How to avoid making silly PR mistakes

Last week we listed ten blunders that can happen too easily in PR. Here is a simple checklist to help prevent you making a mistake in your PR job. Most of these are common sense, but it’s surprising how easy it is to make basic errors when you are pushed for time. Also, for those new to the industry, inexperience can lead to poor judgement. So before sending out that press release, make sure you have ticked off the basics.

Prepare. Make sure the press release you’re sending out is newsworthy and that it finds its way to the right media contact. How can you know? Research, research, research.

Check facts. Ensure that your story is factually accurate, and that you can confidently stand by the information and perspective you’re conveying. Blagging, bluff and bluster will be exposed by a journalist doing their job correctly and will undermine your credibility in the long run.

Co-ordinate diaries. If your company’s/organisation’s spokesperson is quoted in the press release, then make sure they’re available for interview when you circulate the press release. Having an AWOL spokesperson when a journalist comes calling won’t exactly help your cause.

Be timely. Be attuned to the prevailing mood of the media. For example, publicly backing plans for commissioning a new a royal yacht at a time when your government is preaching the need for austere state spending cuts and unemployment is rising is not an especially wise move, even if the project is supposed to be funded privately.

Be honest. In times of crisis get your story straight, and be honest and upfront from the start. Otherwise the story will race out of your control. Cruise line operators, take note.

Proofread. Read what you’ve written. Typos are not a deal-breaker, but writing the wrong client name or putting the odd decimal point in a quote can be a major blow. As Julia Ruane, director at agency ChiCho Marketing, confesses: “I once added the wrong email signature to an email I wrote in a hurry and they thought we’d closed down the company!”

Don’t press “reply all.” Make sure you know who you’re writing to. A “reply all” can be a nightmare waiting to happen if you’ve slagged someone off (sorry, apportioned blame elsewhere) only to find out that they are on the cc list, as well as your boss, the client, the client’s board of directors ...

Stay calm. Things can and will go wrong. This is part of PR. The trick is not to panic and deal with it. Anything and everything can be managed or damage-limited if you calm down and think it through.

Ask stupid questions. Never assume anything and don’t be afraid to show your ignorance. Most major muck ups have been because someone has been too scared to ask how to do something so they either get it wrong or don’t do it at all. You won’t get your head bitten off for asking a stupid question but you will do if you act stupidly!

Thanks to Tristan Garrick, PR manager of industry body the Direct Marketing Association for the first five tips and Julia Ruane, director at agency ChiCho Marketing for the last four.