The purpose of PR should be to help companies reach their target audience – no matter how broad or nice that audience might be. And the best way of reaching those audiences is often via the media.
However, it’s believed that journalists get on average 300 emails everyday, most of which are from PRs and marketers seeking to better the reputation of the company they represent, hoping that the journalist can act as the intermediary between the company and its target audience.
So how do you get your email noticed, in a sea of hundreds? That’s where a great PR strategy comes in. In this blog post, we’ll cover the steps to developing a successful PR strategy – and where to start.
Find your organisation’s goal
To create an effective PR strategy, you must first determine your organisation’s goal and the audience you want to reach. For example, does your company want more people to be aware of the brand it is promoting? Is it looking for more people to follow its call to action, such as increased sales or following on social media? Or does it want more customers to sign up for its email marketing and newsletters?
Whatever your goal, the path to accomplishing them isn’t a one-size-fits-all process; you’ll need to use a variety of mediums to hit your targets. Press releases, social media posts, marketing emails, and outreach to various journalists or influencers that share your company’s beliefs are examples of PR techniques that can be used to achieve your organisation’s goal.
Develop your content strategy
Content is key when it comes to keeping potential audiences moving through your marketing funnel. One of the best known models used by marketers to help understand this process is AIDA:
Attention – The step where the consumer becomes aware of a brand or product, usually through their existing advertising or marketing
Interest – The step where the consumer becomes interested in the brand or product as they learn more about its benefits and how it fits with their lifestyle
Desire – The step where the consumer develops a positive feeling towards the brand
Action – The step where the consumer makes a purchasing decision and eventually makes their purchase
Your content should be developed with these steps in mind – it should first help people become aware of what you do, then keep them interested, help them develop a positive outlook, and finally result in a purchase (or whatever your desired action is).
Consider the kind of content that might make a person follow the steps through this funnel. Is your CEO an inspirational thought-leader? Are there trends in your industry that you can get on board with to attract attention – can you even start a trend yourself?
According to Truelist, 88% of PR specialists have stated that digital storytelling is the future so don’t be afraid to have your brand become a storyteller of its own product, journey, and success. And if you’re focusing on digital content, don’t forget to include SEO in your plan.
Measure your success
Part of your strategy should include the ways you intend to measure your success, and this looks different for everyone. If your goal is to be mentioned in as many publications as possible then you would measure your success by setting a target for a minimum number of features. If it’s to appear on the first page of Google then you would measure your success by whether or not that’s achieved. If it’s to increase sales, what percentage increase do you want to see? If it’s to grow your social following, how many followers do you want?
Measuring success in this way holds you accountable to work hard on bringing your PR strategy to life. And it also helps you interpret the data – where you succeeded and where you didn’t do as well – so you know what to aim for in your next campaign.
These metrics aren’t a rod to beat yourself with, but rather a way to understand what works for your brand, what needs improvement, and what might not be a good match for you. So for example, if you had success in local media but didn’t gain traction on social media, then next time you can target local titles more heavily while putting less focus on social.
Want to find out more about developing a killer PR strategy that’s bespoke to your brand? Let OggaDoon’s experts do the work. Contact [email protected] today to find out more.
Cowritten by Malachi Grant and Ella White.
OggaDoon specialises in guerrilla communications and marketing to gain you reach.
