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PRSA Member Statement of Professional Values

[Questions? larry@larryitwin.com]

This statement presents the core values of PRSA members and,
more broadly, of the public relations profession. These values provide
the foundation for the Member Code of Ethics and set the
industry standard for the professional practice of public relations.
These values are the fundamental beliefs that guide our behaviors
and decision-making process. We believe our professional values
are vital to the integrity of the profession as a whole.
ADVOCACY
We serve the public interest by acting as responsible advocates for
those we represent. We provide a voice in the marketplace of ideas,
facts, and viewpoints to aid informed public debate.
HONESTY
We adhere to the highest standards of accuracy and truth in
advancing the interests of those we represent and in communicating
with the public.
EXPERTISE
We acquire and responsibly use specialized knowledge and experience.
We advance the profession through continued professional
development, research and education. We build mutual understanding,
credibility, and relationships among a wide array of institutions
and audiences.
INDEPENDENCE
We provide objective counsel to those we represent. We are
accountable for our actions.
LOYALTY
We are faithful to those we represent, while honoring our obligation
to serve the public interest.
FAIRNESS
We deal fairly with clients, employers, competitors, peers, vendors,
the media and the general public. We respect all opinions and support
the right of free expression.

[Questions? larry@larryitwin.com]

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The 7 Myths of Accreditation

[Questions? larry@larrylitwin.com]

From The Pinnacle (PRSA – Public Relations Society of America) on May 4, 2021

By Elyse Hammett, APR

Title get your attention, eh? If your answer is, “yep,” then good. You see, more often than not, we hear these myths bandied about as reasons for why some of our public relations colleagues choose not to pursue Accreditation, repeated without any basis in fact. I want to share these seven myths that my PR friends have often been persuaded to believe and, most importantly, explain WHY they are not true.

Myth #1: It takes a full year out of your life.

No; it becomes your life. The practices, processes and communications architecture that you learn in the APR journey change your professional aptitude forever. Who cares if it takes a year to get it done, when it makes you a better communicator for the rest of your life.

Myth #2: The failure rate is higher than the success rate.

That’s not true either. It is true that a little over 30% have to take one or the other sections twice (I did the panel presentation twice), but these statistics are indices as if it was a competition. The APR is not a competition. It is a personal journey for your betterment.

Myth #3: You can’t do it alone.

Well, that depends on your learning style. My colleague on the APR Marketing Committee, @HeatherHuften, did it in two months, alone, in Texas, during COVID. OK — maybe she’s a superstar, but she is proof of one way. I did it with a study group of four, and it took me 11 months.

Myth #4. No one acknowledges what the APR is, so why bother?

Listen, when you truly command this knowledge…really learn these tenets…really use them every single day…everyone will want what you’ve got. When I owned my Atlanta marketing communications firm, we sold new business based on the APR practices and programs. It sold like hotcakes, because we were backed by a third-party, PRSA and the Universal Accreditation Board. Your clients will listen when you demonstrate mastery of the topic.

Myth #5: My boss won’t value it.

Yes — your boss WILL. Because the demonstrated mastery will make your boss loyal to you. The APR practices, processes and frameworks make it easier, faster and even financially safer to do because it’s proven. Plus, just like a CPA talks in their language or a cardiologist talks in theirs, the Accreditation principles, when used across an entire marketing communications team increases speed infinitely — increasing the pace and ROI of your work. What boss won’t value that?

Myth #6: No connections to marketing or advertising.

This myth doesn’t hold water. The APR is ubiquitous. It’s a method of thinking and processing complex problems. It applies across all communications challenges. In the 2000s, there was this wonderful megahit romantic comedy, “What Women Want.” In the movie, a marketing firm called Sloane Curtis was pursuing the female business division of Nike. They do it with a deep understanding of the target audience to win the account. Every element of the two-minute scene shows the principles of Accreditation at work. Watch it and then sign up to pursue yours.

Myth #7: There’s no direct line to my personal brand.

It becomes your brand. The value and the values of Accreditation elevate who you are because they demonstrate your knowledge, skills and abilities as the consummate communications professional. There is no greater alignment between you and the company you keep than this credential.

What myths have you heard? Let’s chat!

Elyse Hammett, APR, is an award-winning practitioner who currently serves as the vice-president of marketing and communications for the Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta. The 2017 president of the nation’s second-largest chapter, PRSA Georgia, Elyse is co-chair of the Accreditation Marketing Committee of PRSA’s national board. Connect with her via email @ehammett@cfgreateratlanta.org; Instagram @elysehammett, LinkedIn @elysehammett or Twitter @elysehammettPR.

