Persuasion: The Mandate of Public Relations

Managing the flow of information between an organization and its publics is essentially what public relations is about. Like many other specialized professions that have strategic bearing on the outcome of the business (we are talking about reputation here!), there are many other definitions of PR. But this one by Wikipedia seems to be my favorite, because it does capture the whole essence in a few simple words.
Though it does not explicitly state that PR is a process that has to be sustained, the reference to ‘managing’ has some strategic and long term implications, or so it seems.
There are a lot of tools that make for a successful Public Relations campaign, but at the end of the day, what PR people seek to do with these tools is influence target audiences towards a particular behaviour. As PR people, we try to persuade people to act in a particular way.
Persuasion
Persuasion aims to exact influence. According to Wikipedia, it is a process that involves, “guiding people and oneself toward the adoption of an idea, attitude, or action by rational and symbolic (though not always logical) means. It is a strategy of problem-solving relying on “appeals” rather than coercion.” This definition also goes on to quote the great Philosopher, Aristotle, who said that “Rhetoric is the art of discovering, in a particular case, the available means of persuasion.” This is eye opening. Public Relations is a direct descendant of philosophy.
Persuasion is applied to achieve one, two or three of these: Reinforce, alter or completely erode opinions, attitudes and beliefs towards a particular concept.
Opinions, Attitudes and Beliefs
On the surface, these three look quite familiar and in some cases, one who uses them interchangeably may run away with the brutal mistake. But they are very different; different as found in gradation of commitment to the subject.
Opinions are unstable and many times can be tossed to and fro. When messages are received and they are only good enough to form opinions in the minds of your target audiences, then there is a problem.
Attitudes are less fleeting. They are not exactly ideal, but playing within this threshold is better than the earlier situation. It is a safer option.
Beliefs are stable and they are difficult to change most times. This is the ideal location for messages. This form of loyalty does not just induce your targets to buy, but also the value added service of word-of-mouth, where they (targets) form profitable relationships between the brand and others.
Understanding How Beliefs Are Formed
Understanding how beliefs are formed is a very critical in re-believing or de-believing them. This is one of the challenges of persuasion. We sometimes go into it without recourse to where these beliefs we are trying to change or alter are coming from as if we have a right to the person’s loyalty.
It is interesting to note that in changing beliefs, we are actually getting the person to realize that he/she has a belief, that belief is not valid anymore, a new belief has to be formed, and that belief has to be the one we are putting forward. This is the basis of the motivational model of persuasion and some people call it Belief Engineering.
How Do We Persuade?
Social Psychologist, William McGuire, whose Inoculation Theory of persuasion and attitudinal change, was definined in its assessment of the concepts in the early 1960′s, proposed six steps for a complete process of persuasion. They are:
1. Presentation: Critical here are the message and the message channel. You have to be sure of the habits of your target audience or else the messages will be lost in the clutter.
2. Attention: This deals with the disposition of the target audience to your message. Is the person just looking but not listening in the case of TV news coverage, or is the person just intent on skimming through the headlines, in the case of a newspaper?
3. Comprehension: Can the target audience relate to the signifier/signified concept as you have presented it? Are you speaking geek to someone who is typically a lifestyle inclined person?
4. Acceptance: The point here is to avoid communicating unsuccessfully (where persuasion does not occur). When your message is accepted as valid, then you have not only communicated, but you have actually persuaded the person to accept your message.
5. Retention: This entails constant interface and interaction between the message (what a brand stands for) and the target audience. The more targets interact with your core messages, the more they have a reason to move with you. This is why Public Relations done on an ad-hoc basis always risks the possibility of not achieving its objectives.
6. Action: This is where we see the value of a compulsive message. Messages are put into action. This is the point where the message accepted leads to a change in behaviour – the desired behaviour.
All of these have to be done ethically and responsibly, without attempts to manipulate or be coercive.
A close look at these six steps shows us something really interesting. Immediately the message leaves the sender of the message at the first step, all other processes are out of his control. Everything is taken out of your direct control. All things being equal, in Public Relations, your control over the presentation is really limited. For this reason, a lot of work has to be put into stage 1 to make sure you do not just end being one of the participants in the groundswell of cacophony.
This takes us to perhaps the most important area of public relations, and, as I have seen in my short sojourn in the profession, an area that PR people probably haven’t given enough attention.
Messages: The Tools of Persuasion
This is where we have to draw the line between good publicity and good PR, which is choosing between just being heard and being heard in the context of what will enhance the cause we ‘intend’ to achieve. E-releases refer to this as Public Relations Strategy “on message”.
Trust me, a lot of the very lengthy messages we see today are totally unnecessary. I do no have a problem with lengthy engagements if necessary. But when it is done to have just column centimeters with no corresponding PR value, then there is a problem. While the pressure to ‘perform’ is always there, it should not take away our sense of value.
Core messages are tools through which companies communicate their differentiation in the market. The implication of this is that in the ideal case, no two companies (especially when they are in competition) are supposed to have the same core messages.
They are not just framed, but must be done with an understanding of their marketing implications. The first question to be asked is, what does the market see as valuable? Of course, you know you do not have all the answers to this and other questions you may have to ask. Ask the market (consumers, target audience, regulators, media etc). Generally, marketing communications scholars believe that core messages can be framed along the lines of products, services and market niche. Whichever route is taken is fine, but I would rather do something in a newer way than in a better or just another way.
Core messages are so cardinal that they have to be short and sharp, emphatic statements of facts. They should not be too many, preferably between 3 and 4. An expert once said that if they cannot be reduced to 3 bullet points, you ain’t got it yet and you need to go back to the drawing board.
The core messages should be felt in all communications materials and business collaterals, directly and indirectly. During media engagements, they cannot be overstated. They must always be rallying points for not just the guys in the C-suite, but along the organogram, all the way down to the Janitor.
Message Channel
Having done a fine job of creating highly impactful messages, you do not want to throw them down the drain by choosing inappropriate message channels. If the channel is inappropriate, you may not even stand the chance of people forming an opinion based on your message.
Public Relations has proven to be effective, but this effectiveness has come at a cost. We can’t just do the motions. We have to persuade ethically, with messages that can be bought.

Obinna Igwebuike is an Associate Analyst with The Quadrant Company, a Lagos based Communications Consultancy. He can be reached on obinna.igwebuike@quadrantcompany.com.