A public relations plan is a powerful asset to ensure the overall success of your marketing strategy — but why and how is this the case? Let’s start off by taking a closer look at exactly what PR is and how it has evolved in recent years.
What PR Is — And Isn’t
The Public Relations Society of America defines public relations (PR) as “a strategic communication process that builds mutually beneficial relationships between organizations and [the public].” The main objectives of PR are to create awareness, build credibility, maintain relationships (e.g., with clients, vendors, industry partners), and influence the public’s attitude toward your brand, organization, and thought leaders.
PR is much more than sending out an occasional press release. It also includes tactics such as:
- Comprehensive communications planning
- Media training
- Earned editorial pitching
- Media relations
- Media monitoring
- Reputation management
- Crisis management
- Social media
- Event planning
- Copywriting
- … and more!
Bottom line, PR is one of the most effective ways to create or solidify your reputation as part of an effective marketing strategy. It works in tandem with your other marketing tactics to facilitate an integrated path to reaching your marketing goals.
What Is the Value of PR for Your Brand?
Trust and credibility: 65% of consumers trust earned media more than other kinds of marketing (Edelman Trust Barometer), so dedicating resources to earned placements such as articles, podcasts, and journals is well-worth the reputation boost.
Digital impact: Studies from the past decade reveal that PR is almost 90% more effective in impacting sales conversions than traditional advertising. In other words, earned media drives purchasing decisions more effectively than paid media.
SEO benefits: With more than 50% of web traffic originating from organic search, earned placements can be a major online visibility and domain authority driver.
Thought leadership: About 55% of decision-makers vet businesses based on an assessment of their thought leadership, according to a LinkedIn and Edelman study, and PR is an ideal way to present your experts on earned platforms that highlight their thought leadership.
Despite all of this, in our 2023 Marketing Trends survey, more than one-third (36%) of respondents said their companies did not develop an annual public relations/communications plan. While this is certainly discouraging, the good news for you is that you have a clear opportunity to stand out from others in your industry who may not have a PR plan to support their overall marketing strategy.
PR Has Changed. Have You Adapted Your Strategy?
PR is earned, which means it can’t be bought, but it is becoming even more difficult to earn news and stand out. Why? Two big reasons:
- Newsrooms have shrunk and they’re not going back to the way they were. Limited staff with limited resources are looking for highly newsworthy stories that are of clear interest to their audience. Long gone are the days of sending out a company event or staffing change press release and getting anything resembling significant traction.
- The dominance of digital platforms has caused a shift in how information is shared and consumed. SEO keywords, social media followers, and a clear marketing strategy working in tandem with your PR tactics are all now essential to getting your thought leadership in front of as many members of your target audience as possible. Earning coverage is one thing, but how are you telling the story of the earned coverage? How are you keeping the conversation going?
The punchline here is that it’s more important than ever to not only have a PR plan, but also to have a PR strategy to ensure your reputation-building thought leadership initiatives stand out.
5 Ways to Maximize Your PR Strategy
- Integrate PR with marketing. PR and marketing are a perfect match, and either alone is simply less strong without the other. Through integrated communications, PR can amplify your marketing campaigns, ensuring your message reaches a wider audience.
Think of your marketing strategy as the what, where, and how and your PR strategy as the who, why, and when. Together, they paint a complete picture of your brand and your thought leadership. They tell your story to the right audiences at just the right time and place, inspiring them to know, like, and trust you even more and journey further into your sales funnel. - Define success. PR can be measured back to your primary business and marketing campaign goals, but it’s important to understand what you are trying to accomplish. We typically recommend measuring both quality and quantity of earned editorial placements, but quality should always take priority. Some agencies will rack up your mentions in unrelated publications that don’t target your right-fit audience. That’s not how SCORR defines success. We work with you to define placement goals that tier up to your overarching marketing goals in a way that clearly supports your business’s reputation and growth.
- Think like a journalist (or your ideal reader). Every angle you share should be newsworthy, impactful, inspiring, and educational. In other words, your PR efforts should have the goal of meeting their needs, not yours.
How does your news or expertise impact or help them? How will it educate or inform your target audience? Avoid any and all promotional language or corporate jargon. Personalize your pitch with expert quotes and proof points. - Be ready to respond. If you want earned media, you need readily available expert sources on hand to respond to media requests. Decide ahead of time who from your team you want to feature, then ensure that they are ready and willing to offer a quote or an article summary to one of SCORR’s copywriters to fulfill quick-turn media needs. One of the best ways to ensure your experts’ basics (e.g., bio, headshot, newsworthy topics) are on hand and ready to go for media use is to feature them on SCORR’s expert database: FindHealthScienceExperts.com.
- Engage, engage, engage. Earned media is more than the occasional article in a trade publication. Many also now have podcasts where they interview experts live. Do you have an expert willing to be featured in this way? We will also help you look for and identify any opportunity to link back earned conversations to additional content on your website.
Trade show talks and other in-person events are another great way to both feature your thought leadership to the media and garner new opportunities and share existing earned media with new audiences. And don’t forget to take the simple but powerful step of liking, sharing, and commenting on any posts about your earned placements. This is how the conversation continues beyond publication.
What Is Successful PR?
In conclusion, remember that successful PR encompasses four essential qualities:
- It’s consistent. Seeding awareness of your brand and SMEs with the media takes consistent effort over time.
- It’s impactful. Ultimately, PR is about telling stories. Narratives that educate, inform, and inspire people at a personal level are what separate superb PR strategies from less effective ones.
- It’s newsworthy. Successful PR showcases timely thought leadership and innovation.
- It’s reputation-building. Successful PR tells the story of your expertise in a way that bolsters your reputation and invites your target audience to get to know you better.
Ready to create a strategic PR plan that empowers your marketing goals? We’re here to help.
About the Author
Haley Steinhardt