Always Remember Your Strategy

This week, while preparing a public relations campaign for a new client, I learned the importance of always thinking strategically. It is easy, especially when you're working with a small team, to get caught up in the small details of your plan. I've learned that details are extremely important, but only if they accomplish your goals and further your PR campaign strategy.

During the plan writing process you must always think about what you're writing and ask yourself, 'how does this accomplish my goal?' If the detail that you're writing doesn't fit perfectly into the puzzle that is your strategic campaign then you have to get rid of it, or rethink your entire strategy.

I've learned that a campaign strategy is like a container, and your tactics are what you will use to fill your container, but you have to make sure that those tactics will fit inside.

The most important piece of the strategy puzzle is research. Without researching your client, the environment in which you'll be working and the audience that you'll be reaching out to, you can't have a sensible strategic campaign. Research is the backbone to your business goals, and you can't just make them up.

When you're up to your eyeballs in campaign details and it starts to feel overwhelming, just take a step back and think, 'does this fit into my strategy?' This simple advice has given me a tool to create an effective campaign that can actually get results. I hope it helps you as well!