Going into a PR Campaign unprepared is like burning money. Moreover, in my experience, a lack of preparation fuels the myth that PR no longer works.
Well, it does work. However, it only works if you have a Plan! Yet too many people assume it is easy and that they can do it in a few days. They wait for their new shiny “thing” to launch and then send a worthless pitch or press release. They spam their media contacts and expect them to help.
Does a rushed approach like this work with anything? No. Yet, I meet far too many entrepreneurs who expect miracles. Rather than do it “right,” they want it done.
So they do it themselves and:
PR aligns the rest of your marketing, ensuring you reach more people with the right message.
So, do not rush the process and say PR no longer works. Instead, use this PR Checklist to make your next PR Campaign a success.
Now that you know that PR is still important, you need to have a checklist for it as well. Here are some of the most effective parts which you absolutely cannot ignore.
I do not understand how people can overlook this, but so many do! Launching a new PR campaign will drive a completely new audience to your website and social media profiles.
These become the first interactions they have with you and your brand. Therefore, it’s important to:
Even a moderate PR Campaign can drive tens of thousands of people to your site. It is essential to ask the following questions-
Most business owners don’t have an answer when I ask these questions. So before any new PR Campaign, do an audit and update everything.
If your PR campaign succeeds, you will be featured across lots of media and conduct many interviews.
This is great, but it is easy to lose focus on what you should be talking about. The last thing you want is to have a confusing, inconsistent, or diluted message. However, unless you have a clear set of “Talking Points,” you likely will not share the details you need to.
Likewise, you do not create a lot of your PR. Other journalists and bloggers write it, and they do not know your brand as you do. They do not know what to use and what not to.
So, make their life easier by creating a clear set of Brand Guidelines. A simple document is often enough, but it ensures both the media and YOU share a consistent message.
Can you do your entire PR by yourself? Yes. Should you do your own PR? The answer is usually no! Not only do you have other tasks to do, but also unless you have the right contacts and experience, PR can become a real-time-suck.
So, think hard about outsourcing your PR. However, please do not hand it over to the first agency you find!
Use this as a guide, and take the time to find and hire the right people. Rushing this process costs you a lot of time and money, and hurts your entire PR campaign.
I have come across this more times than I would like to admit to:
Then, the client complains that they do not have the time to respond and do the interviews. What the hell! Perfect :)It is important you prepare yourself for a successful PR Campaign. That is the goal, after all.
A good PR Agency can do a lot of the work for you, but some of the work always falls on you. If you don’t have time for media requests, find someone in your company or even in your PR firm who can act as a brand spokesperson for interviews.
In either scenario, you need to be prepared and have someone available when the media comes calling.
You would not launch a new product or service without any goals, would you? Of course, you would not. Well, treat your PR Campaign the same.
It’s important you set 3-5 goals that you can measure your campaign against. But it’s also important these goals are realistic (again, PR doesn’t produce miracles).
As you plan your PR Campaign, make a list of your main goals. Have them be as clear as possible, and make sure you, your team, and your PR Agency all work towards these. A campaign with goals is always more successful than one without them.
On the back of your goals, create an actual process that measures and tracks your results. It blows my mind how many people subjectively decide whether their campaign was a success or not. But when I asked them for the data, they had nothing.
As a business owner, you already know all this. So, use the same approach to a PR campaign as you would with any other.
Once your PR Campaign launches, the real fun begins. Because being featured in Forbes or Inc does not build success on its own. Appearing on a prestigious Podcast or TV Show will not solve all your problems. Those who get the most out of PR are those who leverage it.
You need to be involved in other aspects of marketing and keep the momentum going. Often, PR is what gets the ball rolling, but it’s those who attack it hard that see the greatest success.
Being successful at PR comes back to hiring the right PR Agency. A lot of them only care about creating a generic campaign for you, leave you to do everything else. This is a big red flag.
Only consider PR Agencies who see the bigger picture, and have a plan to leverage your newfound media profile.
PR is not as easy as creating a few press releases and spamming a list of journalists. You need to have a plan, and the best plans get executed by those who know what they’re doing.
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A self-proclaimed Swiftian, Instagram-holic, and blogger, Subhasree eats, breathes, and sleeps pop culture. When she is not imagining dates with Iron Man on Stark Tower (yes, she has the biggest crush on RDJ, which she won’t admit), she can be seen tweeting about the latest trends. Always the first one to break viral news, Subhasree is addicted to social media, and leaves out no opportunity of blogging about the same. She is our go-to source for the latest algorithm updates and our resident editor.
