Public Relations Tool Kit
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™ Connecticut State Grange PUBLIC RELATIONS TOOL KIT Whether you’re trying to nail down media coverage for your Grange event, remodel your Grange’s image, or construct a larger support base for your Grange in your community, it’s important to have the right tools for the job and to know how to use them. Contact Information More information on the Connecticut State Grange as well as the Granges across Connecticut can be found on our website: www.CTStateGrange.org General Contact Information: Central Office Mailing Address: Connecticut State Grange P.O. Box 1393, Glastonbury, CT 06033 Central Office Physical Address: Connecticut State Grange, c/o Good Will Grange Hall 43 Naubuc Avenue , Glastonbury, CT 06033 Central Office Telephone: (860) 633-7550 For general inquiries / information: [email protected] Connecticut State Grange President: Jody Cameron [email protected] Connecticut State Grange Secretary: Edith Schoell [email protected] Connecticut State Grange Program Coordinator: Margaret Bernhardt [email protected] Connecticut State Grange Legislative Director: Alma Graham [email protected] Connecticut State Grange Agriculture Director: Jonathan Russell [email protected] Connecticut State Grange Community Service Directors: Jeff and Debbie Barnes [email protected] Connecticut State Grange Public Relations Co-Director: Terri Fassio (714-600-6342) [email protected] Connecticut State Grange Public Relations Co-Director: Robert Charbonneau (203-237-4617) [email protected] 2 Grange Public Relations Tool Kit Table of Contents Introduction ..........................................................................................................4 What is Public Relations? ...................................................................................4 News Values .......................................................................................................5 How to Capture the Media’s Attention ................................................................6 Developing the Story ..........................................................................................7 The Benefits of Positive Spin.............................................................................. 8 The Art of Proofreading .......................................................................................9 Press Release 101 ............................................................................................10 Press Release Writing Tips ..............................................................................11 Sample Grange Press Release ........................................................................12 Sample Press Release Cover Letter ................................................................13 Media Alerts ......................................................................................................14 Public Service Announcements ........................................................................15 Strategic Usage: Press Release vs. Article ......................................................16 Formula for a Well-Written Article ......................................................................16 Tips for Writing a Winning Article ......................................................................17 Sample Grange Article ................................................................................18, 19 Digital Photography Tips....................................................................................20 Digital Photography - the Good, the Bad and the Ugly .....................................21 Branding and Identity ........................................................................................22 Using the Grange Logo ....................................................................................23 Connecticut Media List .........................................................................24, 25, 26 What is the Grange? .........................................................................................27 List of Connecticut Granges .............................................................................28 The Grange in Connecticut ...............................................................................29 Mission and Vision Statements ..................................................................30, 31 Who’s Who .......................................................................................................32 The Grange in the Community .........................................................................33 Notable Connecticut Grange Accomplishments ...............................................34 Grange Legislative Action .................................................................................35 Importance of Grange Internet Presence ..........................................................36 The Connecticut State Grange on the Internet ..................................................37 Effective Member Communications ..................................................................38 Ideas for Improving Member Communications ..................................................39 Grange Public Relations Tool Kit 3 Introduction Public relations is vital to the success of the Granges across Connecticut. You may have heard “I see the building every day but never knew what it is used for,” or “Aren’t they a group of farmers?” No matter how important you personally feel the Grange is to your community, you should not expect that everybody will know what the Grange is, or even know that the Grange exists. The more visibility the Grange has, the more positive community support it will attract, the more pride the membership will have in the organization, and ultimately the more members it will gain. It’s a simple formula. Communication is essential to Grange success, both internally and externally. Favorable media exposure means recognition in the community, acknowledgement of Grange activities, services and accomplishments and a higher profile of your Grange among potential members. Internally, it will help build pride in membership that will grow a more successful Grange. From building awareness and credibility to supporting fund-raising efforts, well-executed public relations efforts can make the difference between achieving the Grange’s goals or falling desperately short of them. Our focus with the Grange Public Relations Tool Kit is to improve the communications skills of our Connecticut Granges. With a little advance preparation, each Grange can ensure that they are ready for any marketing or public relations opportunity that comes along. Included in the following pages are all the tips, tricks, important Grange information, and tools every Grange will need to explore different communications methods, and implementation strategies that will deliver the greatest impact. What is Public Relations? A basic definition of public relations is “to shape and maintain the image of an organization or individual in the eyes of various publics.” What is a “public” exactly? A public, in PR terms, is anyone who ever has or ever will form an opinion about the organization or individual. Depending on the nature of the work, these publics could include current members, potential members, the local community, members of the media, students, parents of students, online fan groups, customers -- the list is endless. Public relations success requires an understanding of the interests and concerns of each the many publics. The public relations worker must know how to effectively address those concerns using the tools of the PR trade: publicity, advertising, marketing, media relations, community relations, branding, social media and more. Brief history of Public Relations Public relations arrived with the development of mass media. At the turn of the 20th century, “muckraking” journalists were stirring up public dissent against the powerful monopolies and wealthy industrialists who ruled the day. Early public relations firms combated the bad press by placing positive stories about their clients in newspapers. Former journalists, such as Ivy Lee, used the first press releases to feed newspapers “the facts” about his misunderstood clients, namely the railroad and tobacco industries, and J.D. Rockefeller’s Standard Oil. Lee and company became so good at whitewashing even the darkest corporate sins that PR professionals earned a reputation as “spin doctors.” Much time has passed since the days of Ivy Lee, and to label today’s PR as dishonest would be to ignore how pervasive and important work has become to people and organizations of all shapes and sizes, from small businesses to non-profit organizations -- not just large corporations and the government. 4 Grange Public Relations Tool Kit The Value of News News values, sometimes called news criteria, determine how much prominence a news story Characteristics used to analyze is given by a media outlet, and the attention it newsworthiness: is given by the audience. A variety of external and internal pressures influence the media’s 1) impact, consequence, or importance; decisions on which stories are covered, how 2) conflict; issues are interpreted and the emphasis 3) proximity to the readers; given to them. The news value of a story, if 4) prominence of the people involved; defined in terms of the interest it carries for 5) the unusual nature of the event; and an audience, is determined by the degree