If you have any suggestions for future issues of the APR Pinnacle newsletter, please reach out via email. We’d welcome the conversation.

[Questions? larry@larrylitwin.com]

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PRSA’s 10 principles of behavior for the practice of public relations

[Questions: larry@larrylitwin.com]

In summary, PRSA lists the following 10 principles of behavior for
the practice of public relations:
1. Conduct in accord with the public interest.
2. Exemplify high standards of honesty and integrity.
3. Deal fairly with the public.
4. Adhere to highest standards of accuracy and truth.
5. Do not knowingly disseminate false or misleading
information.
6. Do not engage in any practice that corrupts the channels
of communication or processes of government.
7. Identify publicly the name of the client or employer on whose
behalf any public communication is made.
8. Do not make use of any individual or organization
professing to be independent or unbiased but actually
serving another or undisclosed interest.
9. Do not guarantee the achievement of specified results beyond
member’s control.
10. Do not represent conflicting or competing interests.

[Questions: larry@larrylitwin.com]

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Advertising Selling Premises

Questions? larry@larrylitwin.com

PR Play 11-10 from The Public Relations Practitioner’s Playbook for (all) Strategic Communicators

Copy Strategy – Sales logic behind an advertising message.
Creative Platform – A document that outlines the message strategy
decision behind an individual ad, commercial or an entire campaign.
It is based on the creative brief (page 366).
• Product-centered strategies – Ads that focus on the product
itself. Should be based on fact. Often a scientifically conducted
test or other research technique provides support for a claim.
— Claim – A statement about the product’s performance – its features
or attributes.
— Brag and Boast – An advertising strategic message written
from a company’s point of view to extol its virtues and accomplishments.
If a claim is made, it must be supported by fact.
• Prospect-centered strategies – Ads that focus on needs and
wants rather than on what the company can produce.
— Benefits – Statements about what the product can do for the
user.
— Promise – A benefit statement that looks to the future.
— Reason Why – A statement that explains why the feature will
benefit the user.
— Unique Selling Proposition (USP) – A benefit statement
about a feature that is both unique to the product and important to the user

Questions? larry@larrylitwin.com

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Co-Op Adverising

Questions? larry@larrylitwin.com

What is Cooperative Advertising (Co-Op)?

A form of advertising where a national manufacturer reimburses the
retailer for part of or all of the retailer’s entire advertising expenditures
for ads carrying the manufacturer’s brand(s).

Questions? larry@larrylitwin.com

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8 Tips For Improving Your Phone Skills

[Questions? larry@larrylitwin.com]

Since a face-to-face meeting is virtually impossible in today’s COVID-19 business world, you need to pick up the phone to get things done. And to help you improve your phone skills (especially when the person you are calling doesn’t report to you), we have listed below some tips to help you achieve greater phone success.
8 Tips To Help Improve Your Phone Skills And Techniques.
Tip #1: Have An Objective – Before calling someone, write down the objective of your call. It can be as simple as a modified report or a request for more resources. The key is to know what the details are of the call – ahead of time.
Tip #2: Ask The Person For Their “Help” – Start by asking the person you’re calling for their help. Then quickly state the benefit (not yours) of why this needs to be done.
Tip #3: Smile When You Are Talking/Listening – Even though the person you called cannot see your expressions, your smile comes through loud and clear.
Tip #4: Add A Personal Touch To The Call – Use the name of the person you are calling as it will show them that you are interested in them. We cannot stress enough the importance of putting yourself in the listener’s place.
Tip #5: Drop Your Cell Phone And Stop Typing – Avoid the typical distractions such as looking at your cell phone, typing an e-mail or scouring your iPad. Also, don’t be eating or drinking anything.
Tip #6: Be Mindful Of Your Tone And Volume – If you are condescending or using a loud voice, the other person will shut down immediately. If your voice is loud by nature, lower it. Conversely, if your voice is low, increase its volume. Keeping the phone about an inch from your mouth will help as well.
Tip #7: Use A High-Quality Headset – If you are using a headset, make sure it’s of high quality; your voice needs to sound exceptional. If your headset makes you sound like you are calling from a rusted tin can, toss it out and get a better one.
Tip #8: Summarize The Call/To Do List – At the end of the call, it is wise to summarize what the to-do list is as it is a great way to eliminate possible issues. Additionally, don’t forget to get a timeframe of when things will be done, too.
Executive Summary: When calling someone, always be mindful of the person you are calling. Keep the call professional and brief. Additionally, don’t forget to summarize the call. But most importantly, focus on the person you are calling; therefore, drop your cell phone and stop typing that e-mail as people know when you are distracted.

