Building a Results-Oriented Public Relations Program

Effectively executing a Public Relations (PR) strategy is important for companies of all sizes, particularly smaller companies. Compared to other things a firm can do to promote itself, PR is high in credibility and relatively low in cost. Demand Metric has published a methodology to help companies understand how to implement an effective PR process that gets the desired results.

A disclaimer: Public Relations in practice actually includes media relations, community relations, investor relations and other functions. This new Demand Metric methodology is titled, “Building a Results-Oriented Public Relations Program” but in fact its focus is on media relations. The reason is simple: the organizations that most need this methodology often don’t understand the distinction between PR and media relations. When the distinction is understood, what most of them really want is media coverage – hence our focus on media relations. We felt it was important to title this methodology in a way that allows the people who needed it most to find it easily.

With that disclaimer out of the way, here are the details on this new methodology:

• What it is: a simple, step-by-step, methodology to develop a public relations strategy and program that drives measurable results.
• Who it is for: Organizations that wish to implement a PR program for the first time or improve an existing, underperforming PR program. There are three distinct groups who will benefit from this methodology:
  1. Organizations that have no experience implementing a PR program
  2. Organizations that are doing PR but not getting the results they want
  3. Consultants who need to show clients what a PR program looks like
• How it helps: this methodology is a mechanism for transferring to the user the expertise of the professional, PR practitioners who helped create the methodology. Therefore, it saves time and also the potential for embarrassment. Inexperienced companies that try to execute a PR campaign or program can hurt their reputation with the media by doing it incorrectly and risk alienating members of the media.
• How to get it: this methodology is free, and Demand Metric encourages its download, use and sharing. It does reference a number of Demand Metric tools and templates that are available only to Demand Metric members.

Questions or comments about this methodology are encouraged! Share your thoughts in the comment area below or on the Demand Metric website, where you can also download Building a Results-Oriented Public Relations Program. Simply click on the Methodologies link found on the home page to get it, share it or leave a comment.