Read our latest expert contributor blog on Franchise Expo about PR planning:
PR winners are PR planners
In our last blog we looked at the fun process of thinking up some fresh PR ideas. This time we overview the planning process that can be used to implement some of those ideas.
Why plan?
You might have a PR problem to address or you may just want to gain some publicity for your brand but, either way, having a plan will always improve implementation.
6 things to consider
- What is your goal for each PR campaign?
- Who is your target audience?
- What do you want that audience to do as a result of the campaign?
- How do you intend to measure that result?
- What PR tactics will you use?
- Does it require a budget?
Set a timescale
You can have several PR activities planned to support one campaign. You may have several campaigns targeting distinctly different audiences running at the same time. This means that timing can be crucial. PR campaigns often include events and so working backwards from the event date to schedule important activities in the run up to the event is ideal.
What does the plan look like?
You can create your plan in a simple Word or Excel table. Have a column for each month and a row for each campaign. Assign the activities to a person – they don’t have to carry them out but they do have to make sure they are completed on time by someone.
Fit in with your target media
Look at the media where you want your brand to appear. Do they have planned features? Which of those could your brand be included in? Find out when they need content for those features and add that to your plan.
Monitor trends
Include a reminder on your plan to monitor industry developments. Great PR can come from hooking onto news. Remember to be quick and be relevant! You can also respond to journalists looking for help via social media – look at what’s being said on Twitter with #journorequest.
Be flexible – things come up so don’t be afraid to move things around on your plan!
Look out for our blog next time where we’ll consider how researching your audience can help to create really compelling PR campaigns. And in the meantime, you can follow us on Twitter @revpruk