*Before others will! 🙂
Public relations isn’t about flashy headlines alone. It’s the communication infrastructure that builds trust, credibility, and momentum, both inside and outside your organization. Whether you’re a startup laying a foundation or an established brand recalibrating, this guide gives you a step-by-step strategic PR framework – complete with narrative, examples, and real-world insights.
âś… At the end of the article, you will find a ready-to-use CHECKLIST for your organisation to ensure you follow the most important communication guidelines and do PR like a PRO! âś…
But first things first: ⤵️ (if you are a PR pro, you may skip the part about differentiation between owned, paid and earned media)
Developing a clear and well-structured communication strategy – What exactly are you trying to say?
Before diving into media outreach or social media posts, the most crucial step in running your own PR is developing a clear and well-structured communication strategy. This doesn’t need to be a 50-page document, but it should cover a few essentials:
- identifying your brand’s unique strengths (USP),
- crafting key messages that reflect your positioning,
- outlining specific benefits for different audience segments,
- writing a concise, engaging brand description that will resonate with your target audience.
- mapping out the contexts and topics your brand wants to “own” in communication — whether it’s innovation, sustainability, or consumer trust.
(!) While many aspects of PR can be learned and implemented independently, creating a solid communication strategy is one area where experience truly matters. Defining what your brand stands for and how to translate that into consistent, effective messaging across various channels isn’t just a creative task — it’s a strategic one. That’s why, with a few exceptions, it’s worth considering the support of an experienced PR consultant or agency at this stage. They can guide you through the process, challenge assumptions, and help you build a foundation that makes all future communication easier and more impactful.
A strong strategy doesn’t just save time later — it gives you clarity, confidence, and consistency in everything you communicate. It’s not about overcomplicating things; it’s about making sure the right message reaches the right people in the right way.
Exploring the Media Ecosystem: Owned, Paid & Earned
| Channel Type | Control Over Content | Typical Cost | Credibility Level | Core Purpose |
| Owned | High | Moderate | Primarily yours | Thought leadership, brand building |
| Paid | Medium to high | High | Low to medium | Awareness, event promotion, targeting |
| Earned | Low | Low | High | Trust-building, reputation validation |
📢 Owned Media: Your Voice, Your Platform
This includes your company blog, social channels, newsletters, and even internal podcasts. It’s where you fully control the narrative. For example, you could structure regular thought-leadership series or employee spotlight features.
Want tips on structuring content for maximum engagement? Check out Enterie’s guide on Content Marketing Strategy for best practices that align beautifully with owned media efforts.
Owned media are crucial for one more reason and the control of messaging you have on them. Pro-actively shape the best possible narrative, but be prepared for anything and everything! To build ongoing resilience, go to the section Crisis & Reputation Management or explore our Crisis Management Guide, a compelling case study in owned and earned media preparedness.
đź’° Paid Media: Expand Your Reach Fast
This includes display ads, sponsored posts or articles, and paid social. It’s ideal for amplifying launches or events, but requires budget discipline and strategic targeting.
Be aware that the sponsored tag is a must for such marketing activities, and the field is more civilised now than it used to be a few years back. It’s about being fair and credible to your audiences. Still, while paid content is less regarded by the public than organic (earned) content, it’s beneficial for visibility, link-building, and reach, among other things. And in most cases, if you don’t want to “earn” — meaning wait for media presence — sponsored presence is usually something you can buy immediately.
Before launching a paid campaign, ask:
- What precise outcome am I looking for: brand awareness, leads, event signups?
- Which platforms best intersect with my audience?
- How will I measure ROI?
đź“° Earned Media: Credibility Through Conversation
This is publicity you’ve earned:
- press coverage,
- guest articles (non-paid),
- word-of-mouth mentions, social mentions.
It’s (usually) the most trusted source for your audience, but harder to control. It’s high-impact and credibility-rich. But it takes time and trust.
Advertising is saying you’re good. PR is getting someone else to say you’re good.
Before you pitch, read our long-form post on How to Write a Press Release to ensure your announcement is structured for visibility and journalist relevance.
