More Than Just Skin Deep

“If I’m ever going to be taken seriously, I need to take a much deeper dive into policies and politics.”

This is what an old friend (and former colleague) said to me today when we were on the phone discussing her perspective on public affairs, and it really gave me pause. She went on to say that many times, things seem like good ideas but when you dig deeper, you discover how complex things really are… Sometimes people can’t do that digging, sometimes they won’t do it and it is easier to vilify something than understand its complexity.

But as a public affairs professional, you have a responsibility to be more informed about politics, about policy, and about where funding comes from.

She also brought up several other interesting things that she said which gave me some different perspectives on public affairs…

One of the biggest challenges is balancing stakeholder groups you need to work with and cooperate with.

Seems like that might be a no-brainer, but when Karen mentioned it I realized how difficult that could probably be. Every stakeholder group is not going to have the same needs or priorities, and it may not always be easy to build the cooperation you  need on an issue.

You need to balance public and vocal statements about issues with the times that you need to work quietly and behind the scenes.

It is easy to simply box public affairs with the word “public.” It is easy to interpret that as out in the open, and in many cases it is. But Karen brings up an important point when she mentions behind the scenes work as well. As a PA professional, you’ll need to develop a sense for which is the appropriate method.

It was great to have the chance to catch up with Karen, and also to get her insights on public affairs and what it entails. What I really took away from the conversation was that there is much more nuance involved in public affairs than one may assume when looking in from the outside. I think this information is invaluable for anyone who is considering this area of communications for their professional future.

Does social media help or hurt grassroots advocacy?

We had an interesting speaker in our Public Affairs class this week. Dr. Peter Anderson spoke to us briefly and then fielded some questions. I asked him about social media and grassroots advocacy.

Now, recently I think we’ve seen it in stellar form: the way it was used in the recent uprising and action in Egypt. But at the same time, there is just so much communication going on, I wondered if it could actually hurt grassroots advocacy because it makes it harder and harder to cut through all the noise.

Dr. Anderson seemed to agree that it was an issue. He pointed out that while social media allows information to be transmitted almost immediately, it also opens the door to the fact that rumors and misinformation can spread the same way. In nanoseconds, in fact. And all of this just adds to the noise we’re experiencing in our lives, making it harder to discern the most important – and accurate – information.

As a communicator, what does this mean to you? Well, for starters, I think it makes your job (and mine) harder. But it makes it so much more important that you clearly communicate the critical point of what you’re advocating for… that will cut down on misinterpretation. And make sure that your information is coming from the best sources possible. Don’t go the Fox News route and use the “people say” preface. Tell people WHO says it and make sure that “who” is someone with a high trust factor.

If you’re interested in grassroots advocacy, make sure you understand the mission of the organization you’re supporting. Make sure you know what they are trying to accomplish so that your efforts help that mission, and don’t undermine it by diluting the message and taking attention away from the real cause that’s being advocated for.

Social Media and Public Affairs: Friend or Foe?

As we’ve gone through some of the lectures in my Public Affairs class this semester, one theme has been emerging and that is the fact that public affairs and public relations are about images and perceptions. But we’ve also talked about influencing stakeholders. In fact, a recent paper that I just wrote for the class centers on the idea that messages intended to influence can be undermined depending on your choice of media outlet.

There is so much talk these days about social media: Twitter, Facebook, blogging, Digg, YouTube and so on. I started to wonder how effective some of these particular media outlets may or may not be. Then it just so happened that I stumbled upon (thanks, Google!) a blog post by Doug Pinkham is president of the Public Affairs Council (http://www.pac.org/). In his January 27, 2011 post titled “Is Anyone Listening,” he talks about some of these very things.

Based on a report released at the Public Affairs Council’s National Grassroots Conference (“Communicating with Congress: Perceptions of Citizen Advocacy on Capitol Hill”), Pinkham notes several interesting things:

• Only 41% of Hill staffers think that email and the Internet have increased public understanding of what goes on in Washington.
• The Internet has made lawmakers more accountable, but electronic communication “has reduced the quality of constituents’ messages.”
• More than 60% of staffers think Facebook is an important medium for understanding constituent views and nearly three-quarters consider it important for communicating their members’ views.
• YouTube is valued almost as much for congressional communication, but not as highly for understanding constituent views.

So, like any tool, social media and electronic communication can be used well and with influence, or wielded wildly and become scattershot and unfocused.

Take care when you’re choosing the media outlet for your message; it can make all of the difference.

Buying for a Good Cause

So, I’m taking a Public Affairs class as part of my Master’s program at Emerson. The thing I have found most surprising so far is how vague the area seems to be. While “public affairs” is typically associated with promoting legislation or has some other government connection, it is far broader in many ways and I have to confess having some trouble wrapping my whole head around the idea.

One of my assignments for the class is to do a social media project, where I’m planning on combining observations and comments on the state of public affairs through this blog, Twitter, and FaceBook. We’ll see how it goes.

But one thing I did today was Google public affairs and I did come across an interesting article on the Public Affairs Council Web site (www.pac.org). It referenced some research done by Cone LLC. The survey, which was done in 2010, indicates that many more consumers in America are “buying products or services linked with a cause or issue than they did 17 years ago.”

So, from a public affairs perspective, what does this mean? It could open the possibility for some advocacy causes to get additional attention  with stakeholders, particularly Moms and Millennials who, according to the survey, are the most likely to buy something that is associated with a cause. The viability of this course of action would certainly depend on what the cause is and how relevant it is to these particular demographic groups, but it merits some thought.

Interested in the survey? Check it out…