[Questions? larry@larrylitwin.com]

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Resumes — Getting better results on search sites

[Questions? larry@larrylitwin.com]

(The following comes fro ZipRecruiter.com and Courier-Post on Sunday, Feb. 28, 2021)

Here’s a stat you may not know: More than 75% of resumes submitted online are read by a robot before they are ever seen by a human. IF they are ever seen by a human.

That’s because most employers use Applicant Tracking Systems, a type of artificial intelligence that parses resumes to find what they consider to be the most qualified candidates.

At ZipRecruiter, we use that technology, so we know what works and what doesn’t when it comes to creating a resume that can get your application past these robots and into the hands of a human recruiter.

  1. Use a plain, boring template

Conventional wisdom may say that your resume should be eye-catching and exciting, but the truth is that robots aren’t big design fans.

They read from left to right, top to bottom, and only know how to read certain fonts and formats. So use the most boring, straightforward template you can find. Leave out columns, tables, headers, footers, text boxes, logos and nonstandard fonts. Use a “minimalist ATS-friendly” template rather than a designed one to make sure it can be read.

  1. Use generic job titles

Many companies get cute with their internal job titles: sandwich artists, teammates, crewmembers. Robots aren’t really interested in cute. But they do love a perfect match, which is why you should write your past job titles on your resume using generic terms that everyone understands. A good way to do this is by going to a job site and finding job descriptions that match your current role. Of course, be careful not to inflate or change your role into something that’s not representative of your work.

  1. Write like a caveman

Be succinct about the work you did. The resume parsers will pull applicable snippets of your resume to pass on to recruiters, so you want those pieces to be simple and easy to follow.

Instead of writing something like “Answered, transferred, conferenced and forwarded audio communications for over 24 incoming and outgoing exchanges,” simply say “Answered and redirected company’s 25 phone lines.”

  1. Use numbers

Rather than just listing the tasks you performed, use numbers to capture the scale of your accomplishments. It goes a long way in showing that you’re a results-orientated employee who can deliver.

  1. List your skills

Make sure you include your skills and any training or certifications you’ve received. And be as specific as possible. At this point, everyone has experience with Microsoft Office. But if you give examples of the experience you have, such as “Microsoft Excel revenue model building,” that will go a lot farther in making you stand out. It can also be helpful to list the number of years of experience you have with each of your skills.

[Questions? larry@larrylitwin.com]

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3 Tips To Help Manage Underperforming Remote Workers (Share With All Managers)

[larry@larrylitwin.com]

From Dale Carnegie
As Covid-19 disappears, working from home isn’t going to as there will be a large percentage of the workforce who will still work from home on a full-time or part-time basis. And if you are a manager of a remote team(s), you still need to deal with underperforming team members.
The good news is this: Dealing with underperforming people in a remote work environment allows you to have specific conversations versus mentioning performance issues too casually.
3 Tips To Help Manage An Underperforming Staff Member.
Tip #1: Set Expectations – This is the first step as it allows you to set concrete deliverables or expectations. Plus, it helps you from being ambiguous when it comes to what is expected.
Tip #2: Learn About Their Work From Home Situation Take the time to learn what their work from home issues are, as it can help you better understand what is going on with them. Alternatively, you might want the person to come into the office X hours/days a week to help offset their performance issues.
Tip #3: Help To Improve Their Performance – After determining what their current challenges are, it would pay huge dividends to you if you would give them guidance with learning a new skill. Whether this is regular meetings or setting up a mentor program, there are many low-cost ways to help someone.
Other Tips To Consider When Managing Remote Workers.
  1. Look for signs of distress in your employees.
  2. Equip your team with the right technology.
  3. Promote dialogue with one-on-one conversations.
  4. Tell your employees that you trust them to work independently.
  5. Reinforce organizational values.
  6. Use objectives to create clarity.
  7. Focus on outputs, not time worked.
  8. Increase recognition for successes.
  9. Catch your staff doing things right.
  10. Proactively survey your team to see if they need help.
  11. Encourage innovation in new AND old systems and processes.
  12. Provide opportunities to share successes.
Why Workplace Performance Matters.
Here are four reasons why performance matters in the workplace:
  • Poor performers lower workplace morale.
  • Low performers increase the workload for everyone else.
  • Managers spend too much time dealing with underperformers.
  • Poor performers cost organizations tens of thousands of dollars in lost productivity, sales opportunities, social media issues, and word-of-mouth referrals.
Executive Summary: Working remotely has its challenges, but remote workers can be more productive than traditional in-office workers; therefore, address performance issues sooner versus later as the good performers will help your company grow and thrive no matter the circumstances.
[larry@larrylitwin.com]
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5 Ways A Disengaged Employee Will Cost Your Business Money

[Questions? larry@larrylitwin.com]


While Less Than A Third Of Employees Are Engaged, Some Groups Of Employees Are More Engaged Than Others.

