public relations – Paynter Communications

Paynter Joins PRSA’s Prestigious College of Fellows

NEW YORK — The Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) has announced that Barbara Paynter, president of Paynter Communications, is among 11 new members elected into the national organization’s prestigious College of Fellows. The College is an honorary organization within PRSA comprised of more than 350 senior practitioners and educators, each of whom has left a significant footprint on the public relations profession.

The 2017 College of Fellows inductees will be welcomed officially on Saturday, Oct. 7, at a special ceremony and dinner in Boston.

“These 11 College of Fellows inductees are prime examples of the standard of excellence all practitioners are striving to achieve. They demonstrate strategic leadership that includes serving as sage counsel, mentors and role models for the entire profession,” said PRSA 2017 National Chair Jane Dvorak, APR, Fellow PRSA. “I congratulate them on their well-deserved honor and encourage them to continue challenging their peers to strive to be leaders at every level.”

Paynter has more than 30 years’ experience in public relations, and is a trusted advisor to clients in a variety of industries. She specializes in strategic communications, reputation management, crisis communications and issues management. She has helped clients communicate effectively during high-stake situations, including environmental incidents, sudden leadership changes, accusations of unethical and criminal behavior, labor disputes, medical malpractice, data breaches and product recalls.

Paynter currently serves on the Board of Directors of JumpStart, as the public representative on the Board of Directors of the Federal Bar Association-Northern District of Ohio Chapter, and on the Marketing Committee of the Beck Center for the Arts. She is a 2013 graduate of Leadership Cleveland. She has served as president of both the Cleveland and Akron Chapters of PRSA, and is a member of PRSA’s Counselors Academy.

Her work has been recognized with numerous awards, including two PRSA Silver Anvils, the industry’s highest honor, and a “Best of Show” Cleveland Rocks Award from the Cleveland Chapter of PRSA. A graduate of the University of Missouri, she began her career as a newspaper reporter.

Election to the College, which was created in 1989 as part of an initiative focused on the future of public relations, is considered the pinnacle of a professional’s career. Fellows are seen throughout PRSA and the profession serving in Chapter, District, Section and National leadership positions, mentoring students and professionals, and teaching and engaging in professional practice.

To qualify for admittance into the College of Fellows, the public relations practitioner or educator must have at least 20 years of experience, hold the Accredited in Public Relations (APR) credential, and have demonstrated exceptional capability and accomplishment in the practice or teaching of public relations. Fewer than 2 percent of PRSA members are accepted into the College of Fellows.

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About the Public Relations Society of America
PRSA is the nation’s largest professional organization serving the communications community. The organization’s mission is to make communications professionals smarter, better prepared and more connected through all stages of their career. PRSA achieves this by offering its members thought leadership and innovative lifelong learning opportunities to help them develop new skills, enhance their credibility and connect with a strong network of professionals. The organization sets the standards of professional excellence and ethical conduct for the public relations industry. PRSA collectively represents more than 30,000 members consisting of communications professionals, spanning every industry sector nationwide, and college and university students who encompass the Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA). Learn more about PRSA at www.prsa.org.

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Enhance your company’s reputation: Five tips to humanize social media content

“People who follow corporate social media accounts that present a human voice are more likely to have a positive view of the company,” according to a recent study conducted by researchers at VU University Amsterdam, The Netherlands, and published in the Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication. The study goes on to say a human voice translates into a better corporate reputation.

“People who follow corporate social media accounts that present a human voice are more likely to have a positive view of the company,” according to a recent study conducted by researchers at VU University Amsterdam, The Netherlands, and published in the Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication. The study goes on to say a human voice translates into a better corporate reputation.

As consumers, we know that to be true. Many of us have tried to interact with a company and encountered what felt like a robot spewing canned messages. This is not only frustrating but can actually cause a social media crisis. I recall reading a company’s Facebook page when the response to every complaint was exactly the same. They apparently had turned on “auto reply” and let it crank out automated messages which then went viral.

