You got in Wall Street Journal. You’re probably jumping up and down with joy that your company was covered in a major tier-one publication. But wait! Don’t get us wrong, that’s a HUGE win, but if it didn’t include core messaging, and it didn’t reach your target audience, how exactly is it benefiting your business?
It’s a common barrier we see in businesses of all types: silos between departments. Teams aren’t connected, and as a result, they’re all working to achieve separate goals. But when separate divisions – PR, Marketing, Sales and Business Development – align their strategies, the results are much more rewarding. Here are four tips to align your business objectives with your PR strategy.
Think about your business needs in the short AND long term.
Right now, you might be solely profit driven in your PR goals – “I need PR to help me generate sales.” But what about in five years? Will you be looking for equity and investors? Will you want to expand your service lines? What about in 10 years? Will you have an exit strategy? Evaluating these objectives and prioritizing them with your PR team will help them develop an outreach strategy with core areas of focus. Your PR team can use this info to get your name in front of a target audience of buyers, on investors’ radars and in the mind of the CEO who may acquire you one day.
Set goals and revisit them often.
If your business goals change, so should your PR strategy. Gone are the days where goals were measured annually – it’s a fast-paced world we live in. Measuring on a monthly or quarterly basis allows everyone to see where PR and business efforts are aligning and which areas could use more work. Figure out what worked well last time and what didn’t. Determine how you can shift your goals so your business objectives are being met.
Don’t hoard information.
If you’re working on a new product, tell your PR team. If you’re trying to reach a new audience of buyers, tell your PR team. If your marketing team is working to improve SEO, tell your PR team. If your recent media placement resulted in sales, DEFINITELY tell your PR team. This information is crucial to getting your business’s messaging in front of the right audience. Sharing platforms, like Google Analytics, can help everyone stay informed on the results of media placements, marketing content, social media posts and more, ensuring your strategy is appropriate (and allowing you to quickly shift when it isn’t.)
Ask questions.
If you don’t know the answer to something or the “why” behind your PR team’s action, just ask. Why were you targeting this publication? What angle can we take so this influencer covers us? How can I get more leads in the financial industry? Ask your PR team! Communication is absolutely crucial to making sure everyone is on the same page, working toward the same goals. Ask away.
Following these four tips is a great starting point for aligning your PR strategy to your company’s overall business objectives. Aligned strategy means aligned goals, and aligned goals means success. Break down department silos so your company can work together cohesively and achieve results!
Comments