Steps to Success Start with Strategy

Far too often, organizations begin public relations, social media or publicity efforts without taking the proper amount of time or dedication to create a well executed strategy. If you don’t have one, how do you know that what you’re doing actually works?

It's not necessary to spend several months developing the perfect plan. However, take the time to develop measurable goals, think through what messages will have a lasting effect with your audience and what you want someone to do, and complete research to find which outlets will be most useful n helping you achieve your strategy's aim.

Creating reachable goals and researching what your audience wants are both effective starting points. Develop a network, and then use online and offline communication to engage the audience. Finally, I learned through a public relations course this past semester to measure the return on investment. For instance, this could be the percent of customers who read product reviews and used that information in making purchase decisions.

For a small or start-up organization that knows it needs to incorporate social media into its publicity plan but isn’t quite sure how, I would suggest thinking through those five steps before rushing through the task. Once you have successfully completed this, you’ll be the way to developing a smart approach to social media. Begin a public relations campaign by following these tips, and you're sure to have a successful start to the new year!

This guest blog was written by PRowl Public Relations staff member, Stephanie Loiero.