Real story: How did we contribute to the youth voter turnout increase from 46% to 71%? Usually, a good campaign is a mix of all: paid, owned and earned. That’s the blend that our Polish PR team used before the elections in Poland – read the details in a blog post or:
Internal PR: Build the Foundation First
If your team isn’t aligned internally, how can you expect consistent and authentic external messaging? Your employees are your first audience—and often your best ambassadors.
🧩 Key Steps for Internal PR
- Define Goals
Is your focus on aligning under a new mission? Managing change? Or rallying behind a big initiative? - Assign Governance
Who crafts internal messaging? Who signs off on important comms—legal, leadership, or HR? - Audit Communication Channels
| Channel | Type | Cadence |
| Slack/Intranet | CEO updates | Weekly |
| Internal Emails | News, stats | Bi-weekly |
| Town Halls | Company-wide Q&A | Monthly |
- Maintain Messaging Consistency
Keep your mission statement, vision, and talking points stored and regularly updated. - Create Feedback Loops
Open surveys, “Ask Me Anything” sessions, or even anonymous proposal boxes help you course-correct. - Prepare for the Unexpected
See how Enterie approaches crisis PR in Crisis Management Guide with examples from around the World.
External PR Strategy: Plan, Execute, Measure
Define SMART Goals – example:
- Specific: Gain 12 top-tier mentions in Q3
- Measurable: Achieve +25% growth in positive sentiment
- Time-bound: Launch 3 bylined articles this quarter
- Business-wise: Generate 20 cold leads that PR efforts contributed to ⬇️
At Enterie PR network, we boldly connect PR activities with your organisation’s core business objectives. Traditional and academic views have long treated PR and sales as unrelated. According to the Grunig’s Excellence Theory from the late 20th century, the PR department should separate its function from marketing, but rather be integrated into the strategic management of an organization.
PR function must be empowered as a distinct and strategic managerial function if it is to play a role in making organizations effective. Our data show that the senior public relations officer in excellent departments played a role in making strategic organizational decisions, was a member of the dominant coalition or had access to this powerful group of organizational leaders, and had relative autonomy from excessive clearance rules to play this strategic role. (…) top communicators in excellent public relations departments had earned a close working relationship with their CEOs. That relationship seemed to result from extensive knowledge of the business or industry, a record of successful performance in the organization, expertise in strategic planning and managerial decision making that was not limited to communication, and a shared worldview of the value of two-way symmetrical public relations.
Yes, PR should have a seat at the strategic table, shaping organisational decisions – not just broadcasting messages. Ever since this insight, the real question has been whether PR can – and should – directly influence sales and business performance.
As we cherish and acknowledge our industry Gurus, let’s face it: PR does drive business outcomes. That’s why your best bet is the PR partner who understands this and yet remains honest about what PR can achieve (and what it can’t). Be cautious of any agency that, for example, “guarantees” a set number of placements – PR has its limits, and nuance matters.
🍿 Real story: How our PR activities generated 63 inbound leads in the US from brands such as Sony Pictures, Lionsgate, CBS, Paramount…? 🎬
Map Your Audiences & Pillars
Who needs this message?
- Trade press
- Thought leaders
- Investors
- Key clients
Build pillars that speak to them, whether it’s your tech differentiation, sustainability angle, or customer success stories.
Choose and Tacticize Channels
| Channel | Example Tactics | Best For |
| Press | News releases, interviews | Credibility, awareness |
| Guest Blogs | Thought leadership articles | Authority building |
| Social Media | Live sessions, expert takeovers | Community building |
| Webinars | Educational content | Lead generation |
| Awards, Conferences, Events | Entry submissions, speaking, networking | Reputation, connections |
Need a template for hosting webinars? Enterie’s Webinar Guide covers everything—from topic creation to promotion.
Tactical Calendar & Roles
- Plan around product updates, corporate milestones, or market events.
- Assign internal vs. external duties (e.g., PR agency vs. communications director).
- Map budgets across channels – don’t let funding clusters in one bucket.
