About Public Relations / Action Plan

To develop a public relations campaign, follow these steps:

• Consider Your Image or Brand.
  
  First, decide what you want the public to think of your organization.
  • What words or thoughts should come to mind immediately when someone thinks of your agency?
    
  • What is your organization’s mission?
    
  • What do you most want people to know about your organization?
    
  • Your services?

The concepts associated with your organization are your brand. Everything that you do—all communications—should directly advance your brand.

• Determine Your Current Public Image.
  
  What do you think the public’s current perception is? To find the answer, conduct research. Ask people questions about the organization’s image, and about how comfortable they feel with the organization. Has your organization been in the news lately? If so, ask people how the news articles made them feel.
  
  Because public relations deals with relationships, people’s feelings are of utmost importance. The facts about your organization may have bearing on your public image. Instead, it is the public’s perception of those facts that controls how well your organization’s efforts will be received—and whether people will use your services.
  
  
• Develop a Plan to Communicate Your Brand.
  
  Once you know what your public image is, you can take the appropriate steps:
  • Reinforce That Image. If the public sees you as a positive force, congratulations! You are already on the right track, and your public relations plan should continue with the same types of activities you are already doing.
  • Change That Image. If you would like to change the way the public perceives you—to seem more fully staffed, more efficient, more welcoming to Hispanics, etc.—then you will need to carefully consider what actions you can take to effect that change.
    
    Objectively review both the results of your research and the actions your organization has taken that may have contributed to the current perception. Once you have identified the reason for the discrepancy between your organization’s actions and its image, you can set a new course.

• Choose Your Tactics.
  
  You can use many communications methods to generate good public relations, from newsletters and Web sites to media relations and special events.
  
  Consider these public relations tactics.
  
  
• Execute Your Campaign and Measure Results.
  
  After you execute your plan, as with any communications campaign, you should measure your results.
  You can use interviews, surveys, and focus groups to measure how your campaign changed people’s perceptions.