Although we see the 2.0 concept as somewhat outdated, the truth is that it is still used to refer to the online world. The truth is that today, when proposing a good marketing or Public Relations strategy, I think that it is best to try to implement it in a coordinated way from the on and offline point of view, since the public, and between they, the customer, are an omnichannel figure. And what is this omnichannel? Well, basically, that the same user is related to the company or brand through the different channels available (both online and offline), and that therefore, it is essential that there is coherence between all of them at a communicative level. That being said, we are going to see below the essential steps to raise a Public Relations campaign.
How to create a Public Relations 2.0 campaign?
1. Definition of objectives
Like any campaign, the first thing we have to set ourselves are firm objectives. To do this, it is best to analyze (SWOT Analysis) the current situation of the company to identify possible weaknesses, threats, strengths or opportunities. From there, we can establish what our biggest problem or challenge is, set out a main objective and some secondary objectives, and start with our PR strategy.
2. Definition of audiences
Public Relations, as its name suggests, focuses on the relationship established by a company or brand with the different audiences in its environment. Normally, in terms of marketing, we are tempted to focus exclusively on our main audience, customers. However, it is important to take into account other audiences, such as: the company’s own employees, their families or shareholders, suppliers, distributors, the press, communities of people who can influence the company in some way ( for example, environmental groups against a polluting industry), the Government (at all levels), etc. In this context, one speaks of Stakeholders which are basically the groups of people who are interested, concerned and have to do with the company in some way.
In the online environment, public relations actions generally focus on the influentialpeople who, due to their high visibility on social networks or with their blog, manage to move masses of people that we could consider as a target audience, affecting their consumption patterns.
In short, in this phase we will analyze the panorama carefully in order to Identify which audience we want to target. And once identified, we will analyze it in depth, creating a clear profile of it: tastes, hobbies, economic level, sex, age, customs, use of new technologies, means of reference, etc. Likewise, we will create our database of specific people whom we are going to invite to participate in the campaign.
3. Campaign idea
Now that we know what our objectives are and the audience we want to address, we will move on to creating the idea of the public relations campaign. Here, it will be important to unleash our creativity so as not to fall into too common actions that do not capture the attention of the audiences we want to impact. Sending a simple press release or holding a presentation event without a really striking concept and according to the concept we want to convey, are usually some of the biggest mistakes that are made, and that make the investment in this campaign not as profitable as the expected.
Take a good look at what the competition has done, if they have already carried out any action with that same audience and… try to beat them! Or at least, don’t copy them!
In this sense, it is really important to be careful with the campaigns with influencers. It is an audience that is increasingly in demand and stuck with proposals, which is why it is really important that from the first contact with one of them you propose something that captures their attention and interest. Otherwise, he will probably ignore the rest of the messages or proposals that you send him.
4. Campaign preparation
Now that you know what you are going to do, start preparing your campaign and all the information resources you will need for it: videos, promotional material, organization of an event, press releases or other resources. And once again, try to be as creative as possible in order to capture the attention of the public of the campaign. Create specific material based on the characteristics of the audience you are targeting. It makes no sense to send a physical press release (no digital copy) to a blogger, or ask them to talk about a product when you haven’t even given it a try.
5. Sending information
Once everything is prepared, it is time to send the information. Remember that the way of addressing each person in a Public Relations campaign must be totally personalized. Don’t even think about creating a typical message to send to a group of journalists or influencers. It is true that you can have an information base created for everyone the same, but it is important that each message is fully personalized so that they feel that they are part of a select group of people who have been chosen to participate in this proposal. You have to make them feel unique!
6. Monitoring
Before launching the Public Relations campaign, it will be important to establish the KPIs that we are going to measure. Thus, from the very launch we will begin monitoring the entire process and we will mark action milestones and results.
For example, if we send a communication to 20 bloggers proposing to test a product, we will keep track of who answers us, who doesn’t and who accepts or rejects the proposal.
7. Analysis of results
Finally, once we have finished the Public Relations campaign, we will carry out a final analysis of the results obtained. And we will compare the investment made with them to calculate the ROI. Also don’t forget Check whether the objectives set have been achieved.
Infographic: How to create a Public Relations 2.0 campaign?
If you want to expand your knowledge in this field, we recommend the ADC Public Relations 2.0 training in which Vilma Nuñez introduces us to the world of public relations in digital environments and invites us to discover how a company can achieve a lot of virality without making a large investment. . Celebrity deals, influencer deals, PR events and proposals, as well as their PR 2.0 ebook, case studies and templates are some of the many materials you’ll find in this Consultant Academy training.