PR Strategy

Synopsis

Need a way to manage brand image and improve public perception? Our PR Strategy presentation provides a comprehensive suite of tools to craft the best approach that elevates any business's PR effort.

PR maturity index

To start, use the PR Maturity Index to plot your brand's strengths and weaknesses. This slide shows a customizable radio chart based on your scoring. In this example, the score is based on these common factors: Media awareness, brand positioning, internal support, expertise, process, and media relationships. You can edit these factors or add and delete more based on what matters the most to your organization. On the right, plot the scores and their average on a scale of 1 to 5. (Slide 22)

Questions and answers

What are some alternative strategies to the PR Maturity Index for managing brand image and improving public perception?

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Alternative strategies to the PR Maturity Index for managing brand image and improving public perception could include:

1. Social Media Engagement: Utilizing social media platforms to engage with the audience, respond to their queries, and share valuable content.

2. Influencer Marketing: Collaborating with influencers who can help promote the brand to their followers.

3. Content Marketing: Creating and sharing valuable content that resonates with the audience and positions the brand as a thought leader.

4. Community Involvement: Participating in community events or initiatives to show the brand's commitment to social responsibility.

5. Crisis Management: Having a plan in place to handle any potential PR crises that could negatively impact the brand's image.

How can the PR Maturity Index be used to predict future trends in a company's public relations strategy?

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The PR Maturity Index can be used to predict future trends in a company's public relations strategy by identifying the company's strengths and weaknesses in key areas such as media awareness, brand positioning, internal support, expertise, process, and media relationships. By plotting these scores on a scale of 1 to 5, companies can identify areas where they excel and areas that need improvement. This can guide future PR strategies by focusing on enhancing strengths and addressing weaknesses. It's important to note that the factors used in the PR Maturity Index should be relevant to the company's specific needs and goals.

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Brand message mapping

A brand voice scale weighs and balances the important aspects of your brand's tone. These adjectives determine how the public perceives the brand. On this brand scale slide, move the point of each aspect to the sweet spot for your brand. (Slide 3)

Alternatively, use a message mapping graph to contextualize your brand's message. This map assesses the messaging's resonance and effectiveness. And the bubble sizes represent the credibility of each message. (Slide 4)

PR content map

Nowadays, content is king. Even legacy brands need to have a robust content strategy to stay relevant and afloat. The PR content map is an easy way to see how to make content work for you and what different types of content achieve. (Slide 15)

Some activations are needed to increase initial brand awareness. Some drive sales, some appeal to rationality, while others appeal to emotion. For example, a celebrity endorsement is likely to appeal to consumer emotion and inspire purchase intent. Trend reports appeal to the more rational side, and are more effective at educating potential customers and creating brand awareness.

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Media channels

An effective PR strategy makes the most out of a three-pronged approach of media channels. The intersection of all three on the Venn diagram below would be the sweet spot to aim for. (Slide 11)

• Earned media refers to brand awareness generated through organic means, such as online reviews and social media mentions. In other words, good PR that is earned.
• Owned media includes channels that are managed by the brand. Such as company website and social-media profiles.
• Paid media refers to external marketing efforts paid for by the company. Such as  influencer marketing and online ads.

Then, use this slide to indicate the return on investment for each media channel. This helps to see which channels to double down on, and which ones to de-prioritize if they are consistently ineffective. (Slides 12-13)

Campaign timeline

Use a campaign timeline to align PR and marketing efforts before, during, and after the launch of a major campaign. PR and marketing units often work hand in hand. So it's helpful to have a blueprint that gets everyone on the same page and working toward the same goal. This current example is based on months. But if a campaign is more of-the-moment or urgent, you can customize the cadence to weeks, or even days. Add any key task deadlines or milestones to look out for throughout this timeline. (Slide 9)

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Sentiment analysis

Words and information now travel faster than ever. Even if there's no PR fire to put out, it's critical to constantly be on the lookout for changes in public sentiments. To measure how any intended or unintended PR efforts affect your company, use sentiment analysis.

Here, responses collected from the public not only tells the what, but also the why. Specifically, why consumers feel the way they do. From there, come up with tactics that answer how you can tackle these sentiment. (Slide 27)

Worst case scenario, if there is indeed a major PR crisis, monitor the public sentiment over time. If the crisis has been skillfully handled, the percentage of negative sentiment should go down over time. (Slide 29)