What is Integrated PR?

Integrated PR is not about social media (Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter), nor about traditional media (TV, radio and print). It's about both. The important thing is to use as many different channels as possible to deliver your message. That's not to say that just using radio advertising, or a campaign on Twitter, is a bad thing. My contention is that you should use as many options as you can in a single campaign.I define integrated PR as A PR campaign which delivers a single core message, using both traditional and social media.

First, you need a message. The art of good PR is to be able to convey the right one, in the right way, at the right time, to the right audience. The essence of a message is always the precise detail we wish to impart.

So, how do you create this core message for your integrated PR campaign?

Here is a checklist of the most important elements:

Identify the Single Most Important Idea

People remember very little of what they see or hear. The most effective PR campaigns focus on the most important message that you wish to communicate, since that's what you want people to remember.

If you have several messages you want to deliver, save the less important ones for another time. One message that is remembered by your potential clients is worth dozens of half-remembered ones.

Keep it simple

Don't use jargon, or industry-specific terms. It's impossible to over-simplify a message, but easy to over-complicate one.

Make it Memorable

We are besieged with messages every day, through radio and TV, adverts, conversations and the like. Your job, when delivering your message on the media, is to make it something that people will remember. Think of words and phrases that are a little unusual, or conjure up an image. If your message is seen as a picture, even if you are on the radio, it will be much more memorable.

Make it Relevant

Put yourself in the shoes of your potential audience and think what they will find engaging, All you have to do then is to deliver what they want to see or hear.

Ask Yourself "So What?"

Imagine yourself hearing your own core message. If your immediate reaction is, "so what?" the message doesn't work. You need to be able to capture the value to your audience in whatever you say.

Be Sincere

If you want people to believe you, you have to be sincere. You have to really believe what you are saying. That is why it is very important for you, as a company spokesperson, to be involved in drafting the core message. It will be very difficult for you to recite words given to you by a PR person if you are not fully confident that they represent your opinion.

In summary then, your core message needs to be simple, relevant, memorable, beneficial and of course, true. How hard is that?