PR best practice: five golden rules

Added: (Thu Mar 18 2010)

Pressbox (Press Release) - 1. Identify what you stand for and how you’re positioned. If you’re not happy with what you find, change it, but never pretend to be something you’re not. Your positioning and messages must be rooted in truth.

2. Agree your key messages, brand values and positioning statements with the management team. Incorporate them in a corporate positioning document (CPD) – this document will become the foundation of your PR programme.

3. Review how all your current activities measure up to your CPD – this includes all communications and your business activities. It is essential that the impression people get of your organisation is both consistent across all touch points and with how you aim to be perceived.

4. Be different. Investigate less obvious routes and find creative ways of getting key messages in front of target audiences.

5. Plan. PR always includes a reactive element, but is both easier and more cost-effective if carried out in an organised fashion, according to a pre-determined strategy.

- Ends -

by Jane Herbert, managing director, Pilotmax