By Scott Mills, APR

Jan. 7, 2010

CUES' Credit Union Management's online-only "PR Insight" column runs the first Thursday of every month.

All professionals are forced-at one time or another-to dedicate time and resources to a task that is urgent, but may not be terribly important to the overall success of their organization. The most successful individuals are those who find a way to ensure the majority of their activities that are in fact important to the organization's success, and this should extend into a credit union's approach to public relations as well. The real balancing act in prioritizing public relations is recognizing which initiatives and/or opportunities provide the greatest return on investment in terms of supporting the credit union's overall mission and business objectives.

For many credit union readers, PR may be a part-time function, so the need to prioritize activities is even more important. Here are a few habits that can help your credit union maximize the time and resources dedicated to supporting your PR program:

Habit No. 1: Focus first on PR activities that make a tangible difference in the success of the organization. A credit union's success is predicated on its ability to effectively provide its members with excellent service while continuing to grow its membership base. Whether through promotional public relations or targeted media relations, you should always consider how each activity will directly help your credit union achieve these directives. If it is not immediately clear how a PR initiative will do so, it may not be the best use of your limited PR resources.

Habit No. 2: Gain executive commitment for PR programs. If your credit union is actively pursuing media relations, reporter deadlines can come at all times of the day and typically within a compressed window of time: "May I speak to someone before 4 p.m. today?" I recommend you put a priority on media requests because if you turn people down enough, they will stop calling. Your success in this area depends on executives at the credit union having an appreciation of the upside potential of the interview taking place.

Habit No. 3: Survey key stakeholders at the credit union to develop a PR calendar. Don't have a detailed PR plan to follow? Consider interviewing the various departments and executives about key events and critical success factors. The mortgage department may be slammed because rates have dropped; member business lending needs local businesses to know they are an alternative to banks; and the president may want to promote the credit union's bilingual customer service initiatives. All of these are real-world examples and can drive the timing, if not level, of activity expected from your public relations program. By constructing your PR plan around stated strategic goals of your CU's departments, the activities within the plan are more likely to directly benefit the organization as a whole.

Habit No. 4: Have a seat at the proverbial table. I know this is often easier said than done, but the most successful organizations make a point to have public relations represented at executive-level meetings and discussions. Doing so is an efficient way to ensure the correct information is disseminated to the marketplace as all messaging (and authorized spokespeople) are vetted and approved beforehand. Too often, it is not until a crisis emerges that executive leadership recognize the importance of managing their corporate communications, and it is usually evident. The end result of not having PR at the executive table is that a bad situation grows even worse in the public view.

As the demands of managing marketing and communications continues to grow-especially with the exponential growth of new communications channels like blogs, Twitter and Facebook-the need for strategic planning and allocation of resources in supporting PR programs has become more important than ever. An effective public relations program remains one of the most cost-effective, impactful ways for credit unions to grow membership and strengthen member loyalty.

Scott Mills is president of Atlanta-based William Mills Agency, Atlanta, a public relations agency serving the financial services industry. Join him on LinkedIn and follow William Mills Agency on Twitter.

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