3 Essential Steps to Launching a PR Campaign
You are considering launching a public relations campaign.
You can probably imagine headlines, interview requests and background articles
now. Like many people who seek support in public relations, you know what you
want, you just need to discover how to get there. Everyone in the industry,
from leading public relations firms to independent professionals, exists
because they have the knowledge and skills to plan and execute the
campaign-driven work. Yes, it is easy for someone to write a press release or respond
to a journalist interview, but are you using these opportunities to expand your
underlying mission and vision and communicate directly with your audience?
Bringing external communications of unique tactics to a
coherent public relations campaign takes time and planning. If you are new to
the public relations game, launch a new product or service or introduce a new
brand in the market, you must have a plan. It is too easy to ignore the
critical stages, particularly at the beginning of a campaign, and blur its
message.
3 tips to launch a public relations campaign
Look to the future
Why are you starting a public relations campaign in the
first place? Where do you want to be in six months, 12 months, two years?
Ask yourself these questions at the beginning of your
campaign planning. First, you must set your goals to create a plan that takes
you there. If you want your product to be the leader in its category, write it
down on paper. If you want to be a leading commentator in your industry, say
so. If you want to increase revenue by 12 percent ... well, you already have
the idea.
The bottom line is that you can't build a successful
campaign without knowing where you want to be. Not only is it a great vision
exercise, but it helps determine what strategy and tactics to implement to
achieve your goal.
Know the market and create your voice
The world of public relations and marketing is more than a
good product, a solid company or an intelligent leader. An understanding of
your market and your key competitors is essential to map strengths, weaknesses,
opportunities and threats before launching a public relations campaign.
Many strategic planning sessions include a SWOT analysis and
there is a reason why. Before communicating externally with the media and the
public, you must have a clear understanding of your strengths, areas that need
improvement and threats to your general business model. This is essential for
its public relations positioning, which includes the development of a mission
statement, a value proposition, an elevator presentation, competition analysis,
the company's history, if applicable, and the voice of the brand .
Exercises of this nature create the basis for your public
relations campaign. From here, you can build, build your strategy and decide
which tools and tactics will be most effective in achieving your goals.
Know your audience
It is no secret that a successful public relations campaign
can help a business grow. But as the old saying goes, no man is an island, and
there are no successful public relations campaigns without an audience of fans,
supporters or loyalists.
While you are in the planning stages of your campaign,
identify your ideal client, investigate where they are going to get
information, which professional organizations they belong to and the best way
to reach them. This is the time to see everything from influential publications
such as The New York Times to hyperlocal websites, LinkedIn and Facebook
groups, and industrial and commercial publications.
By understanding who your audience is, what they care about,
where they are going to get important information and the best way to reach
them, you have the beginning of a successful campaign strategy.
Putting time and energy into the development of objectives,
positioning and target audience is the basis of any successful public relations
campaign. Take the time to really develop these three steps and then experience
compound yields.
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