So, you want to win at Public Relations. Well, rather, you want your agency to win at PR. Here’s a pathway to crushing it at content and storytelling delivery.

Step 1: What is Winning?

Why are you hiring a PR agency? Do you want press coverage? Do you want leads? Do you want deals? Do you want your beautiful face on “The TODAY Show?”

Before you start PR, create an objective based on what you want to accomplish. This will help you validate the success of your agency relationship, as well as create a baseline for how much creativity will be required to hunt for awesome stories and content.

Step 2: What is the Why You, Why Now?

Oftentimes, PR agencies come to so-called “strategy” calls and ask, “What’s new in your world?” or even worse, “How’s the weather where you are?” Barf. What they need to do is come to the table with a game plan, and, “We’ll get you great PR” doesn't count. It's great and all, but the question is how?

It starts with the why you, why now. Simple in theory, but difficult in practice.

Every single story and every single campaign should have a why you, why now message at the forefront. Opening a new business? Cool, but there are 500 other businesses in the community. Did you care when each of them opened? 

Opening a business because you got laid off and are dipping into your 401k to fund this dream of yours? Now, we're getting somewhere. Why? Because brands don’t sell brands, people do. 

The opening of a business is sometimes not a standalone story, but when you can add the component of struggle or victory, it makes your story more interesting.

The why now? That’s easy. You are opening a business.

Step 3: Organizing a Game Plan

Everything is PR. Public Relations is not just the media. It is really any touchpoint of communication you have with your audience. Social media, website, newsletter, drip campaigns, face-to-face communication, marketing, advertising — and the list goes on.

Step 4: Deploying Your Story

Now, if you were to audit how you deliver your story, how many of the touchpoints mentioned above tell that same story? Take that opening you had after investing your 401k story — is that on your website? 

Did you link to your website in a social post asking where you should open next? Did you send that awesome human interest news through your newsletter?

Did you add it to a drip campaign to people who you want to communicate with again? Did you print out the story from the newspaper and put it on the wall in your office? Did you buy an ad campaign on Facebook or LinkedIn? 

You see, when you can organize a distribution plan, you add value to the PR campaign.

Step 5: Measuring the PR Impact

Some PR campaigns will pay off for years. Some pay off in the moment. Some need a little more fuel to get in front of the right audience.

Let’s say, for instance, that the most perfect PR placement is airing on TV right this second. Let’s say the story gets a little bump because it is also advertised to you. You go to the website for that brand. Now, you are a ghost lead.

Ghost leads happen all day long. When was the last time you looked at your Google Analytics? Yes, we’ll hold while you find the password.

With Google Analytics, you can see lift (in that market); you can see referrals (if the placement is online); you can see conversions (woohoo, a lead).

No matter the campaign, try to figure out a way to measure its success — through consistency of placement, impact and gut instinct.