PR is a vital part of a marketing strategy for any brand that wants to grow as well as maintain its positive presence among existing customers. But, timing is everything. Before you kick off a PR program, make sure you’ve checked some important boxes!
- Set Goals: Make sure you are crystal clear on your business goals and how PR goals can help you achieve them. For one, PR is about brand awareness – not sales, not acquisition. Some examples of PR goals are to generate a specific number of media mentions or to build thought leadership in a specific industry.
- Define Your Audience: Make sure you have a defined audience. This is integral to building out a PR plan and determining how you’re going to reach them!
- Be Prepared: PR is at the top of the marketing funnel – the publicity will get you eyeballs, but you need to ensure that the rest of your marketing channels are prepared to convert interest. For example, a potential customer just saw your company on NBC’s The Today Show and heads to your website to buy. Is the process seamless? Do you have enough product to fulfill orders?
- Have Content: Do you have your unique story and key messaging down? Do you have images, videos, etc. that support your product or service? Do you have data to support your story or product? Your PR partner can and should help you refine stories and guide the content needs prior to starting media outreach.
- Know the Commitment: PR is an investment. Be ready to commit at least 6-12 months of time and budget for optimal results. Since PR is “earned media” (a.k.a. You aren’t paying journalists to get your story placed), there are no sure fire guarantees to an immediate story. It takes time and grit to get you into that The New York Times article or on a regional or national TV program!
Once you have all of the steps above complete, you are ready for PR.
This is a contributed blog post by Jamie LaDuca, co-founder of South Shore based boutique public relations agency 143 Communications. Jamie has nearly two decades of brand marketing and public relations experience in agency, start-up and corporate leadership roles.
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