Editing in Public Relations

 Editing, be it in the field of journalism or public relations helps in making a great story. It involves reading for content and information. It is usually carried out by a person who has good knowledge of the subject or focus of the matter to be edited.

 In the course of editing a written work, the editor checks for veracity of content and information. The editor attempts to ascertain if the author of the written work is actually passing the appropriate information to his or her intended readers or audience. The editor also checks whether the writer of the press release is passing the information as he should.

For instance, in public relations the editor checks to see if the writer of a material meant for publication has put the information to fit the level of understanding of his publics - target audience.  This detail takes cognizance of the readers’ age group, education level and reasoning. The editor also checks the press release or article for publication to ensure  the writer has not infringed copyright laws or any other legal issues that some publics may find unwholesome.

Proofreading, which constitutes the final stage of editing, which is essential in creating a great story, is important to PR practitioners. This stage of the story making process focuses on surface errors such as misspellings and mistakes in grammar and punctuation. A trained PR practitioner should proofread only after he or she has finished other editing revisions.

When editing an early draft, the editor needs not bother on thinking about punctuation, grammar, and spelling. If the editor is worrying about the spelling of a word or the placement of a comma, then he is not focusing on the more important development and connection of ideas that make a press release clear and convincing to the readers.

WHY YOU NEED TO EMBRACE SOCIAL TECH

 By Dominic Nwelih
The purpose of this  is to give you knowledge and tools to help you move forward
in your career and to benefit the organization.

Integrating social tech into your day isn’t just about doing what’s popular or cool this quarter,
it’s about learning to use a powerful set of new tools and techniques that can change the game.

There seem to be three kinds of managers at this point in the social adoption curve: the
thought leaders, the dragged along, and the naysayers.

 Two of these aren’t helping themselves,
or anyone else for that matter. Somewhere between being a thought leader and being dragged
along is a place where a manager is quick to adopt new methods of doing things, but not on the
bleeding edge.

This is where most of you should be. If you feel you’re behind, you probably are.
If you feel you’re too old to learn new tricks, you probably are. If you feel you’re too busy to
invest any time in this field, you have your priorities out of whack. Or, you could choose to suck
it up and embrace social technologies for what they are— a powerful new set of tools.

PERSONAL USE

There are two critical ways to apply social tool skills. The first is in how you use the tools in
your daily routine, and the second is how you implement the tools with your team.

With
everything you’ve read to this point, it should be easy to see how each of the bullet points below
can be yours if you’re willing to invest the time.

This lists the direct benefits of leveraging social
tech on a personal level:

• A much-improved network of contacts. No matter what you do for a living, there’s value
in having a robust network of people you can reach out to when you need to get
something done.

 Social tools allow you to keep hundreds of contacts fresh, as opposed to
the past, when keeping even 30 or 40 up to date was a chore.

• A better river of information. You can build your own continuous learning process, and
done right, this translates into a high career IQ.

• An ability to become a recognized expert online. Social tools give you a new ability to
share your unique expertise online. You have the potential to invest a little time each
day, sharing the observations, ideas, and resources you discover so others can benefit.

This leads to an active and large list of people who want to follow what you say, and that
translates into being a recognized expert. In many ways, this can help your career.

• The improved ability to manage remote workers. There are unique dynamics for
managing remote workers well. Social tools give you the ability to communicate in
better ways than strictly over the phone or e-mail. They also facilitate collaboration and
improve communication among team members.

• The creation and nurturing of a stellar online reputation. With every day, it is more
commonplace for people to search online to learn about you. Most people would be
shocked if they could see in real time who and how many people search for information
on them.

This includes people you’d like to do business with, sell to, hire, or influence.
What they find online will have a huge impact on how they’ll relate to you going
forward.

• A reputation within your organization as a leader with skills and vision. When people
around you evaluate your performance as a manager, they take into account many things.

What Is Your Client’s Love Language?

In the course of nurturing a business relationship with a client, its imperative to understand how him/her expresses love. Once you understand this - you well, on your way - to building an enduring relationship the client.

Studies has shown there are five ways people express or receive love. Known as the five love languages.  They are: Quality Time, Acts Of Service, Physical Touch/Connection, Words Of Affirmation and Receiving Gifts.

Quality Time:
Clients who fall in this bracket crave undivided attention.
They love to know and feel that a person cares about them and takes them seriously as a client.
Accordingly, poor listening skills, distractions and  postponed appointments are huge turn off to this category of clients.

Acts of service:
Clients who speak this love language respond well to people who go the extra mile to make a client feel special. Such acts that strikes a chord with clients in this category, include: doing extra work, or responding to their demands over the weekend.

Words of Affirmation:
Clients who fall in this segment, love unsolicited compliments. Words like: " You are the best" "Wow, you were awesome" " You did really great" , resonate well with clients who speak this language.

Physical Touch/Connection:
These sort of  clients care mostly about the personal connection they have with you.

Receiving gifts:
Such clients should not be mistaken to be materialistic. What they really appreciate from you - as opposed to the gift - is the thoughtfulness, gesture and efforts put into purchasing such gifts. This, underscores the fact they are: important, loved and cared for.

While clients may speak all
five love languages - it's important to note every individual has a dominant love language.

By Dominic Nwelih

Published by Media Accent Nigeria