This week, Words etc is delighted to bring you these words of wisdom from PR professional Debbie Leven to help all businesses, whatever their size or sector, get valuable publicity themselves.
If you are thinking about doing PR for the first time, or seeking to make more of current activities, it can be difficult to decide where to concentrate efforts. It’s easy to just focus on press and media relations but that won’t necessarily get you the results you want. It’s much better to be more strategic.
A strategic approach to PR
PR is about communicating to, and with, the audiences that matter to you. Press and media relations is often important but it is not the only vehicle. Whether you are new to PR, or reviewing your PR plans, here are the three key elements that underpin PR success.
- Objectives – you must be clear about what you are setting out to do. This helps to keep you focused on the activity that matters. Be specific about what you want to do and why. Getting profile in the press and media should not be an objective in itself.
- Audiences – hone in on the people you want to engage with. Don’t forget that niche publications, the newsletters of membership bodies, events and speaker opportunities could all be very effective in reaching your key targets.
- Messages – define the key points, or information, you want to get across. You should have a maximum of three key messages, preferably fewer. It’s important too that these key messages will run through your other communication and be reflected across your business.
Once you have defined these three key elements you can then get creative about the activity that will help you achieve your objectives.
Debbie Leven is a PR Coach. She works with health and social care service providers to help them build, and protect, reputation. You can read more PR tips and advice via Debbie’s blog.
Visit this page again soon for more helpful grammar tips and punctuation advice from Melanie Silver, your dependable, award-winning copywriter!
