What’s included in a communications plan?
To achieve your public relations goals and reach your customers, you need to develop a communications plan. This plan outlines:

Who you want to reach
What you want to achieve
What you will do
How you will measure your success

You can create a successful communications plan and build your public relations campaign in six steps:


Step 1: Determine your goals
Define and write down your goals. What will your public relations campaign be designed to achieve? 

Define your expertise?
Build goodwill with your customers, suppliers, or community?
Build and strengthen your professional company brand and image?
Generate positive awareness of your company and services?
Introduce a new service or product to your market?
Generate sales or leads?
Minimize the impact of negative information or a business crisis?
Once you know what your public relations goals are, you can build a communications plan around them.


Step 2: Set clear objectives
Clearly state the objectives for your campaign. Unlike qualitative goals, your objectives must be quantifiable. These objectives should align with your overall business, marketing, and sales goals.


When setting these objectives, use the SMART method. Your objectives should be:


Specific.  What is the ideal outcome you’re trying to create?
Measurable.  How will you measure the success of the campaign?
Achievable.  How can you achieve your objectives within your resource constraints, such as budget or staff hours?
Relevant.  Have you set objectives that are meaningful for the scope of your public relations campaign?
Time-bound. How long do you have to complete your goals and objectives?

Step 3: Define your target market
In marketing, everything is defined by your target market. By identifying the audience you’re trying to reach, what that audience is interested in, and where they can be found, you can create a blueprint for your entire campaign, including:


Who you want to communicate with
What key messages you will deliver?
What communication platforms you will use
How you will gain consumer attention and trust
What language, visuals, or themes you should use

When you know who makes up your target market, you can start planning where and when your public relations campaign will appear, as well as what the campaign’s content will say. It can be helpful to look at what public relations outreach your competitors have done, which will give you an idea of what media outlets to target, as well as what messages you should and shouldn’t deliver.


Step 4: Research opportunities
Begin researching and planning for opportunities for your communications campaign. What media outlets will you use to get your message to the public? Examples may include:


Press releases and articles
Appearing as a source in media stories
Customer success stories
Letters to the editor
Press conferences, interviews, or media tours
Appearances on radio, television, or podcasts
Webinars, conferences, or speaking engagements
Event sponsorships

As you start exploring opportunities, reach out to those you already have connections with in the media or explore opportunities to build relationships with the media such as networking events.


Step 5: Create a timeline
After you’ve connected with media outlets and know what opportunities are available, create a timeline for your public relations campaign that includes:


What outlets you will appear in
How you or your company will be featured?
Any follow-up action you need to take afterward
Social media or email schedule for announcing each appearance

As you create your timeline, consider what else will be going on with your other marketing and sales efforts during or after your campaign. For example, by coordinating public relations appearances with upcoming sales drives, you will create extra momentum for those who learn about your business to convert into customers. You can even create special landing pages, lead magnets, or discounts for those who learn about your business through your public relations campaign.


Step 6: Measure your progress
Finally, put in place measures to track the results of your public relations campaign. These measures may include:


Lead generation and conversion
Number of sales
Additional media requests
Changes in social sentiment
Pre-orders for a new product or service
Number of attendees at a webinar or event

After each stage of the campaign, sit down and review the results. Have you achieved the goals and objectives you set out for this campaign? Should you consider revising your initial plan? If so, how and why? To be successful, you must measure and track not only media appearances but also details about the campaign’s results.


When tracking the results of your communications campaign, you should also measure how it integrates with the rest of your marketing efforts. Public relations allows you to reach your target market without the expense of advertising, but it should not be the only tool in your marketing mix. By creating a comprehensive communications plan and integrating it with the rest of your marketing strategy, you will position your business in the best possible position to grow and thrive.