Public relations (PR)

To make the most of public relations (PR) in your business, you should develop a strategic plan. Your plan should include:

Aims and objectives

Consider what you want to gain from your public relations activities. Set measurable marketing objectives for your campaigns. For example, you may want to increase brand awareness in a specific demographic or secure one piece of media coverage each month.

Target audience

Identify who you want to reach with your PR messages. This could be potential investors, your local community, or current customers. Use your market strategy to define your target market.

Target media

Once you've defined your audience, consider how to reach them. Think about the news outlets, social media platforms, or websites they engage with. See identify your target media for public relations.

PR tactics

Decide which tactics will be most effective. Options include: press releases, opinion articles events, online PR, or corporate social responsibility (CSR). Consider what stories your business can share. Think of ways to increase your visibility in your community or industry.

Schedule 

Organise your PR activities by creating a timeline. This will help you meet media deadlines and stay on top of content themes all year.

Resources and budget 

Plan how much time and money you can dedicate to PR efforts and what return you expect. Consider whether hiring a PR agency is necessary to execute your tactics effectively.

Evaluation 

Determine how you will measure the success of your PR campaigns. Evaluating PR outcomes can be challenging but surveys and social listening tools can help. They provide insights to improve future strategies.