Beginning Your Pr Campaign

A comprehensive PR campaign can begin with just one activity. In seminars, workshops, and consultations we often ask, 'What is PR?' The typical response is, 'public relations.' Then we continue: 'What is public relations?' And we keep asking until PR is satisfactorily defined. Usually the definition of PR boils down to something like 'how we walk and talk, meet and greet, smile and dial.'

Public relations is bigger than initiating a billboard campaign, running radio spots, or distributing brochures. It is the ongoing process of developing bonds with effective people and businesses in your community. It means sharing your knowledge with people who are important to you - in other words, educating them. Public relations focuses on making a positive connection with society. Who has time to embark on an all-out public relations campaign? You do - if you take it one step at a time. Two tools help you do this: membership in organizations and newsletters.

Organizations provide an ideal arena for 'meeting and greeting' - that is, networking with people, which is one of the first objectives in an effective public relations campaign. Contributing to an organization is a meaningful way of developing yourself. Because most organizations consist of voluntary membership, they usually foster an atmosphere of trust. They provide a forum for new information and ideas for action in the areas of technology, demographics, social concerns, economics, and legal and political issues - all of which you need in any public relations campaign.

Your membership in an organization can also provide you with individual skills, such as leadership, management, parliamentary procedure, and more; and, happily, these skills can be learned and improved upon at no expense to your work environment.

Some types of organizations you may look into joining include the following:

• Service clubs, such as Rotary, Optimists, Lions, Zonta, and Quota
• Social groups, such as crafters guilds, card clubs, and sports teams
• Religious groups, such as ministries and support services
• Political organizations, such as local, state, and national parties
• Educational groups, such as Parent Teacher Association (PTA), Mothers Against Drunk Drivers (MADD), and American Society of Training and Development (ASTD)
• Professional organizations, such as National Association of Insurance Women, American Business Women, and state agent associations.

Should you decide to join an organization as part of your public relations effort, join with a mission. Make your mission the betterment of the group, your community, and yourself.

A second option to be explored for enhancing your PR campaign is the use of newsletters. Newsletters educate your clients and contacts, promote your agency's effectiveness, and demonstrate concern for your clients' well-being. They are a proactive method by which you can stay in touch with your customers between renewal dates. Monthly or quarterly publications will keep recipients thinking about you and your agency. The features in your newsletter can include actual news stories, informational pieces, testimonials, quotes, and other items important to the insurance consumer.

Here are two types of newsletters you may want to consider to enhance your public relations campaign:

• General industry newsletters, covering issues of common concern to all insureds
• Departmental newsletters, specifically designed for the consumers of particular types of insurance (for instance, Personal or Commercial Lines)

You do not need to reinvent the wheel when it comes to newsletters. IMMS offers a wide array of newsletter services and will gladly talk with you in more detail about their services. IMMS even has a newsletter about using newsletters! If you're interested, call an IMMS account executive at (800) 753-4467.

Just as eating an elephant can be done in dainty bites, a comprehensive PR campaign can begin with just one of the activities suggested here. Don't do nothing. Share your expertise with the people and businesses important to you. Your public relations campaign can make a positive impact on the community in which you work and live.