What is the story of your organisation? 

Every organisation has their own unique story. Within this; the raison d’etre, the good that is done on a daily basis, investments, employee engagement, partnerships and more. A public relations (PR) strategy is one of the best tools to share and develop that story. 

 

A PR strategy is vital for creating brand awareness and sharing engaging content that consumers actually want to read. 

 

Here are the basic elements of what to include when devising a PR strategy. 

 

What are your PR objectives? 

A PR strategy will help your organisation to set objectives and make a plan of action on how to achieve those objectives using the PR tools at your disposal. These will include; media exposure, social media engagement, events, content and marketing literature. If implemented well, a PR strategy will serve as a tool to help manage public perception of the brand. 

 

Why is it important? 

PR is used to drive website traffic, facilitate connections with target audiences, engage communities, and promote brands. 

 

Positive PR messages that are shared and publicised on a regular basis will help to improve credibility and build loyalty amongst target audiences and stakeholders. 

 

The overall strategy guides the approach to communicating the main message, which assists in maximising efforts and generating awareness. This influences the perception of an organisation, especially during a crisis, because brands with a good track record are more likely to be seen in a positive light, even when there is a setback. 

 

How to create a PR strategy 

 

Start with your purpose 

Every story that you tell should relate to your purpose which forms your brand values and personality. Why are you in business? What do you care about and why should others care about you? 

 

Set your objectives 

Launching a PR strategy without objectives can be tricky, especially for sales-driven businesses with financial goals. These goals can be quantitative or qualitative in nature, depending on how success is measured. 

 

Objectives should always be specific and measurable. I.e where you are now, and where you are heading? 

 

Who is your audience? 

With social media, it is likely your audience is already around you, whether business or consumer, so how do you attract their attention? This comes back to people enjoying learning about other people. Those they can identify with, similar wants and needs. Does this come across in your communications? 

 

By confirming what your audience looks like, PRs can target suitable media outlets and pitch your people and their interesting stories for others to relate. 

 

Telling your story 

Storytelling is by far the best PR tool. Sharing a story with your audience about how you’ve helped others and why you should matter to them, especially when this is endorsed by a third party, provides a very powerful message. 

 

If you’re not telling stories about your brand, how does anyone know about you? 

 

A good story will include the key messages that lead back to the brand’s purpose, in order to reinforce the reputation whilst focusing on the objectives of the PR strategy. 

 

Sharing these stories on your website and social media helps to build a news platform of your own, based around the key messages and purpose. In turn, this can capture visitors to the website and encourage multiple page views. 

 

Remember, case studies about the people you’ve worked with authenticate your actions and assertions. It’s not enough to say what you plan to do, real strength lies in what you have achieved and how your product or service has enhanced the lives of others, or benefitted a community. 

 

Media relations 

Today’s consumer no longer relies on traditional journalism and even journalists are fighting for attention amongst the noise. However journalists are powerful allies who require good content to fill their pages whether online or offline. Building relationships is the job of a good PR professional and therefore, a successful PR strategy still relies on the development of relationships between the PR pro and the media contact. This can make all the difference between reading a press release or simply deleting it. 

 

If you would like advice and support for your PR strategy, we’d love to hear from you. Please email info@divineclarkpr.co.uk.