What we’re looking for then is a trade. The PR team gives the press a story, and in turn the press gives them a mention. The success and size of any coverage will largely depend on how relevant and timely the story or angle is.
So, to be successful with a PR campaign we need to blend our selfish motives of awareness with genuine, usable content that the press can work with to fill their pages or airtime.
It can’t be any old content though – it has to be newsworthy.
What is news?
I must stress that you cannot simply rehash stories from a couple of months ago, or seek to bring an old subject out from your winter PR wardrobe. The press is only excited about NEWS. The clue is right there in front of you: news.
Many organisations say that they do not have any news to share; they don’t feel they make anything or really do anything visible so they just crack on with the job in hand.
Hold on a minute though guys and girls, are you sure you have nothing newsworthy to share?
New products
New people
New services
New locations
New divisions
New milestones
New opinions
New partnerships
New results
New analysis
New events
New donations
New expansion
New approaches to a problem
There are so many different news hooks – you just need to think objectively. Imagine yourself as a reporter visiting your offices: What’s changed since we spoke last month? What’s coming up that will have an impact on you or your customers/industry? Tell me about the effect this will have.
Why bother with PR? Why not just buy an advert?
Firstly we need to define advertising v. PR. They are not the same thing and comparing them is not comparing apples with apples. Sure, PR is often less expensive and thus very suited to start-ups or those with smaller budgets, but I like to see it like this:
Advertising makes you aware of a message. PR helps you to buy into the message.
It is the third party testimony that editorial provides which makes the advertising or wider marketing campaign surrounding it easier to digest. If you hear about a company in the press and the reports were positive, then you see an advert urging you to buy, I’d wager that you would be more likely to do so. Conversely, if you saw a glossy ad for a business but had heard negative things about it in the press, I’m far less confident that you would start reaching for your wallet.
That is why it is so important to integrate your PR campaign into your wider marketing efforts. The various forces as a whole is much more powerful than the fragmented efforts of their individual parts.
On being selfish – who needs to see your message?
I have lost count of the number of times that people have asked me how they can get their story onto the BBC or into the national papers. Undoubtedly it is essential for some but all too often it is bordering on irrelevant or downright ill-advised for others.
Before you even begin to think about what you are going to write and which media you intend to partner with, take a step back and work out who you need to tell:
Who needs to see your message?
Who needs to know that you have a new widget that is twice as strong as any other widget on the market?
Who needs to know that you are committed to responsible environmental practices?
In short, who are your customers?
Where are they?
What do they do?
What do they need to know?
Where do they find out their information, i.e. what do they read/listen to/watch?
How do your competitors get their message to them?
Today’s Task
Jot down some answers to these questions. This short exercise will help you to build the foundations of your PR Plan so do give it some proper thought and I’ll see you tomorrow.
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