Like all good things in life, even this series must come to an end. The good news? Wacky Wednesday in the PR House will be coming at you with fresh topics next week (and every Wednesday after that). This week is a busy week and we are covering the last six elements of an effective PR plan. Strap on your boots and hang tight your PR plan is almost done!
Strategies (one step at a time!)
That’s right … wacky Wednesday always takes things one step at a time – that includes our strategies. When devising your strategies, you want to get a general sense of how you are going to meet your goals. The key part of this is to be general. When you are done with your strategies, you should be able to speak generally (it should be written down too!) about how you are going to meet your goals.
Tactics (use only hefty-duty snow boots!)
Back to Mt. Everest and we need only the highest quality, most hefty-duty snow boots we can find! I want the XYZ brand, with pink stripes. Size 9. Make sure it has long laces. I need just the right pair of boots if I’m going to climb Mt. Everest (see previous parts of the series, if the Mt. Everest game doesn’t sound familiar to you). In order to climb Mt. Everest, I need very specific snow boots, just like you need to have specific tactics to help ensure the success of your PR plan. When you are developing your tactics, it is imperative that you be specific. Your tactics are the things you will do to accomplish your goals. Make sure they make sense… you don’t want tactics that are way out in the left-field, while your goals are hanging out in the dug-out.
Calendar (before 2015)
Set a realistic time frame for yourself and your business to achieve the goals in your PR plan. They won’t happen overnight, but should take shape before we get to 2015!
Budget (there is no price too low, or too high)
This is when reality sets in – how much do you have to OR are willing to spend to achieve your goals? Be realistic. Don’t put an enormous figure on paper to make it look good when you only have $500 to spend (you can do a lot with even small amounts of money). Focus on what you can spend and then allocate it wisely.
Evaluation (if we don’t make it to the top, can we take a trip to Mexico, instead?)
Oh, Mt. Everest – making it to the top might not be the best evaluation method. Your evaluation is all about how you determine if you have been successful. If you don’t have a way to evaluate and measure your success, you won’t know if your efforts have paid off. For example, remember before we talked about your goal is to increase your website traffic … your evaluation for success could be to break down what % of an increase you consider to be a success. Consider creating a scale:
- 5-10% increase in traffic = improvement
- 11-25% increase in traffic = somewhat successful
- 26-39% increase in traffic = marginally successful
- 40% = successful (this was your goal)
- 40+% = extremely successful
You want to be able to evaluate your campaign, so you can truly determine your success.
Take Action (I’ll book the flights)
Now that you have a solid plan in place and all of your elements are clearly laid out and defined, it’s time to take action!! (This is the fun part). You’ve done all the planning, now it’s time to get out there and implement your plan and the tactics to accomplish it. Good luck as you set sail on your journey!
That’s a wrap on this series of Wacky Wednesday in the PR house … stay tuned for more!!
Wacky Wednesday in the PR House is a multi-part series that will be brought to you weekly (on Wednesday, of course). Over the past few weeks, we’ve developed your PR plan. Each week, Wack Wednesdays will feature advice and knowledge on how to make your PR, marketing, and advertising efforts better. Some of it will be part of a series, and others will be free-standing advice. you’ll just have to stay tuned and see what’s coming up next! There’s more to come! I promise… Until next time!