The Ultimate Guide to Creating an Effective PR Strategy

Brands need to ensure they have a positive image and reputation.

If they don’t, then this can have a huge impact on overall business success. For this reason, brands invest heavily in creating effective, relevant and ongoing public relations strategies.

Doing so will allow them to craft their brand story and deliver it to their audience in a way that favours their image.

A business can be affected by both positive and negative press at any time. With an effective PR strategy in place, you’re able to weather any storm which may come your way as well as shouting about successes and other exciting news. 

Now let’s look into how you can go about creating a public relations strategy for your brand.

What is a Public Relations Strategy? 

A public relations strategy refers to a collection of methods put in place to contribute to achieving a businesses PR goal. 

How to Create a Public Relations Strategy

To have success in public relations, you need a plan.

Having a plan allows you to follow a carefully considered framework that can help you achieve your end goal and view the progress made.

Here are steps to follow when creating a public relations strategy:

Research 

Before any sort of plan begins, you always need to conduct some diligent research. That can involve research into competitors and what the market is responding to.

Public relations research should include:

• Which media outlets are reporting on your industry.
• Analysing the competition and if they’re using new public relations techniques.
• Reviewing the current public relations tactics that are working (and which aren’t)
• Asking questions to your audience.
• Researching new and emerging trends within your industry and the media.

Outline Your Goals

Establishing goals for your public relations strategy is crucial. 

After all, if you don’t establish goals and objectives, how will you know if your strategy has been a success or not?

A strategy aims to achieve a particular end goal, so setting these goals, in the beginning, is vitally important.

In terms of public relations, there are usually three types of goals that brands will strive to achieve, these include:

• Reputation management goals – these deal with the perception of the brand and how its reputation is viewed by the public. 

• Relationship management goals – these highlight goals that are connected to how the brand connects with its internal partners e.g. stakeholders, employees etc.

• Task management goals – seen as more short-term goals that allow PR professionals to focus on completing tasks whilst carrying out the overall strategy.

Identify Target Audiences 

Who will your line of communication be aimed at?

PR is centred around communication, so you need to establish who this communication is going to be directed towards.

When you specify your audience, you can get inside their mind and tailor your message to resonate with them. 

Public relations is about building positive relationships that lead to positive engagement with your brand.

To do this, you must understand your audience. 

Determine Key Messages

When your audiences have been confirmed, you want to highlight the key messages that you want to convey. 

You’ll be aiming communication at your target media and target audience, so what do you want them to remember, know and learn about your brand?

Now that you know your audience inside out, you will know which key messages will resonate with them. 

Execute 

This is where you collect all of your data and research and start to formulate a plan to deliver your strategy successfully. 

A strategy can change throughout its lifespan, but by doing the groundwork mentioned above, you’ll have a solid foundation that will remain unchanged.

There are plenty of tools and tactics that you can use to ensure your PR strategy is a success, these include:

• Newsletters.
• Press releases.
• Media relations.
• Live events.
• Employee interactions.
• Corporate and consumer events.
• Press junkets.
• Influencer strategy.
• And much more.

PR Strategies That Work – GALA PR

A public relations strategy doesn’t have to be complicated, but it can involve a lot of work to deliver and execute successfully.

This is something we at GALA PR have experience doing, day in, day out. We have delivered innovative PR strategies for live entertainment events that have operated in the UK for way over a decade now. 

Working with the likes of MTV and The Rolling Stones, we understand what it takes to see PR strategies through successfully. 

The demand for live events is higher than ever before and we’re excited to help companies reach new audiences and grow their brand awareness.
If you run a live event and need a PR strategy tailored to your specific requirements then please contact us.