99 Problems

***This is the first of the "Plan it or CAN IT!" series, where we will walk through the necessary steps to create a through PR plan for your client***
PR plans are CRUCIAL to anyone who wants to achieve long-term success with their project. It helps you clearly define your objectives, goals, and target audience so that you can come up with ideas that really target who and what you want to focus on. Planning is no easy feat- it involves serious thought and consideration of multiple factors, including what is going on in the world (which is why any good publicist should keep up with the news, whether it be international headlines or sports.)

The very first step is identifying your objectives. What do you want to tell the audience? What message are you trying to convey? Think about what makes your story special, and what people would want to know about what you are promoting. Think about what will entice journalists and media outlets when you pitch your story- what will draw them in? Once you've clarified your key message and ideas, it's time for phase two: SWOT and PEST.

A SWOT analysis is a planning method used to outline the:

*Strengths

*Weaknesses

*Opportunities

*Threats

facing your clients and their projects. The strengths are what puts your project over others and what advantages you have, while weaknesses are obviously what you are potentially missing and could put you at a disadvantage. The strengths and weaknesses are both internal, meaning they are in your client's control. 

The opportunities are ways that your project could grow and expand, whether it is branching out to a broader audience by a public event or making more profits. A threat is a factor that could harm your project and prohibit growth. These two are external and cannot really be controlled. They can, however, be anticipated so that you and your client can create a plan in advance to protect the image of the project and prevent a crisis!

Next, we have...

PEST! Which stands for...

*Political

*Economical

*Social

*Technological

factors that could affect your project. This is why keeping up with news daily is so important- you can't know how to approach the world if you do not know what is going on. Keeping yourself informed in these four core areas will give you a broad mind and help you see how to fit your project into whatever target audience you are aiming for.  

Extensive planning is SO NECESSARY to create a PR plan that is not only well-thought out, but realistic as well!

xxx