But change hats from consumer to PR professional and suddenly it’s not so easy. Especially when something bad happens, many companies hold a tight rein on their communications team, allowing them to only use “approved” messages. That leaves those in charge of social media with very little latitude in what they can and can’t say.

And watch out if the messages have gone through multiple layers of editing and approval! That often means “human vocabulary” has been translated into “business vocabulary” that means nothing outside the walls of corporate offices.

Here’s some advice on how speak like a “human” when you craft corporate messages for social media:

Don’t get comfortable with anonymity. Remember, anonymous comments are written by a person and, even if that person posts a nasty comment, never respond in kind. Take a deep breath, count to 100, get up and walk around – anything to calm down before you respond.
Be friendly but not condescending. Try to smile while you read it out loud. If you feel a frown coming on, rewrite it with a friendlier tone. But don’t try to be funny. Failed attempts at humor can be easily misinterpreted.
Use first or second person (I, you, we) and active voice. You wouldn’t tell your neighbor, “The flower bed was dug up by my dog.” Rather, you’d say, “My dog dug up the flower bed.” (And you’d probably add, “I’m sorry about your flowers.”)
Read it out loud. Is the tone conversational? For example, don’t say “utilize” when you mean “use” or “reside” instead of “live.” Contractions are fine on social platforms (I’m, you’re, can’t, won’t). Keep it simple.
Don’t be afraid to say, “I’m sorry” but make sure your apologies are genuine. Be careful not to blame others or even to imply blame. Don’t “hedge” with phrases like, “I’m sorry if you were offended” or “I’m sorry if you liked those flowers.” That implies the other person is at fault or perhaps too sensitive.

These same tips work for media interviews and presentations. Saying what you mean in clear, concise sentences can go a long way toward humanizing your company.

Six Steps to Building a Good Reputation

There’s a lot of chatter on talk shows and social media about reputation – mostly when something goes wrong. Most recently, the focus is on Patriots Coach Bill Belichick since news broke of deflated footballs in the AFC title game. This isn’t the first time for Belichick, and he can’t exactly draw from a reservoir of goodwill among fans of other teams.

Before those inevitable challenges occur in your organization, we recommend taking steps to build a solid reputation so that your employees, customers – and maybe even the public – will give you the benefit of the doubt when bad news breaks.

A company’s reputation is one of its greatest assets. Even though it may not show up on your balance sheet, you’ll definitely notice a shift in the bottom line if something happens to seriously damage your reputation – and the shift will not be in the right direction.

Your reputation is a reflection what other people say about you. Their perceptions can be greatly influenced by the small things – how people answer the phones at your call center, how visitors are greeted when they walk in the door, how clean your facilities are and what people say about you on Facebook, Twitter and Yelp.

In the simplest terms, a good reputation is built by doing the right thing. The “building blocks” of that foundation include:

A commitment to quality – quality products, quality service, quality people.
A commitment to innovation. Customers are inclined to trust companies that consistently introduce new products and adapt to the changing marketplace.
A commitment to safety – making sure your employees have the proper training and the proper equipment to do their jobs safely, and making sure your facilities are safe for visitors.
A commitment to sustainable practices – not just respecting the environment, although that’s important, but also choosing long-term viability over short-term profits.
A commitment to your community. It’s important to take your neighbors’ concerns seriously because, ultimately, companies operate with the consent of their communities.
A commitment to transparency within your organization so that, if employees see something wrong, they will speak up.

Good marketing and public relations are designed to build positive impressions and, by reaching enough people with strong marketing messages, you’ve taken the first step. But, because people make decisions based on trust, marketing and public relations aren’t enough if you don’t do the other things. Whether customers and visitors have a good experience will determine whether they return and recommend your company to family and friends, or whether they post negative comments online.

You can build up a reservoir of goodwill by doing the right thing, and that goodwill can be invaluable if something bad does happen.