How Do You Develop a Public Relations Strategy?

What exactly is a public relations strategy?  

PR strategy, according to Matias Rodsevich, founder and CEO of PRLab, is "the discipline of prioritizing decisions, personalizing actions, taking into account diverse target groups, and having clear goals that lead the process of a PR campaign in a systematic manner." The target audience, priorities, and strategic decisions are all taken into account during the early planning stage.  

What is the significance of public relations planning?  

A plan gives you a goal, keeps you on track to attain it, and assures you know how to achieve it. PR strategy is critical for determining where you want to take your campaign and what you want to achieve. In this section, we'll go over the most important aspects of establishing a good media relations plan, how they can help in many aspects of your campaign, and all the unknowns it prepares you for.  

1. Generate leads and sales  

Generating income is typically a focus of the marketing team. However, launching a PR campaign will inevitably contribute to increased interest in your brand. Ideally, a PR campaign will generate more publicity resulting in more sales or leads.  

2. Boost brand awareness  

This is one of the most important aspects of a PR strategy. Brand awareness emerges in any PR (positive or negative) as the public starts recognizing and learning about your brand, its values, and how the organization contributes to innovation within its industry.  

3. Cement trust in your brand  

Your strategy will dictate how your brand approaches public debates and discussions that are trending within your expertise industry. The more you speak up, leaning on your expertise and industry knowledge, the more likely it is to build credibility and authority within your industry. Thought leadership is an excellent example of this, as a name and a face get attached to your brand, making the brand more human. You will gain more trust among your target audience, who will start seeing the potential in your work and values.  

4. Attract investors  

Having a thought-out PR strategy will ensure that your brand gets the timing right to get the most attention paid to what you want to share. Whether it's a milestone, successful funding round, a breakthrough, an innovation, an idea, or just a story of your brand you want to share. The more attention and better timing you have, the more investors will be attracted to the idea of your brand. This increases your security for the future as you have secured the trust of people who see the potential of your product or service.  

5. Grab the attention of experts  

Industry experts will be watching your successes and mistakes. The strategy you use can work in your favor by ensuring that the experts become advocates, especially for those attracted to your business and those that resonate with your values, beliefs, and ideas. This, however, requires a PR strategy that provides you with the best timing and positioning.  

6. Crisis management  

A solid PR strategy foresees potential dangers to your image. Adverse events can always happen. It's wise to be prepared to tackle those situations, which is exactly what a PR strategy can help with. Preparing for such an eventuality and creating effective statements and messaging to combat this is an essential crisis management practice. PR strategies evaluate everything surrounding the crisis management process and help campaigns run smoother. Whilst it is not possible to eliminate the possibility of negative PR, it is possible to prepare for counter-action should it occur.  

7. Media relations  

Launching a PR campaign means engaging with journalists and media outlets. A PR strategy will help you establish the kind of content you'll be releasing and what media outlets will be best for spreading that content. This way, it is more appealing to the outlets that matter the most, and it increases your chances of forming a long-term relationship with that journalist that will benefit both of you for future campaigns.  

8. Measure your success  

You will need specific measurements and metrics in place throughout your campaign to know how well you're doing and to get an overall measure of the success of your campaign. Whether it's a return on investment, web traffic, customer base, engagement, mentions, etc., you need a clear method of evaluating your campaign and its impact on your business. Therefore, a PR strategy is necessary to establish this criterion and have a clear and concise overview of your campaign's main objectives and secondary goals and aims. Often it is important to use media monitoring tools to keep track of statistics relating to your online presence, activity, and web traffic from target audiences.  

Different media  

The media types generally depend on your methods to secure publicity for your brand and the content you promote. Generally, there are three types of media - owned, paid, and earned. It is essential to understand that each is vital to your brand's reputation and publicity and is also connected. One type of media can link back to another and vice versa. This makes the three media types equally crucial for your brand's image. The differences are generally in how you communicate with different stakeholders in getting media coverage. We will talk about how you prioritize the actual type of media now.  

1. Owned media  

Owned media refers to media content owned by the company. You can produce and publish stories on your platform. It is the most accessible type of media to manage since it's yours, and you have no responsibility to adapt to other requirements and styling formats. However, it is also the most delicate type of media. Your brand is reflected in how you produce and release your owned media content, and since you want your brand to be highly esteemed, with trust and expertise, you must be wary of your owned media. This is where new potential customers will evaluate your brand. This is why you need to keep your owned media updated and relevant. Examples of owned media include your website, blog posts, social media posts, and stories.  

