A report from Forbes said there are five must-haves for successful public relations. Three of them are below. Does your small negosyo have what it needs?

Write Well. All the tools in the world won’t help if nobody reads your tweets, posts, pitches or press releases. Josh Ochs, a social media guru in Los Angeles, says, “Great messaging is the key to everything on Facebook and twitter. The more time you spend perfecting your messaging in social media, the more you will make friends and make money.” He suggests creating all messaging in a tone that is “light, bright and polite.”

Network. Press the Flesh. Meet customers. Meet media. Meet friends. Check out your competition. No one exemplifies this better than Bob Gold, a public relations pro from Torrance, Calif. He speaks at or attends more than six major shows in his specialty, technology and cable TV, with appearances at the Consumer Electronics Show, Cable and Television Association for Marketing, the National Association of Broadcasters and more. At the Digital Hollywood event in May in Los Angeles, Gold created a super-panel of speakers including someone from Google, and lined up a prestigious moderator’s gig, increasing his profile in front of important business contacts.

Make Friends with Media. Always return calls, always help with reporters on deadline, even if you can’t be quoted, consider helping with background or “off-the-record” assistance. My clients who are quick and helpful in this manner always seem to get chosen for “Top 100 Attorneys” or “Best Business Schools” or earn feature stories in the future. Those that don’t help the media usually get left behind.