Are you making the most of your PR?

A large part of public relations is getting third parties to take your message and put it out into the world. The hard work comes in convincing those parties – whose job it is to curate the conversation in our industry- that your story is worth telling. That’s how you achieve third-party endorsement.

To make the most of your PR, you need to be clear about what you want to achieve

Your PR strategy can include everything from news pieces, blogs, awards, podcasts and round table discussions.

But those are just outputs.

Before you get excited, let’s take a step back. What is it you want to achieve? What’s the story you’re telling? And how will you know that your efforts were worth the investment? Put another way, what measurements are you looking for?

Once you know what success looks like, you can plan for it. The thing is, good PR takes time to prepare. There are images to find, clients and collaborators to coordinate, permissions to secure and words to agree on. Then there is the issue of timing. Getting your timings right is absolutely crucial, especially for things like press releases. The key part of the word “news” is the word “new”.  Late is not an option. If you miss the boat, there’s no going back.

Fail to prepare, prepare to fail

When it comes to news and PR, preparedness is the name of the game. Got a building topping out and want to get a press release out there? Get your press release written, liaise with your supply chain and contractors so you all get a mention in the release and make sure you’ve got some good images and a quote. That way, once the time comes, you’re ready to click send and there’s no last minute mad dash.

There may even be situations where you don’t publish your news. Only about half of the press releases and comments we prepare are actually issued. The project might not have received planning permission. Maybe we couldn’t secure a good enough image. Approvals didn’t come through in time. Or maybe something shifted in the market and your story is no longer appropriate. And that’s all fine – these things can and will happen. But having a press release in the bag and ready to go is a bit like having a can of mace in a bear infested wood. Better to have it and not need it than not have it and need it.

The news ‘so what’ test

As obvious as it sounds, before putting together a a press release, really ask yourself if your news passes the ‘so what’ test. Perhaps there’s something you’re really proud of that you want some recognition for. But you’ll only get that if other people will care or be interested. Sometimes, as great as a piece of news is, it just isn’t a strong enough draw to encourage news outlets to pick it up.

This can be difficult. We’re often attached to our ideas and think they’ll have the same importance for others as they have for us. But sadly this just isn’t the case in many circumstances. Heard of the saying, “kill your darlings”? This strongly applies here.

Be ruthless. Is it news? If there’s any doubt about the answer, it probably isn’t.

–

If you’re looking for a marketing agency to support you in your marketing goals, call Luma marketing today and we’ll help you get your message out to the right people at the right time.