Public Relations
Want Truly Strategic Communication? Seat Your Communicator at the Strategy Table!
by Frank L. Williams “Strategic” can be defined as relating to the identification of long-term or overall aims and interests and the means of achieving them. Another definition is carefully designed or planned to serve a particular purpose or advantage. In layman’s terms, being strategic means that your actions and decisions are focused on achieving…
Read MoreDemonstrating Your Expertise
by Frank L. Williams We all prefer to do business with people who are knowledgeable in their fields. If you need a heart surgeon, you want one who has experience and a proven track record of successfully performing the type of surgery you require. If your car isn’t running properly, you want a mechanic who…
Read MoreDon’t Confuse Them with the Facts
by Frank L. Williams We’ve probably all heard the saying, “don’t confuse them with the facts.” When I Googled the phrase while writing this article, I found another article entitled “My Mind Is Made Up. Don’t Confuse Me with the Facts.” In his timeless classic, How to Win Friends and Influence People, Dale Carnegie said…
Read MorePaint Your Own Barn
by Frank L. Williams Over the course of my career, I’ve seen far too many organizations allow a reactive mindset and slow response time to hamper their public relations efforts. One organization (we’ll call it Company One) was subjected to a barrage of criticism from other organizations that were affected by one of Company One’s…
Read MoreOwned Media: Don’t Put All of Your Eggs in a Basket Controlled by Someone Else
by Frank L. Williams When I first entered the public relations profession shortly after college, we typically heard about two types of media: earned media and paid media. Thanks to technology-driven changes, social media and owned media have become increasingly prevalent communication tools in recent years. Paid media refers to tools such as traditional advertising…
Read MoreIs the Written Word Becoming a Lost Art?
by Frank L. Williams When I was a college student at N.C. State University in the early 1990s, communication professor after communication professor emphasized that writing was the most important skill for an aspiring public relations professional to develop. I was fortunate that writing had always been one of my strong suits, and I’ve worked…
Read MoreThe “R” in RPIE
by Frank Williams During the course of my public relations training, I’ve studied a four-step process dubbed “RPIE.” The four steps are: R = Research P = Planning I = Implementation E = Evaluation. The research phase is intended to ensure that a client or organization builds its campaign based upon valid assumptions and informed…
Read MoreHow to Be a Good Client
by Frank Williams I’ve worked with a wide range of clients over the course of my more than 20 years in the public relations profession. We’ve been able to help many businesses, non-profits and individuals accomplish their communication goals. In other cases, however, I felt like something was missing. I get excited when I know…
Read MoreMy first professional news release (before email was a thing)
by Frank L. Williams In November 1993, five short months after I graduated from the N.C. State University Department of Communication, I wrote and distributed my first press release for a paying client. The client was my pledge brother at Theta Chi Fraternity, Montie Roland, who had recently started a safety consulting business. We took…
Read MoreMy first year in the Public Relations profession
It was June 24, 2019 — my first day coming to work for Pioneer Strategies. Right away I was introduced to my office, complete with a spacious desk, business cards and the most essential tools of the trade: a computer and phone. It’s hard to believe that was almost a year ago! Starting off, I…
Read More