1. Michigan Association of County Treasurers August 2019
A PR Primer
Michigan Association
of County Treasurers
August 2019

2. So….what do you think it is?
Open Discussion

3. In a nutshell… PR & Communications = two-way; relationship-building
Marketing = sales support
Advertising = paid promotions
Marketing (or integrated) communications = hybrid

4. Why is it important? Tell your story Generate and maintain trust
Leverage small (or no) budget

5. PR as a Strategic Function
Contributes to goals and mission
Credibility & trust
Increased need & push for PR
But it’s different now
Research and evaluation key
It’s not spin

6. What does it look like? Media Relations Social Media Events
Community Relations
Digital Media
Crisis Communications

7. When do you use PR? Image building Crisis management
Internal or external communication
Politics/lobbying support (issue mgt.)

8. When don’t you use PR? When advertising is the obvious choice
For unethical purposes
Mistruths
Justifying unlawful activities
Shameless self-promotion
Without strategic intent
When you can’t walk the talk

9. So who’s doing it?
Open Discussion

10. PR: How do you do it? Research and plan Allocate budget Be realistic
Staffing?
Budget?
Audit current mix
Evaluate, evaluate, evaluate

11. Remember the Rule of Seven!7

12. Social Media: The Change Agent
“Social media is information content created by people using highly accessible and scalable publishing technologies.” (Wikipedia)
Shift in how people discover, read and share news, information and content
Fusion of sociology and technology

13. Social Media cont’d. Facebook Twitter LinkedIn YouTube Instagram
Understand how you will use it

14. Social Anthropology

15. Why Use It? Inexpensive tool Wider reach but also targetable
More diverse demographics
Viral
User-generated content
It’s here to stay

16. Perception = Reality The court of public opinion
First Amendment vs. good taste
Influencers:
Written word
Spoken word
Actions

17. Local credibility Can relate story to local community
You live and work there; more accountability

18. Review: When do you use PR?
Build relationships
Image building
Crisis management
Internal or external communication
Politics/lobbying support (issue mgt.)

19. Open Q&A