respond.

Times are uncertain, for sure, in many sectors of our economy and for many businesses.  In response, consumers are unsure. Apply what our financial advisor did for us and demonstrate to your customers that you’re “on it.” Tell them that you know what’s going on and that you know what to do about it in terms of your business.  Communicate in a timely manner, right on the cusp of economic events that affect your business, keep your customers in the loop, and give them reason to patron you over your competitors.

(1) Fact sheets are short. The rule of thumb is to keep a fact sheet to one page. One page is all you need to communicate the key messages about your company or one of your company’s products, services or issues. One page is also all that people will read. No one has the time or wants to read long content. If your fact sheet is bleeding over to two pages, revise it and revise it again until it’s one page.  Take out all unnecessary points and words.  If you’re finding it impossible to get your fact sheet to one page, chances are good that you need another fact sheet to tackle a portion of the information.  Whatever you do, don’t make the font miniscule to pare down the text.

(2) Fact sheets are easy-to-read. Fact sheets are formatted like websites with tabs or books with chapters. They have headers so readers can glance at them to find the information they want and skip what they already know or don’t want. The key is deciding which headers are the most important ones for your business.  If the fact sheet is for an event, you’ll need to include the overview of the event; the time, date and place; purpose; and who to contact to get tickets. If it’s for an issue or project, you’ll need to think about the most frequently asked questions you receive from your publics so you can answer them on one sheet.

(3) Fact sheets are to-the-point.  They make you boil down your key points into the most pertinent facts.  Many of our clients, especially those in technical industries or those facing complex or controversial issues, feel the need to explain their situations and reasoning in great detail to the general public. While there is a place for detailed information, it’s usually best reserved for niched target publics, in other words, those who need to know.  Details are also best conveyed in small, digestible chunks. They provide the essential truths and the direction necessary for people to dig deeper if they wish.

(4) Fact sheets are cheap.  Fact sheets can be printed on your company letterhead; copied in black and white; and distributed as necessary. They’re not fancy pieces. Better yet, they can be revised anytime and then reprinted as needed.  You can also offer a paperless option, which is entirely free. Just pdf the document and then post it on your website for people to download.

(5) Fact sheets save time. As we mentioned above, when you’re deciding what headers to include on your fact sheet, think about the most frequently asked questions people have about your products, services, or issues. If you can answer them concisely and well, you can be proactive by directing target publics to your fact sheet and avoid having to answer the same questions over and over again.

Check our our other fact sheet posts including how to write a fact sheet, fact sheet templates, fact sheets for sale, and much more.

Here are more details about their effort:

What: Hot Rocks for Humanity is a free community Imu (underground oven) event to encourage volunteers for Kauai non-profit organizations.

When: Drop off is on Friday, April 29, 2011 from 4:30 p.m.-6:30 p.m. Pick up is on Saturday, April 30 from 8 a.m.-9 a.m.

What to bring:

• A can good(s) for donation to Kauai Food Bank
• Signed pledge form for one hour of volunteer service
• Signed Food Safety Waiver for liability release
• A pan of food to cook in the imu. Food must be defrosted, seasoned in a pan, completely wrapped in foil

Where: Puhi, Behind the Grove Farm office (3-1850 Kaumualii Highway Lihue, HI)

How: Imu capacity is 100 pans, so register now online at www.volunteerkauai.com or call 652-5216.

A variety of non-profit organizations will be at the event to inform participants about their organizations and volunteer opportunities.

Pepsi’s Refresh Project is a social media/philanthropy hybrid that funds important initiatives from improving schools to building parks and playgrounds, and supporting new business ideas. In fact, in 2010, Pepsi gave up its Super Bowl ad and allowed small budding companies to advertise in its place. Pepsi defines the Refresh Project as “The New Pepsi Challenge.” In the process of helping causes through millions of dollars of donations, they attract millions of fans to their social media sites to vote on which projects get funded. Everyone wins.

Starbucks kicked off its Global Month of Service because they are “committed to helping create thriving neighborhoods” wherever they do business, and that they can use their “scale to be a catalyst for positive change.” Their goal with the Global Month of Service is to support 2,000 service projects and give 200,000 hours of volunteer time from their employees and customers around the world.

In 2010, Disney launched “Give a Day, Get a Disney Day” in which they ask people to give a day of volunteer service at a participating organization and then receive a free, one-day admission ticket to a Walt Disney World Resort or Disneyland Resort theme park.  Again, this is a win-win-win for the company, the community, and Disney fans.

