A Public Relations (PR) campaign is meant to create an impression of your brand and establish its reputation, which is possible if the campaign is well-planned and well-executed. Strategic public relations are not just about press releases or fundraisers. The process involves some carefully thought-out steps.
Here are some tips on planning strategic PR campaigns:
Set a Goal and Know Your Limitations
It is crucial to kick-start with an ambitious goal. Ask yourself what you plan to achieve through the PR campaign. Are you targeting a new audience, or do you need to boost a specific product’s sales? Do you want to create a lasting impression in the minds of the public?
Once you are clear with your larger-canvas goal, it is easier to zero in on the specific product you want to focus on to create better brand awareness. Consider your budget, set a deadline, and lay a roadmap for the campaign, and success is yours.
Targeting Your Audience
Before you create your PR campaign and its message, be sure who your target audience is and whether this campaign suits those customers’ persona. If yours is a family-oriented campaign, the message should be explicit about how much your brand cares for families. If it is the millennials you are targeting, the campaign should have a different approach.
Be as Creative as You Can
Your PR campaign is where you can show a lot of creativity. It would help if you were a great storyteller, which is part of strategic public relations. Your story should be capable of catching the interest of the public. What good is a story without a creative twist? Why would anyone give a second thought to your PR campaign unless they feel it oozes creativity? The trick lies in making someone want to learn more about your brand.
A Catchy Press Release
Unless you have a catchy headline, you can’t grab the attention of the public. Instead of saying “our new laptop is available at local computer stores,” add a news angle by stating, “local computer store takes on Apple iPad with its new laptop.” While a press release is a glorified advertisement, it becomes viral if it carries an interesting story.
Strategic Distribution
Your story has to be distributed through relevant media publications. It pays to research the media companies and see how your industry fares on their websites. All the media is interested in is a new story angle that helps the news become a rage. Going to the wrong publication media won’t serve your purpose.
Link Building Strategy
Once your story starts getting noticed in the media, you can’t afford to sit back. The traction can slow down or stop unless you take advantage and make it reflect in your website’s domain authority. It pays to check out Google News, which offers subscription packages that can be used as a PR strategy to simultaneously deliver press releases to various media channels.
Social Media Shares
Social Media shares are as crucial as link building; request all the media outlets that featured your news to share it on their social channels to reach a larger audience. Reaching out through Facebook, Twitter or Instagram is one of the best ways to reach your target audience.
Write Blog Posts
If your campaign has created some interest, you’ll see the response as visits to your website. It would help if you capitalized on any traffic coming to your website. One of the best ways to hold the existing traffic and create new traffic is through relevant blog posts. It doesn’t matter if the blog post carries the same info as the PR campaign; it will have a personal touch and kindle the interest.
PR campaigns are all about creating brand awareness and a lasting impression in the minds of your target audience. Media plays a crucial role in PR campaigns, and so does your story.
