The Marketing plan is strategically thought out, the website is top notch, the SEO is working wonderfully, all the social media posts are scheduled and creating that brand awareness that was planned, so why do we need to look at PR opportunities also? 

Well, PR and communications when executed correctly within a strategic marketing plan has become one of the most effective ways of growing businesses and we at active  Digital Marketing Franchise predict that this trend will continue exponentially in 2023.

As we know, we can never sit back and assume the initial plan will continue to be effective without updates and tweaks. The world is unpredictable, things change on a daily basis that has the potential to affect our well thought through plans, so we’re always having to evolve. 

PR is that extra armoury to your activ Digital Marketing Franchise that ensures you stay one step ahead, but more than that, it is all the more important now to present the people behind the business/brand/product and PR is the vehicle to do just that.

PR historically has been that intangible arm to the umbrella of marketing and advertising. It’s always been tricky to explain the importance when it’s not always easy to demonstrate its benefits on a tidy spreadsheet. It can feel very abstract to a marketeer who is very strategic but it is not to be underestimated. Getting into the minds of your public can be subtle through a clever PR strategy. It can be a less aggressive way of disseminating the brand messaging and has the potential to reach another audience/demographic that you weren’t tuned in to. 

There are many ways PR can be used as a perfect tool to support your activ Digital Marketing Franchise business and the businesses of your clients, it’s affordable and has multi-faceted reach and it’s an opportunity to show your creativity and ability to offer a well rounded highly effective Marketing Plan for clients. 

Here’s a short run down on how we at activ Digital Marketing Franchise develop a PR strategy:

1- Goals– What are they? The best person to talk about the business is the person behind the business. This may seem obvious but you’d be surprised how many plans are drawn up with little knowledge on the business itself. First and foremost, you need to sit down with your client or if promoting your own activ Digital Marketing Franchise put yourself in the mindset of the client (we all know promoting yourself is the hardest task, for most anyway!). Identify specific goals you want to achieve, it’s often helpful to go back to the beginning when the business was first developed- Who started it? What has been achieved so far? Who are the individuals that have played significant roles during this time? From this exploration, you will be amazed how many stories you’ll uncover which will form a significant part of the PR plan whatever the end goals may be.

2. Define Tactics– Once the goals have been identified you’ll need to decide what strategic content you need to develop- What is the story? Which platform will best support this storytelling and reach the readers you’re targeting? Whether influencer out reach for example is a tactic that would be beneficial, or which media needs to be targeted, as well as your ongoing digital optimisation, SEO, PPC etc. Everyone is taken in by an interesting storyline, that’s the key to PR and Marketing- engagement- we all know that. Presenting the values and beliefs of a business draws in those loyal customers and ongoing PR will increase retention. 

3. Evaluate- As mentioned previously, measuring PR benefits used to be difficult but there are many ways to measure it’s success now, especially when accompanied by a robust marketing plan. There are a number of media monitoring applications that can be used as well as free services such as Goggle Analytics. We can assist you at active Digital Marketing Franchise Head Office on suitable monitoring options for your specific needs. 

A successful PR Strategy will continue to grow your activ Digital Marketing Franchise or that of your clients in the form of increased revenue, brand awareness, new stakeholders and retention of existing stakeholders. Generating new and engaging positive media coverage will attract new customers and potential leads. 

PR essentially illustrates a business at its heart, builds trust and in doing so hooks in those it reaches. Ongoing PR ensures these invested customers/clients remain engaged, part of the goal and therefore loyal stakeholders in your business.

Action- Get the plan in place, activate the plan then keep going back to the message- Is it clear? Is it engaging? Are we disseminating the message to the correct stakeholders? Make PR a strategic part of your Marketing plan and you will keep reaping the rewards.

At active’s Head Office we are always here to support Franchisee’s PR needs and assist you in selling PR services to your clients, If you would like more information on how to develop a successful PR Strategy please get in touch with one of the activ Digital Marketing Franchise team at https://www.activfranchise.com/becoming-a-franchisee/