2. Paid media  

Paid media is self-explanatory. It is every type of media content you have paid to secure your position there. Paid media includes pay-per-click, paid ads, sponsored posts, paid influencers, social media ads, etc. The thing about paid media is that, generally, it is a business transaction. It has nothing to do with the quality or type of your content. You pay, and you get featured. However, because it is paid to advertise, it is the most effective way to get to your audience and ensure they will see your content. And this is why you need to ensure your content is in its best possible shape and form because you want to attract as many people as possible. You won't have to do extra work to qualify for the publicity (you simply pay for it), but you'll have to go the extra mile to appeal to your target audience. Examples include Google ads or social media advertising.  

3. Earned media  

Earned media is about achieving your position under the spotlight in the public's eyes. It relates to all mentions, shares, word-of-mouth, reviews, recommendations, and more. It cements your ability to push out quality content, which is evident in the "earned" part. Because it is earned, it is by nature the hardest to secure, but because of that, it is also the most important one.  
High-quality content that has qualified for publicity for free has the highest potential of resulting in increased trust and loyalty of the target audience. Additionally, earned media contributes to the idea that your brand and thought leadership has knowledge and expertise in the industry you've engaged in. The most important thing to know, however, is that the three types of media are connected, and if you benefit from one, that one can take your target audience to a different kind of media, which you need to have at a top-notch state as well. Examples could be someone mentioning you on their Instagram or even a reshare of a post you've made.  

What are PR goals, and how to measure them?  

Your PR objectives will tell you whether your campaign succeeds and has the desired effect on the public and your brand's image. The most important aspect of a PR strategy is for these goals and objectives to be measurable. In other words, you need to be able to choose indicators that your campaign is successful, which can be quantified, put into numbers, and reported.  

The most important tactic used for decades falls under the acronym "SMART." The acronym stands for specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and timely, taking us to this section's second part.  

"Specific" focuses on the target audience and how to connect with them through specific outlets. "Measurable" refers to breaking down goals into subgoals that can be tracked. "Achievable" pertains to the realistic nature of the goals. "Relevant" aims to connect whatever your campaign is to the big picture. "Timely" refers to setting realistic timeframes for the release of your campaign in a way that catches the exact timing within your company, and the overall industry.  

Examples of successful strategies  

1. The king of content is a quality strategy  

There will be some new responsibilities for PR professionals in the future. In addition to maintaining media relationships and creating classic PR content, professionals will work with them to create original content. The added value of your content must be considered while doing this. Whenever there is a great story, journalists will use it. Find one for them.  

2. Influencer PR strategy  

There is no doubt that social media is a powerful marketing tool. Some of the most popular social media platforms are used by more than half of the world's population, according to Statista.  

PR using influencers is also on the rise. In addition to those with millions of followers, there is more to it. Micro-influencers can be powerful even in niche markets with smaller followings.  
Their main objective is engagement, and they excel at it. When it comes to social media ROI, quality beats quantity in some cases.  

No matter how annoying some may find them, influencers are everywhere, and they won't go anywhere anytime soon. They help build brand awareness because they are authentic and relatable.  

3. Social media strategies tailored to your needs  

More than posting your content on social media is required. It is more effective for PR professionals to craft messages based on the values of their target audience. To do so, you need to understand their needs and expectations. An impactful social strategy should integrate PR with social media, brand consultation, and digital marketing.  

4. Inclusivity strategy  

In today's world, do people expect brands to take a stand on public issues? According to Sprouts Social, consumers expect much more than a mere "no comment" regarding critical social topics.  

Be inclusive in your PR strategy for 2023, and forget stereotypes. Public relations campaigns must include different races, sexualities, genders, disabilities, belief structures, cultures, and ages.  

McKinsey published a study showing that companies that embrace diversity have a 19 percent revenue increase and a 35 percent performance advantage. It is best to avoid "woke-washing." Do not use social activism as an advertisement ploy.  

5. Make-it-personal strategy  

Human beings are all unique, but they share one intrinsic trait: they love to feel special. To craft a bullet-proof PR strategy for 2023, personalization is key. Every pitch, press release, and event should be personalized.  

Create content, campaigns, and communication on social media platforms that include that critical component. And choose your words wisely.  

Media relations are no different. Take the time to cut through the noise instead of sending generic email pitches.  

6. Cross-promotion strategy  

Gaining massive visibility and grabbing new audiences' attention is a surefire way to achieve success.  

Cross-promotion involves distributing content through multiple channels to a broader audience. Guest blogging and podcasting are popular ways to cross-promote.  

