Controversial, hey?
Once again, I’m making statements that probably don’t make sense, considering I’m a PR Strategist & Reputation Manager. So, I’m going to drop a truth bomb 💣…. PR isn’t the answer. Well, it’s not the ENTIRE answer.
You see, PR on it’s own can make a massive impact on:
😍 Your reach
😍 Your credibility
😍 Your sales pipeline
😍 Your reputation
So imagine how much more powerfu it can be when PR is used in partnership with social media and marketing (digital or traditional). That’s when you start to feel the impact of an aligned communications strategy.
That’s when results are amplified
THE PURPOSE OF A COMMS STRATEGY
Your communications strategy should continuously keep your brand in the spotlight and in front of your target (and existing) customers. Your communications strategy should include EVERYTHING you do to communicate with, and engage with your ideal customers. To give you a brief overview, it should include:
✅ A PR plan that shows how you’re going to leverage media contacts and connections to disseminate information as far and fast as possible.
It will focus on which media outlets you’ll be targetting, the news hooks and ideas you’ll be pitching and when you need to act in alignment with the objectives of the business (this will differ depending on what’s driving the need for PR support. Eg. Thought leadership vs crisis comms)
✅ A marketing plan that outlines all online and offline marketing; a blog, newsletter, social media, advertising, podcasts and influencers
✅ A social media plan that delivers on all of the above that’s also relevant, consistent and engaging.
Your communications strategy needs to be shared with everyone internally to ensure that everyone is on board with the vision of the strategy and how it will be executed.
💣 TRUTH BOMB #2 💣
I’m going to say something else controversial… Marketing and PR departments don’t always get on. And to be totally honest, it tends to be the marketing team that hates the PR team. I have no idea why because each modality has it’s place within the communications mix, and both work really well together to drive the growth of the business forward.
The crazy thing is – both departments are working towards the same goal – I reckon there were some boundaries crossed along the way and like a jaded lover, the marketing team holds a grudge! 😜
⚙️ FEEDING THE ENGINE ⚙️
When it comes to your Communications Strategy, everything you do needs to feed into everything else.
Don’t waste your time on an amazing social media post if it doesn’t relate to your marketing strategy. And don’t focus solely on PR if you’re not going to do anything with the coverage once it’s published.
PR as a standalone strategy won’t deliver the results you want. You have to incorporate PR into Marketing and Social Media to make the biggest impact and get the most bang for your buck 🔥
However, if you incorporate your PR campaign into your communications strategy, then you can utilise the power of social media to keep the conversation going. Most journalists are using social media in the exact same way that you are, so it’s a great tool to interact and engage with their content. Even if you’re not actively pitching ideas to them, you can still stay front of mind on social media.
It’s also a great way of maintaining a relationship with them, so if you haven’t pitched to them for a while, you can still see what they’ve been up to and mention that in your next pitch.
WHAT DO I NEED & WHEN?
Where your business is at will depend on the level of support that you need, so, here are my recommendations:
🌰 If you’re just starting out, I’d suggest focussing on social media first, to build an audience of engaged potential customers. I’d then create a free download that you can offer on your website so that you can give that in exchange for someone’s email address. From here, you can start with email marketing and go from there.
When you’re ready to start exploring PR and how it can help your business, here’s how we can help
🌿 If you’ve been in business a while and you’ve already got your social media and marketing activities all sown up, then the next logical step to grow the business is to incorporate PR into the mix.
Whether you’re experienced at pitching to the press, need to learn, or have a team member you want to train, here’s how we can help
🌲If you’re scaling your business you may only need an injection of strategic support or future-focussed expertise. It may be that you want to switch things up and change your current PR Agency for a different one.
Whatever your needs may be, here’s how we can help
TO RECAP….
PR isn’t the entire answer.
A targeted communications strategy should be the ONLY answer when it comes to raising your profile, creating brand awareness. maintaining your reputation and keeping an audience of raving fans
If you’d like to discuss how PR can help the growth of your business, then you can schedule a Growth Audit call with our founder, Laura
