Successful management of your public relations team requires a detailed understanding of how these firms operate and what they need from you to be successful. The goal of public relations is to create and enhance an organization’s reputation, to deliver its key messages through media coverage. Done correctly this enhances the brand, helps create lead flow and ultimately impacts revenue in a positive way. How do you present and deliver what the company has to say, to the right target audience, in volume, so as to achieve this goal? How do you get your voice heard above the fray?
First, we all need to understand that public relations is a professional services business like any other. They are selling a blend of hourly services, and intended results, over the course of a contract. Measurement of results and key performance indicators (KPI) usually are measured monthly, quarterly and annually with a dashboard showing the status of different programs. Most of the team members of your PR firm service multiple accounts, and hence work quite hard just to get through a typical week.
In order to get your PR team operating efficiently, you need to help them understand your goals. What is your target market? Who are the buyers, influencers, and recommenders? What is the ecosystem in which your market exists? Who are all the stakeholders that can positively or negatively impact this process? Those are the people you need to reach with your campaign to build your brand, reputation and make it visible in a positive way.
Traditional publications have been in trouble for quite a few years now and the notion of getting a cover article on the cover of a leading print publication, while certainly desirable, has become less achievable. Now you are seeking coverage with a mix of publications, both print and online, and many that will be online only. Some appear more like blogs and don’t have the traditional branding you would expect for a leading publication.
In order to generate coverage good PR teams need from you:
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An understanding of your company to include your product plan and other key announcements for the next twelve months, your corporate messages, corporate descriptors, value proposition, target market, buyer and influencer profiles and overall positioning;
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A continual flow of content on your company, your customers and partners;
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An understanding of changes happening in your market with customers, partners, competition and regulatory forces;
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An understanding of your competition;
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Your sales and marketing collateral and other resources that might help; and,
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Fast access on a priority basis to your executive team and other key spokespeople – this is essential.
In order for you to support and manage your PR team you need from them:
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Commitments for the delivery of positive coverage – their goals for your account on a weekly, monthly and annual basis;
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A dashboard that allows all parties to view and measure the key performance indicators (KPI) that reflect this performance;
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A calendar for the current quarter that shows the campaigns they will use to generate coverage; and,
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An understanding of the tactics they will use to include press releases and press advisories (product announcements, partnership announcements, funding announcements, customer announcements), editorial calendar support, submitted articles, speaker’s bureaus, analyst tours, balance to competitor’s stories, TrendJacking, and more.
