Starting at the beginning is always important. Too often people skip ahead to the fun ‘doing’ stage and miss out the all-important ‘planning’ stage. So, where is the PR starting point exactly? The media plan, the creative, the press release, the social posts? Too often businesses leap ahead with execution without giving proper thought to the objectives, strategy, and tactical parts of the process. A process, which by the way should be inherent in all parts of a business, not just marketing. It’s too often sidestepped for rapid results, which are arguably less valuable if you don’t have objectives to benchmark them against.
In my view, messaging is an important first step to take alongside creating a PR strategy. So, the million-dollar question is: do you know the key messages for your business? Think about it for a moment… What’s your 30 second elevator pitch? Do you have three or four examples of success to share on the tip of your tongue with statistics and proof points? What’s your unique selling point? Why should someone pay good money to your business? What’s in it for them?
Good messaging can answer all of these questions and more, but it needs proper time invested, consideration, and discussion. It doesn’t have to be set in stone – but if you don’t know why someone should pay for your product or services then – well, why would they?
Great business messaging can be used widely across your business from your website, social media accounts and news announcements, to internal communications, newsletters, client updates, new business pitches and much more. But first, you need to get it right…
There are five key considerations for your messaging, which include:
1. Why your business?
This is your reason why a potential customer should choose your business over and above competitors. You need to be able to answer this question - succinctly, simply and using zero jargon. No acronyms here please!
Assume the audience knows nothing about you or your business. For this exercise, they’re an alien race from Planet Vulcan or have been trapped on a desert island for the last 30 years. So, keep it easy to understand using as few syllables as possible. If a 12-year-old child can’t understand it, your messaging isn’t clear enough.
The questions you need to consider here are:
What unique product or service can you offer to a potential client?
Why should they pick you?
What past experience do you bring?
What expertise, skills, and qualifications do you bring?
2. WIIFM - What’s in it for me?
So, you’ve explained why a potential customer should pick you – and now you need to explain what value or outcomes you can deliver for them. For example, increased sales, reduced staff churn, improved insights and measurement, better data etc.
You can tell someone all day how brilliant you are, but if you’re not helping them do what they need to do, then they’ll switch off quickly. So, make sure you know your WIIFMs!
3. Who are you trying to sell to?
It’s all well and good to be clear on what you’re selling and why it’s valuable – but you also need to be clear on your target audience. Without knowing who and where your potential customers can be found is like fishing with a wide net – you can get your message out into the world but it’s a blunt instrument – and likely you’ll have to throw quite a few fish back into the sea. To ensure your PR is as effective and efficient as possible, you need to put your fishing line in the right place in the right pond, and to do that you need to know the type of fish you’re after and where they can be found.
The questions you need to consider here are:
Who are you targeting?
Who would be your ideal client(s)? Why did you pick these businesses / potential clients?
What are you looking to achieve for your clients / yourself?
4. Do you have any rules?
This one doesn’t apply to all businesses and is slightly controversial, but increasingly there are societal, political, and environmental considerations when operating a business today. It’s important to know your limits and rules for not only what kind of business you have, but also what kind of clients or customers you want to work with, and in what kind of industries and arenas.
For example, do they need to have sustainability or ad net zero credentials? Should they have a diverse leadership team? Do they need to be based in certain countries or not based in certain countries? Is it ok if their products damage human health in some way, subject to moderate use?
Also, for your marketing, are there social media channels you won’t support, or media outlets you won’t work with?
The clearer you are on what you and your company is about – the easier it will be to find and interact with the right customers.
5. What do you want your business (and you) to be famous for?
Finally, be clear on what you want your business to be known for. It’s easier to quickly understand what a company is about if they operate in a certain niche or arena – and once you get pigeonholed it’s trickier to change that reputation.
Consider whether there is a specialism you want to be known for. For example, when people want help with XX they come to you – and you’re known as the expert in this field. If you’re clear from the outset where you ultimately want to be – the road to that destination will be smoother.
Key messages are an essential part of any marketing and PR campaign – and time invested in giving them serious thought is never wasted. It’s one of many key building blocks towards business success, so try to avoid skipping ahead…
Victoria Fairclough is a PR & Communications consultant at Fair Communications. For more information visit: www.faircommunications.co.uk
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