Community Relations - Lecture notes 3 PDF

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Muturi lecture over community relations....

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Defining Community Relations o Function of PR that involves dealing w and communicating w the citizens and groups within an organization’s geographic operating area o Involves dealing w issues that affect community in their geographical area o Social Responsibility of agencies Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) o Situations where the firm goes beyond compliance and engages in “actions that appear to further some social good, beyond interests of the firm and that which is required by law” o It is about giving back to the community Community relations involves o Building and maintain good relations within the community o Solving community problems o Community as a key stakeholder in PR campaigns and activities o Partnerships and connections w communities o Face-to-face interaction between organizations and community publics Who are the community publics o Community media  Mass  Specialized media o Community leaders  Public officials, educators, religious leaders, professionals, executives, bankers, union leaders, ethnic/racial group leaders, neighborhood leaders, etc. o Community organizations  Civic, business, service, social, cultural, religious, youth, political, special interests groups o Develop a contact list for these organizations and ppl and rank them in order of importance Effective communication principles for community relations o Strong emphasis in targeting opinion leaders or community leaders o Group influence to individual members crucial target  Cultivate community groups and their leaders o Audience participation is highly significant  Participatory approach to engage community members  Two way communication and dialogue  Face to face communication is v important Research needed o Problem  Why is community relations needed  What opportunitie exist o Client research  Understand client  Organization’s role and reputation within community  Level of credibility of the organization

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 SWOT analysis o Audience research  Who are audiences and why  Segmentation of audiences  Contact lists rank ordered Research Methods – Data gathering o Informal  Interview w key community informants  Focus groups and community forms  Call-in TV or radio  Mail analysis  Online sources  Field reports o Formal  Secondary analysis and online databases  Content analysis  Surveys Objectives—SMART Objectives o Impact objectives  Informing the community audiences  Modifying their attitudes and behaviors o Output Objectives (Tactical objectives)  Efforts made by practitioner to enhance community relations  Drive coverage of events/activities o Examples of strategies  Partnerships w several agencies  Branding of agency  Financial support for community organizations  Sponsorships  Philanthropy  Cause-related support  Media relations  Community participation and engagement Tactics o Involvement of opinion leaders o Controlled and uncontrolled media o Advertising in local media o Special events within communities o Membership of management and personnel in a variety of organizations – civic, professional and/or religious o Meetings w community leaders...