7. Data-driven strategy  

Brands benefit significantly from public relations. A PR team's success can still be measured, however. Those data are, once again, invaluable. In what way? Public relations is responsible for telling your brand's story. However, your media communication efforts should be backed up by data and analyzed. Seeing the data will help you develop new ideas for compelling stories. Optimization for search engines (SEO) is the key to achieving this.  

How to create a PR strategy  

1. Research everything  

And we mean everything. It is important here to lay down solid foundations for your collaboration.  

Researching the environment in which you want to create your PR strategy and campaign is the most important aspect of every endeavor. You need to research your target audience. Who is it that you want to impact with your campaign? You need to segment them according to customer profiles and the media they read. What are those people's behavior patterns, values, likes, and dislikes? These features will steer you in the direction you need to go in.  

Before pouring resources, you need to know what resources you need. Research your industry to understand how you will be positioning your campaign. It would help if you had a firm market overview, news, events, trends etc. Media outlets' research is necessary to filter out the ones that don't qualify and only keep the ones worth spending time and resources on pitching for.  

Research your competitors. This helps with positioning and can help you understand the gaps and the areas you can discuss.  

2. Objectives  

Goals and objectives can vary depending on the focus of your campaign. Whether it is to spread awareness, send a message, promote a new product or make an announcement. Make sure you create specific measurable, achievable, realistic, and time-based objectives. It is advisable to create more particular subgoals. You can keep track of these during your drive. Smaller goals put the micromanagement of your campaign into perspective.  

Objectives must be clear, concise, and appropriate to your current campaign. Everyone involved needs to know and be clear on the aim and how to achieve this. What will be the key messages you want to communicate?  

3. Integrate your content calendar  

The content calendar includes all elements needed to successfully pitch and gain coverage as part of your plan. It should break down your tasks for the project. It should inform your social channels and content mix. The calendar needs to be integrated into your strategy, providing key dates, where content will be published, and when. This will help you achieve consistency across projects and tasks. It can also be used to keep track of ideas, so you know what does and doesn't work. It can also help manage and keep everyone up to date and on the same page. Relevancy is key. It is vital to keep track of relevant news, for instance, by reading Twitter in the morning. You should have access to sources ready for inspiration. You should aim to get into a rhythm for doing this.  

4. Set clear milestones  

You have to set clear week-to-week milestones to help identify when activities are to be completed or when a campaign should be launched. Milestones are influential because they demonstrate planning. They help to act as a single point of reference to teams that may be multi-functional. The sequence of the milestones also helps teams to align on priorities. The milestones act as deadlines. Working through them helps teams understand resource dependencies.  

The good thing about milestones is that they are visual, so they can be articulated easily in a slide. If you removed the individual tasks from your planning document, the milestones would give you a high-level view of critical elements. This is useful for the PR agency and the client to understand the campaign workflow. Example milestones may include new content creation, planned company announcements, and publication of a white paper.  

5. Measure / Monitor Success  

It's essential to know what the KPIs look like and how to monitor success, and the tools needed must be identified in your strategy. When the campaign is rolling, you need to know how it's performing.  

You can adapt and change things about your business to bring the most value to your brand. It is advisable to use several media monitoring tools to note the differences in web traffic and overall numbers regarding target audiences and their interest in your brand. Using several is necessary for cross-comparison and insight.  

6. What to do after you receive media coverage?  

It is important to develop your relationship with the journalist who published your content. Send them a mail thanking them. Share the article on your social account. That is even better if your content was published in a well-known publication. Some reporters are judged on the number of times their content is shared.  

What can we expect of PR in 2023  

The PR landscape constantly evolves as people's preferences change and technologies advance. Artificial Intelligence will simplify the process of drafting press releases in public relations. Chatbots are expected to continue improving the user experience and enabling faster distribution of brand messages. In 2023, businesses will use more video and podcast content for PR. A podcast can be listened to on the go, and a video can deliver much information in a few minutes. To establish a personal connection with customers and a good brand reputation, influencer marketing will prevail. Social platforms are likely to address more of the issues consumers raise and give their users more power. As the Metaverse grows, expect even more organizations to join, opening up more opportunities and challenges for public relations companies in this unregulated world.  

When creating your PR strategy for 2023, keep these trends in mind. Your brand's reputation will remain in good hands if you leverage them.  

Conclusion  

Hopefully, you've understood that having a comprehensive PR strategy is essential for any PR campaign. There are many details to pay attention to and practices to keep in mind. These include the importance of research, the different kinds of media, the importance of clearly set goals, and measuring your goals to assess whether or not your tactics and strategy are working. Either way, a good PR agency can keep track of everything necessary for the successful launch and execution of your campaign - from the generation of goals and objectives to the report on how the content and its publicity have impacted those aims.