This resource was commissioned for the event, When Religion Makes the News, but it applies to anyone working in communications or PR.
Generating publicity is not an objective. Publicity is a means to an end, not an end in itself.
Before you write any press release, you must have a clear idea in your mind of who you are writing for and why you are doing it.
What is your objective? What are you trying to achieve?
What message do you want to put across?
Who are you trying to reach?
Your ‘message’ does not need to be a precise form of words, like a slogan. But you must decide, in general terms, what you need to communicate in order to achieve your objective. Your ‘message’ is the embodiment of what you want or need to say.
You also need a clear idea of who are your target audiences. These are the groups of people you need to communicate with in order to achieve your objective. Having ‘everyone’ or ‘general public’ as a target audience is too broad and too vague.
Think of your message in terms of target group(s)
- Affinity: shared characteristics, ie. parents, wives, drivers, teachers, small shopkeepers…
- Demographics: socio-economic people patterns, ie. age, gender, class, income, occupation, race…
- Psychographics: common attitudes or modes of behaviour, ie. to politics, activities, other people…
- Media exposure: reading, listening, viewing habits
THINK OF THE MESSAGE FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF THE TARGET AUDIENCE(S), NOT FROM YOUR ORGANISATION’S PERSPECTIVE
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Copyright of the author, Christine Warwick, PR consultant