Whatever industry you are in, understanding what is driving the most important decision makers in your sector is of critical importance. If you’re in construction, how well do you know the regulatory landscape? If you’re in health and care, do you know the anticipated changes in the make-up of the NHS?
In reality, it can be so tempting not to engage in this at all. Sit back and get on with your day-to-day; fight the fires that never seem to be put out. An election on the horizon, wars, pandemics – uncertainty is scary and trying to navigate an ever-changing world can feel overwhelming and an ineffective use of your precious time.
But nailing public affairs can be a game changer for your PR campaign… if you know how. To help you master this, we’ve broken public affairs down into five easy steps.
Set your objectives
No PR campaign can even begin without this first step. The importance of setting your objective is crucial. Without it, nothing else can happen because you’d be missing your guiding light that should dictate everything else.
Once this has been set, it needs to be communicated internally and externally – and that’s another skill master. How do you communicate lofty ambitions to government stakeholders, regulators, and community members in a way that resonates with their different needs?
Tone of voice will change, language will be different, but fundamentally, you need to apply that golden thread through all communications so everyone understands your objective.
Define the strategy
You cannot just go up to someone and tell them what you want them to do for you. You and your team may be incredibly passionate about what you want to achieve, but now you need a strategy to help you deliver it. Think of it like this – the objective represents the “big why”, the strategy represents the “big how”. The strategy is the vehicle through which you arrive at your destination. It should be concise and everyone should stick to it. It needs crafting well, executing and narrating by the key players in your organisation.
Map your stakeholders
One of the biggest challenges in public affairs is knowing who to speak to and when. Who do you need to help you implement your strategy and achieve your objective? Map all the potential stakeholders you might need to communicate with and rank them in priority order. Identify what you need from them and what, in return, they expect from you. With an election on the horizon, many are already in campaign-mode. Appreciate this and factor all possible outcomes to the development of your stakeholder map.
Remember though, that more often than not, you’ll be playing on their field. It’s important to know how they speak; what motivates them? What’s on their agenda? What are the sticking points they encounter on a daily basis that only someone in that industry will be familiar with? Equipping yourself with this knowledge will increase the likelihood of getting what you want.
Tactical planning
Now you know your objective and your strategy to achieve this, it’s time to break down the campaign into its component tactics. What specific tactics do you need to implement the strategy? These could look like:
- Events – conferences, seminars, roundtables
- Thought leadership articles
- Podcasts, TV, and other audio/visual media
- Securing facetime with key stakeholders
At this stage, it is crucial not to confuse the two. Tactics are not strategy, and vice versa. Tactics are there to realise the strategy, they are not separate to it.
Execute
All the planning has been done, you’ve got a fully integrated campaign looking back at you. You can recite your objective in your sleep, everyone knows the strategy, and you’ve got skilled operates implementing the tactics, targeting the right stakeholders.
But no one thinks their way to great outcomes. Now it’s time to execute your campaign with intent and discipline.
Ready to take your PR to the next level? Get in touch.