Public relations is an essential tool for growing your business. A strategic PR plan can help you reach target audiences and positively influence their opinion of your products, services, leadership and brand – all of which ultimately leads to greater market share.
The five key steps to developing a PR plan that will set you apart from your competition include:
- Understand your target audience – In order to determine which public relations messaging and tactics will be most successful, you must first know exactly who you’re trying to reach. From demographics and hobbies, to pain points and the channels your target audiences use to consume information, it’s vital to understand everything you can about them. Only then can you effectively design communications and PR tactics that will resonate.
- Conduct a SWOT analysis – When you clearly define your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats, you can design PR and marketing strategies to leverage or address them. It’s also useful, of course, to identify areas where your business excels and where it needs improvement. The right PR tactics can help transform unsatisfactory conditions into competitive advantages.
- Define your goals and objectives – These will guide your PR efforts and ensure they work to your greatest advantage. Goals might include increasing brand awareness, establishing your company as an industry thought leader or driving sales. Unlike goals, which are broad statements that describe the overall desired outcome of a PR campaign, objectives are specific, measurable targets that help to achieve the goals.
- For example, a PR goal for a new product might be to increase brand awareness, while an objective could be to secure coverage in at least 10 national publications within the first three months of its launch. Defining clear and measurable goals and objectives is crucial for developing an effective PR strategy and evaluating the results of the campaign.
- Develop a content strategy – Communications is the core of any public relations initiative, so engaging, compelling and informative content is essential. When it’s tailored specifically to your target audiences, it supports both your PR and business objectives. Content can take many forms, including press releases, blog posts, infographics, videos and more.
- Your PR plan should include strategies for the mediums most relevant to your audiences, as well as where and how they will be distributed among earned (media coverage), paid(sponsored/pay-to-play opportunities), shared (social) and owned (e.g., your website) media channels.
- Consider various PR tools – Media relations is usually part of any PR plan, but there are additional ways besides securing coverage by targeted media outlets to accomplish your goals. Be sure to consider other tools at your disposal, too, like special events, stunts, blogs, influencer relations, social media management, charity partnerships and more.
Perhaps the most important step when you’re planning a PR program is tapping experts like the seasoned pros at GYC Vegas, an award-winning Las Vegas PR agency and integrated marketing communications firm. They have decades of experience cultivating customized PR plans and executing them flawlessly to help clients achieve results that directly correspond to their business needs. Contact us today to learn how we can help put the power of PR to work for your brand.