Whether you're doing all the public relations yourself -- or part of a large organization with a press shop -- you need a media plan.
The first mistake is to focus on internal aspects, process and technical details such as "Who will write the material?" and "Should we do a blog or be on Facebook?" It's easy to get lost in those details and lose the big picture.
The two biggest questions you have to ask are (1) What audiences are you trying to reach? and (2) What do you want those audiences to do?
What audiences are you trying to reach?
There isn't a single homogenized audience of "people."
The first step to any media plan is to identify your audiences.
1) Current clients
I'm going to say clients as a catch-all, so if you're talking about PR for an actor, author or rock star, it'd be "current fans." In politics it'd be "current supporters." You get the idea.
2) Potential clients
This is an entirely separate audience, so the message you're sending to this group should be entirely different than what you'd do when targeting current clients.
3) Stakeholders
You've got a small audience of stakeholders who make up a tiny percentage of the population. These are your business partners, colleagues and insiders in the business.
4) The competition
Your message doesn't exist in a vacuum. No matter what you do, there are competing messages that you need to think about and counter.
5) The mass media
The pitch you give to reporters, editors and news producers can't be the same thing you'd say to anybody else on the list. They're a special niche with special needs.
What do you want them to do?
Say you magically reach every person If you reach those audiences, what do you want those people to do, specifically?
Make a list of possible actions for each audience. Clients and potential clients. Stakeholders. The competition. The mass media.
Obviously, you want to turn potential clients into actual clients. But what do you want current clients to do? How about stakeholders?
And how would you define victory in terms of dealing with journalists and the mass media?
Draw up that wish list. Be specific.
In the next step, we'll work on making it happen with earned media.