There are five behaviors that PR can impact, Lightspeed PR & Marketing CEO Ethan Rasiel tells Doug Simon.

Rasiel puts those five behaviors under the acronym PIPAT (Purchase, Invest, Partner, Apply and Tell others).

"When we talk about purchase," Rasiel says, "it's all about creating a sense of urgency." That sense of urgency can come from a new version of a product, a discount, or a social imperative like saving the environment.

To motivate investors, Rasiel advises that you put that sense on urgency on the back burner. "We don't want people to feel like they're being rushed into anything, because they want to feel that that's a long-term investment."

Getting people to partner with a company also requires an emphasis on long-term vision. Communicating about the leadership of the company is key here.

PR can also be the deciding factor in getting potential employees to apply for a job at a company. Rasiel says that an emphasis on social good can position a company as a good place work. "Come and join this company and you can feel good about yourself. If we can tell that story, you'll get a bunch of job applications."

Rasiel says that the last of the five behaviors. telling others, is often overlooked, but "even if the only behavior that you take is to tell somebody else, that's a huge win."

The importance of a company's personality is another topic that comes up for discussion. While the CEO plays a big part in establishing brand identity, Rasiel says that's not the whole story. "Obviously, there have been many companies that are defined by a founder, but eventually you want to start to get away from that and you want it to be sustainable beyond that person."

Nevertheless, Raslel stresses the value of making top leaders a central part of a company's communications. "We want to make sure that that person is present on social media, on the website conferences, all those channels."

He also talks about the need to break down "muscle memory," i.e., the established way of thinking and communicating. "The way you break it is by creating new muscle memory. We'll do mock interviews, but we will say, 'What are you talking about? I don't understand that.' And 'Sorry, can I have permission to interrupt?' And just cut them off until they learn the muscle memory and they can speak it in plain English."

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Interested in taking part? Contact Doug Simon at [email protected]

D S Simon Media helps clients get their stories on television through satellite media tours and by producing and distributing content to the media. The company also produces live social media events.