Concepts: Public relations strategy
What is a strategy?
J.L. Thompson (1995) defines strategy as means for achieving the goals of an organisation. There is a general strategy for the whole organisation and a strategy for each specific activity.
Integrated communication
We cannot talk about the public relations strategy without focusing on the concept and importance of integrated communications. Consistent communication does not mean communication with a same message. The basic goal of the public relations is to develop an appropriate message and to announce it with a tone which will appropriately present the organisation in a way it wants to be presented, even when it faces some special situations and crises. Messages should also be creatively adapted so that they could be understood by various kinds of audience they aim at.
Strategic public relations
Image development is only one aspect of the strategic public relations.
A lot of organisations say, “let’s make something for the public relations” or “we could have some benefit from good public relations” without understanding that public relations are not something so simple to be done. Public relations are not an option, but they have to be a part of organisation’s philosophy. As it is stated in the official definition, it has to include planning and sustainable effect.
Real public relations do not happen of their own accord. Goals need to be set, so that it will be clear what is to be achieved with the public relations and to enable success evaluation. You have to define your “audience” in order to direct your messages properly. The messages need to be written down, as a check that everyone in the organisation knows what image is promoted and what people talk about. Put all this in a document and you already have the public relations strategy frame. Your strategy should contain:
1. Where you are at the moment
Start with a summary about where you are at the moment, what activities you implement in the part of public relations and what image you would like to have. This is your starting point.
2. Where you want to get
Next step is to determine the image you would like to achieve after a certain time. Ask, “What image would we like to have this time next year? And in five years? Plan short-term and long-term.
3. Objectives
Set not more than six objectives, for example:
- To improve our care for the clients
- To provide media coverage of our work and especially to attract positive and informative coverage of our projects for drug users
- To attract attention of those who make decisions
Your objectives should be realistic and your progress should be measurable.
4. Audiences
List all the audiences you cooperate with (your list will be longer than you think). Now group them in categories, e.g. decision-makers, other humanitarian and voluntary organisations, customers/clients etc. and rang them by their importance. Decide which of them (not more than five) should be your objective in the following 12 months and they should be your priority.
5. Messages
You might realise that you should send different messages to different audiences. Next to each audience you consider to be a priority, list the basic messages you have to convey the following year.
6. Schedule
Finally, when it is clear to you what you want to achieve, you can plan your public relations activities. Write down what you are planning to do and when you are planning to do it.
Set a date to consider the activity and evaluate its success.
Strategic public relations require great effort and planning. Real public relations will not make you rich overnight, but they will provide long-term survival and it should somehow pay in the future – your better profile might bring bigger taxes, more successful campaign or more skilled volunteers; your better services should bring more satisfied clients and increase the number of users, thus bigger funds.
You should understand the public relations as one of the elements of the organisation’s overall strategy. The time you will spend on public relations is an investment for your survival and development and therefore it is an integral part of your everyday work. Apart from the other activities, make sure you have time for public relations and get ready to reap, maybe not immediately, but surely on a long-term plan.
Prepared by Gonce Jakovlevska, based on "The DIY Guide for Public Relations," "Moi Ali and Public Relations Strategy," Sandra Oliver.
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