How to write a PR strategy

Back in the early days of my career, I had the pleasure of working with a small team of people on producing a book of historic walks around Waverley. At the tender age of 21, I was very proud to find my name included in the acknowledgements section of the final book and to be described as: ‘…the only organised person around here.’

Those organisational skills have served me well and probably explain why I enjoy PR planning so much.

Having a PR strategy and action plan for your business will bring structure and accountability to your promotional activity. If you are still not convinced, here are ten more reasons why I believe every business should have a PR strategy:

Ten reasons why you need a public relations strategy

To:

1. build relationships with the people who matter to your business

2. help your business achieve its goals

3. bring clarity to your PR activity

4. save time

5. save money

6. identify new opportunities

7. manage threats to the business

8. be one step ahead of your competitors

9. enhance your reputation so people want to work with you, volunteer for you or buy from you

10. be remembered!

Get started on creating a PR strategy with our step by step guide

Step one – Research

Identify the problem you wish to solve. Look at the environment within which you are operating and observe what your competitors are doing. Organise your findings into a SWOT analysis to identify the organisational Strengths and Weakness and external Opportunities and Threats.

Step two – Organisational objectives

Remind yourself of the organisational objectives so you can ensure your PR strategy complements the overall aim.

Step three – PR objectives

Set public relations objectives that are SMART – Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Resourced and Time Bound.

The number of objectives will be determined by the size of the problem you are seeking to resolve.

Step four – Target audience

By now, you will be clearer about who you should talk to. Segment your audience by age, where they live, whether they are economically active, how they prefer to receive information etc.

Step five – Key messages

Decide what message(s) you wish to communicate to your target audience.

Step six – Strategy

Agree the broad framework by which you will deliver your message to your target audience. For example: ‘Conduct a customer relations exercise’.

Stage 7 - Tactics

Put together a list of the actions you need to take to deliver your message to your target audience.

Step 8 – Evaluation and review

Regular monitoring is vital for checking that the campaign is on track and whether objectives are being met.