  • Engagement levels appear to increase during the first 5 years of employment
  • Executives (VP and Higher) and medical workers are the most highly engaged group of employees
  • Employees in education, social work, and sales are the least engaged
  • Employees ages 50-60 are the least likely to be engaged
  • 26% of part-time workers are engaged vs. 31% of full time workers
  • 45% of managers and supervisors are engaged, only 23% of all other level workers are engaged

5 Ways A Disengaged Employee Will Cost Your Business Money.

#1: Impact On A Co-Worker(s) – Negativity is contagious, and your disengaged employee has the potential to “infect” his or her coworkers. This has an overall negative impact on team morale and productivity.

#2: Their Performance While On Company Time – As you know, time is valuable. The disengaged employee makes poor use of his or her time, costing the company money. Often times you will find a disengaged person on their cell phone and/or surfing the Internet.

#3: Poor Customer Service – Your employees should be cheerleaders for your business and seek to make the same out of customers. However, a disengaged employee has no enthusiasm to pass on to customers.

#4: Poor Job Productivity And Performance – A disengaged employee is not motivated to meet goals or go the extra mile when it comes to getting work done. Additionally, an employee without sympathy may dodge phone calls, e-mails, and other responsibilities.

#5: Lack Of Quality In Their Work – A disengaged employee has little motivation to produce quality results. He or she may struggle with deadlines and will not seek out responsibilities or leadership roles. By contrast, an engaged workforce wants to do what is best for the company. They are generally more creative and innovative and feel loyal and emotionally connected to their work environment.

Executive Summary: Our research has revealed that although there are many factors that affect an employee’s engagement, it really comes down to three core areas:

  • Someone’s relationship with his or her immediate supervisor.
  • Senior management’s ability to lead the company and communicate its goals.
  • Organizational pride; the vision of the organization and/or a company’s corporate social responsibility.

P.S. Disengaged employees cost companies $11 billion annually according to the Bureau of National Affairs!

[Questions? larry@larrylitwin.com]

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4 Leadership Tips To Help During Tough Times From Dale

[Comments: larry@larrylitwin.com]

Tip #1: Learn How To Navigate The Issues And Your Employees – Anyone can maintain course in calm waters; however, the biggest and most noticeable difference is how a leader performs during tough times as opposed to calm times. Take a step back and develop a vision by seeing what could be done to change things or what could be looming around the corner. This will help you to be better prepared should something terrible happen.
Tip #2: Avoid Being Just A Manager – The difference between leaders and managers is that leaders are able to motivate everyone in their organization during difficult times, whereas managers tend to manage the “status quo” or the current process. Trying to manage the status quo in times of uncertainty is just not effective. To develop leadership abilities, we suggest looking into some leadership courses, buying books, or visiting the local library for resources on leadership. It would also be to your advantage to see what other leaders are doing by joining network groups or industry associations.
Tip #3: Work On Creating A Positive Change – If you genuinely lead, you will, by default, cause positive changes in your organization. And this change is essential because it breathes life back into an organization. To help you create a positive change in your organization, look for some high-profile leaders and professional coaches in your area or industry, and see what they are doing. To help you get a new perspective on things, you should also consider a subscription to business magazines like Harvard Business Review, Entrepreneur, or SUCCESS Magazine.
Tip #4: Talk With Your Team Regularly – Picture yourself on an airplane that is hitting a lot of turbulence. Wouldn’t you want to know what is going on and how long it will last? Better yet, what is the captain doing to find a smoother altitude? The same goes for your employees when your business starts to hit tough times.
Executive Summary: While you cannot predict all of the events that will affect your business, you can employ the above four strategies to navigate your way through tough times. Leaders who invest time in communicating with their staff, reviewing alternate strategies, and staying close to key clients are implementing some of the best practices for leading in both good and bad times.
[Comments: larry@larrylitwin.com]