Public relations strategy – how to create it

What is public relations strategy?

This kind of manual contains all the guidelines related to the internal and external communication of the company. Its development, in addition to analytical skills, requires extensive knowledge – not only theoretical background, but also the ability to use it in practice.

It is not without reason that a public relations strategy is also referred to as a PR action plan, because it allows to determine both the general direction of the undertaken projects and the detailed specification of their individual elements.

How to create a public relations strategy?

Creating a PR strategy is a long-term process consisting of individual stages. However, it is worth going through all of them conscientiously so that the subsequent phases of activities – the implementation part and the evaluation of the strategy, run smoothly.

The desire to choose an easier path and giving up the ‘difficult’ stages of the strategy will only result in negative consequences in the future (e.g. additional costs generated by ill-considered actions).

It is therefore better to invest the necessary amount of time at the beginning, so that later on you can enjoy only the benefits.

What does a PR strategy consist of?

A public relations strategy is made up of a set of fixed, mandatory elements. Some of them may seem off-putting at first glance, due to the need to devote a little more time to them or the relatively high costs involved.

However, it is not worth taking shortcuts. A solidly developed strategy is an investment from which the profits achieved in the long term will significantly exceed the costs incurred.

Analysis

The first element of a PR strategy is the initial analysis.

This stage most often includes a SWOT analysis (or an analysis of the initial situation) and an analysis of the environment. These activities allow for the identification of the company’s initial image and communication problems and planning of future activities appropriately for the target audience segments.

Often, a communication audit is also conducted as part of the initial analysis. Its main goal is to provide detailed information about the communication channels operating in the company – their effectiveness and adaptation to the expectations of recipients.

Goals

At this stage, you should focus on specifying the expectations that you would like to meet with the strategy.

Examples of goals include:

• Increasing brand recognition;
• Promoting a new product;
• Expanding the target audience to a new segment;
• Creating a new or strengthening the current brand image.

As you can see, PR goals may vary depending on the situation of a given company and the individual preferences of the entrepreneur. However, the vast majority of them ultimately come down to one thing – increasing the company’s profits.

Key messages, strategy and schedule of activities

Key messages are key phrases around which the entire action plan is built.

The strategy is an element that is a general outline of the plan for implementing actions undertaken to achieve the assumptions – it is important that it consistently and coherently refers to the established main messages.

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The schedule, in turn, serves to plan specific activities over time, and also helps maintain regularity and consistency of communication.

Budget

Another element that is an inseparable part of the PR strategy is the budget. Often, its size outlines the framework of possible actions to be taken.

At this stage, it is worth considering what amount of financial costs incurred will be acceptable to the company in relation to the planned actions.

Evaluation

The last element of the PR strategy is evaluation. It serves to measure the effectiveness of the actions carried out as part of the plan, their analysis and assessment.

In order to be able to reliably determine the effectiveness of the developed strategy and its actions, appropriate measures of goal achievement should be used. Depending on what goals you have set, you can measure the obtained results using quantitative or qualitative measurements.

The results obtained will allow you to verify the effectiveness of the strategy and allow you to determine the current situation of the company and the starting point for further development plans.

PR – is it worth it?

Public relations activities that are not well thought out and are conducted chaotically by a company may often fail to produce the expected results.

This effect may be caused by many factors, such as poorly defined target audiences, communication channels that are not adapted to them, or irregularity in the actions taken. Regardless of which of the factors decided on the failure of the undertaken PR activities, the effect may be a lasting discouragement from any activity in this field, caused by the incorrect classification of public relations as only costs, not investments.

Opracowanie strategii public relations jest więc rozwiązaniem, które wychodzi naprzeciw potrzebie usystematyzowania planowanych działań i skonfrontowania ich z postawionymi do osiągnięcia celami.