Book Sneak Peek: Strategic Communication Planning
I value the feedback I’m getting from readers of my book, Smart Talk: Public Relations Essentials All Pros Should Know. If you know me, I want to share everything I can about a topic. Sometimes all at once! In that spirit, some of the fan favorites from each chapter will be shared in this Sneak Peek blog series. Read on for a gem from each chapter.
In Chapter 4, “Planning Like A Pro,” I explain a four-step process to creating and implementing a strategic communications plan. Not every public relations or marketing professional builds plans, but all should consider it! I describe the first step of the method – research – as the honeymoon phase. Read this excerpt and find out why. For more important details, order your own copy on Amazon or purchase an autographed copy here.
I’ve developed PR or communication plans for years in different roles and have seen planning approached in many ways. Every different organization, every supervisor, and every individual professional seems to plan their way. The PRSA Research, Planning, Implementation, and Evaluation (RPIE) planning process is the four-step method I learned about early in my career, though my understanding of it was so-so. As I advanced in PR and created more plans, I dug deeper into the details. The RPIE method has a lot of benefits, so it’s my chosen method for planning.
It’s really important when you’re planning not to rush into naming all the tactics first. That’s what everyone seems to want to do—just list out the PR activities like sending out a press release, sending out email marketing, or creating Facebook ads. That’s the amateur way. Here’s what many smart pros do.
Step 1: Research
First, you should do formative research to analyze the PR situation at that moment in time. Determine the business problem (“opportunity” in corporate-speak), define the communication goals, and then tackle all the other plan elements that come after. When you begin with research, you’ll get an honest view of the situation and can be more certain about deciding what should go in your plan. Data doesn’t lie, and it’s a lot more objective than humans can be. Start with data collection.
The research step of the planning process is like the honeymoon phase. You’re raring to go and can easily find information at your fingertips. With today’s technology, there’s absolutely no reason not to do research. There are two major types you can use: primary and secondary research.
Primary research is research that you conduct yourself. Examples of primary research include in-depth stakeholder interviews, original online surveys, content analysis, and more. Heck, even crowdsourcing using a Facebook or Twitter poll is primary research! Conducting surveys with tools like Survey Monkey, Google Forms, or social media is easier than ever before. Anytime you have a question during planning, find a way to ask it. Listening is the top tool I recommend for doing strategic, inclusive PR. Stakeholders want to give you input and be heard. You can help them feel heard when you include them in your research. When they see you actually use one of their ideas, you’ve both got a solution and immediate buy-in!
There are many types of research. Here’s a rundown of types I’ve seen used in the real world by PR pros.
Primary Research Types:
Focus groups: Conducted with a trained facilitator. Can be costly in time or money.
Online surveys: Easily done via SurveyMonkey, Google Forms, and more.
Intercept interviews: Stopping people and asking them questions. Not always well received.
Mail survey: Used more by municipalities or elected officials.
Telephone surveys: Pricey and not as effective in current times.
In-depth interviews: A favorite of mine for PR planning. Best to do with important members of an organization—not just top leaders but key program or service leaders as well.
Observations, visits, field reports: Where pros experience the product, service, or program like a customer would. Document what issues you see, strengths to capitalize on, and the user experience. You’ll be able to share an outside perspective that can identify operation issues before they become PR issues.
Content or media analysis: Review and objectively evaluate content that exists about the organization. You could analyze existing media coverage, social media channels, or websites to evaluate how the organization describes itself and how it’s perceived to determine what needs to be updated.
Communications audit: Review current marketing and PR materials to determine which materials are missing or need to be written in AP style.
Secondary research is information you gather from other sources. Someone else did the digging, and you pull out the data diamonds. Sometimes, secondary research may be the only type of research you have the time and budget for. At my firm, we do a combination of primary and secondary research in an efficient, low-budget way. For example, we may conduct a PR planning session with key leaders, interview users of the organization, conduct online surveys, and do online news coverage research.
At a minimum, we always conduct online research. We typically conduct an audit where we analyze the information, messaging, and chatter we find online about an organization. We also review the client’s website and evaluate the user experience and the messaging. Is their content and essential information up to date? Is how they describe their program, services, mission, or values the same as it’s written and shared on social media?
A standard of secondary research is online searches—like good ole Google. We like to search Google News to see what news articles have mentioned their top leaders. Sometimes, what you find is not good. It’s best that you know what you’re dealing with!
You can analyze all this information to determine public sentiment, messaging inconsistencies, how journalists perceive the brand, and more. As part of your analysis, you can ask:
Where do we go from good to great?
What may need a major overhaul?
What may need to be addressed immediately?
Secondary Research Types:
Internet or social media research: Google News, Ask the Public, Our World in Data, etc.
Research databases: Lexis/Nexis, Pew Research Center, US Bureau of Labor Statistics, literature review, etc.
No matter the research type, the goal of all research is to systematically gather information that helps describe the current situation and determine where the organization needs to go next. Sometimes research helps us discover excellent ideas from across different parts of an organization or from its external stakeholders to incorporate in the plan. Other times, we discover the need to create a significant turning point and new messaging platform. For example, sometimes what we’ve discovered suggests the organization needs a rebrand to better tell the story of who they are today. That was the case for La Familia Cortez Restaurants…
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For more details, other PR pro’s opinions, important real-world key terms and hard-learned lessons, get your copy of Smart Talk: Public Relations Essentials All Pros Should Know. Audiobook now available!