Likewise, for many years, we’ve been creating community support plans for our clients. This has enabled our clients’ companies to show their commitment to the community, bring their company missions to life by supporting organizations in their areas of interest, develop relationships with community service organizations and their constituents, get their customers involved on a charitable level, and occasionally get exposure for their gifts (in the case of event sponsorships). Of course the public wins, too because the organizations that receive the donations help meet the needs of the community.

Community support plans work well for any sized company because they can justify directing marketing budgets toward philanthropy. Companies that don’t have the funds to give charitable donations can always give their time through volunteerism or donate products or services. Harnessing this spirit of giving is an opportunity for any company. So give away.

UPDATE: Along the same lines of this post, check out the great idea, Hot Rocks for Humanity.

First, seven of the 20 trends were related to electronic and/or social media. In other words, businesses using the power of the Internet, wireless devices, and mobile applications to communicate with current and potential customers. We point this out because so often, when we recommend to our clients how important it is to use these technologies consistently and effectively, they groan. Groan they may, but they’re missing the boat if they’re not communicating electronically with their constituents.

The second interesting thing was that five of the 20 trends were environmental or green initiatives. Not only that, the initiatives were customer friendly. In the past, many thought that being green meant giving up something.  Today’s trendsetting companies are reinterpreting what it means to be green.  Rather than making their customers give up something to be green, their giving their customers more than they expected.  These companies have figured out ways to serve their customers better than ever before by being more efficient, effective, targeted, customized, innovative, easy to patron, and friendly. They just happen to be green, too.

The third interesting thing is that 100 percent of all of the trendsetting companies are exceptional when it comes to communicating with their employees and customers. They have strong brands. They know exactly who they are as a company, so much so that the companies actually have a personality.  This makes it easy for employees to understand who they’re working for and to fall in step, and for customers to know who they’re buying from. This kind of familiarity leads to loyalty and that’s always critical for business. These trendsetting companies also put their messages out there and serve customers in a way that’s enthusiastic, competent, and welcoming. Their tones are different depending on their brand, but they are most definitely present and involved with their publics.

For more information about the Springwise trends for 2011, visit www.springwise.com/businessideas2011. See where or if your business is up with the times.

That lesson really struck us, partially because we could relate to it so well. In the more than 10 years that we’ve been in business, we’ve come to know how important it is to have a good relationship with our clients’ administrative assistants. After all, they control the schedules, mail, email, phones, and much more, even critical decisions. Often, they are the face of the company in the community and to employees.

The other reason we liked this lesson from a public relations perspective is that it acknowledges that every business has many target publics, within and outside the company, and that each of those groups are comprised of many individuals. All of those individuals are significant to the success of the business. So next time you embark on a communications campaign, pull everyone into the loop from the janitor to the boss.

And never underestimate the importance of all the other not-so-obvious publics as your company’s potential ambassadors, from the FedEx and UPS folks to the AC repairperson, the solar contractor, the business supply order rep, etc. Your interactions with all of them are a reflection of your company’s image and level of service. If those interactions are negative or even forgettable, that will be the impression these publics have of your company. Likewise, if those interactions are positive and special, so will be your company’s image, which will trickle down to repeat sales, referrals, and profits.

We always tell our clients that good public relations tactics are terrific but they need to be delivered in the right ways by the right people at the right time…or they’re worth little to nothing. For example, consider lead times for news releases. Let’s say you’d like to get a story placed in a magazine.  Most magazines require very long lead times. Some of them fill up their editorial calendars six to twelve months in advance.  So, it’ll do no good to pitch a story to them that you’d like to have printed the next month.  Another example: promoting an event. We generally like to use the wedding invitation rule, which says that invitations should go out at least six weeks before the big day, but not too much more than that or people will forget about the event.  That said, when it comes to promoting business events, there’s a series of tactics you’ll need to implement over a period of time to get the word out there. Some of them can be done well in advance, like “save the date” emails or calendar item postings, while others can only be done a week before, like notices to hotel concierges.

Next time you’re planning PR or marketing strategies, be sure to be realistic and careful about the timing. Check how much time your vendors will need for printing, production or processing. Confirm lead times for the publications in which you want to have your stories placed. If you’re sending something by snail mail, know how long it will take for them to arrive.  Etc.  Backtrack from those days, allow a little “just-in-case” leeway, and your timing will be golden. And, along with the right messages, tacticts, and targets, so will your PR.