🚀 Related article: How much does PR cost? 💰
Build & Maintain Your Outreach Pipeline
Pro tip: Personalization matters more than volume. Build tailored pitch decks, update contact lists regularly, and feed your journalists with what’s relevant to them.
➡️ Read more about Personalization & Localization of your pitches and press releases 🆓Guide.
Curate Press Kits & Assets
Press kits should include:
- High-resolution logos
- Speaker biographies and photos. Pro-tip: Always update assets after key updates—don’t rely on year-old headshots.
- Annotated FAQs or briefing docs
- Content assets like images, b-roll footage, or predicted data points
➡️ Check the best B2B PR practices in the US now! 🇺🇸
Crisis & Reputation Management
Well before a crisis hits, build your defensive posture.
âś… Steps for Crisis Communication
- Risk Audit: Identify top-tier threats
- Messaging Prep: Draft internal/external templates
- Training: Conduct media training and simulations
- Monitoring: Use tools like Google Alerts or media intelligence
- Post-Crisis Review: Document lessons and update plans
A crisis is more than a PR crisis – it’s something that happens in the real world.
A crisis can have a positive outcome. It can be an opportunity for an organisation to reinforce its values, to reshape its future, and to respond effectively to build trust after the crisis is over. To achieve that, the organisation needs clear direction and leadership, to be open and transparent, and to hold itself accountable for future change.
Use the frameworks from the Crisis Management Guide to draft geographically and culturally sensitive email templates, media lines, and rapid-response protocols – all before you actually need them.
Measure, Learn & Repeat
🎯 KPIs to Track
- Number of media mentions & share-of-voice
- Sentiment (positive/neutral/negative)
- Backlink acquisition from the media
- Web metrics and social engagement
- Press-driven leads or sales attribution
🚀 Related article: What results can a PR agency deliver?
đź—“ Cadence
- Monthly: Dashboards with key metrics
- Quarterly: In-depth performance review
- Annually: Strategic pulse-check and budget considerations
Tie every measure back to your business goals – whether engagement, awareness, or reputation uplift.
DIY PR âś… Public Relations Checklist:
- Set the strategic goals
- What exactly are we trying to achieve?
What exactly are we trying to say? - Is this about visibility, reputation, thought leadership, or leads?
- How does it tie into business metrics or OKRs
- 💡 Tip: Use SMART goals (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound) — and review them quarterly.
- What exactly are we trying to achieve?
- Having a communication strategy -> create a “Messaging Hub” (Notion/Google Doc) with mission, boilerplates, and tone-of-voice examples.
- Build audience profiles and messaging pillars. Talk to the right people, in the right language, at the right time.
- Map audiences: media, clients, investors, talent, partners
- Define what they care about: credibility, innovation, culture, ROI
- Create 3–4 message pillars: e.g. product excellence, impact, leadership, team
- Match messages to audiences with a simple grid
- Keep it consistent across all channels — every message should serve a purpose
- Understand and combine media types. Master the mix: Owned + Paid + Earned
- Audit and govern internal channels. đź“Ł Your team = your first audience. Do a monthly audit:
- Are key messages consistent across Slack, internal emails, and all-hands decks?
- Are we sharing PR wins and media features with the team?
- Who owns which channel? Who signs off on messaging?
- Develop a content & channel calendar. Plan your comms like a newsroom. At minimum, map:
- Product and company milestones
- Campaign launch windows
- News cycle hooks
- Key industry events & awareness days
- đź’ˇ Tip: Use tools like Trello, Notion, or Airtable for visibility and ownership tracking.
- Create media outreach pipeline and assets like the Press Office/ For Media
- Keep a living media list
- Track journalist preferences (beats, formats, tone)
- Draft modular pitches you can tweak
- Refresh your press kit every quarter
- Up-to-date visuals and B-roll
- Prepare crisis comms playbook and training
- Draft holding statements (for HR, legal, tech issues, etc.)
- Assign roles (who speaks, who signs off, who posts)
- đź’ˇ Tip: Create a Crisis Checklist doc with three tabs: BEFORE / DURING / AFTER
- Monitor performance and report monthly/qtrly/annually. Build dashboards that tracks:
- Media mentions
- