Is all PR, good PR? Last year alone, the factors that impacted brand loyalty (i.e. a brand’s characteristics that keep you coming back for more) have shifted by 91%.
Most businesses want to have PR as part of their marketing mix. The problem is that a lot of companies aren’t sure when to activate the channel, and how to do this in such a way that it actually makes a difference in terms of hitting overall commercial and strategic goals.
What makes a good PR and strategic communications plan
What might make sense for one organisation, might not be right for yours. Some companies are looking to raise brand awareness or build reputation, whilst others are creating purpose-led campaigns or trying to generate leads. These objectives are similar but they’re certainly not the same, So, why should their strategies be the same?
The bottom line is that PR and strategic communications is all about having the right strategy, activated in the right way, at the right time, for the right audience.
Here are some building blocks to help you create the best PR and strategic communications campaign for your business:
1. Where are you now and where do you want to go?
PR can be exciting but it’s easy to jump straight into a campaign without properly taking into consideration your present situation, or clearly defining your objectives. So take a look around – where do you currently stand in the market? Who are you speaking to about your product or service?
From here, consider where you want to go and be sure to ask yourself, ‘why?’. Once you’ve cemented your start and end points, build your objectives out so that your results from the campaign reflect the goals you’ve set.
2. What will your campaign be?
Your next step is the fun part – deciding on your campaign. What is your activation going to look like? Consider your objectives and throw some ideas around. Importantly – if you’re looking to land PR coverage in news titles – think about ideas that are genuinely likely to get coverage (hint – ‘company did a thing’ isn’t generally interesting).
Be interesting and get creative!
3. What do you need?
There’s an old saying that still holds true today: ‘fail to prepare, prepare to fail’. It might seem a harsh notion but planning is paramount to success and prevents stress later down the line. Think about your time and resources carefully, include contingency – things can go wrong – and plan as much as you can from the very start.
A question we get asked regularly when helping people plan their campaigns is, ‘How big should my budget be?’. It’s a great question, but one that depends completely on what you want to achieve. You have to define your goals as early as possible in step one, but a strategy is only ever built once a budget has been allocated.
Want to learn more?
Check out our PR Account Manager, Katie Hurst, taking you through these top tips in our ‘That Changes the Price of Fish’ video series below.
Looking for additional support with your PR and strategic communication? Find out how we can help with a free, half-hour consultation session. Get in touch to discover more.
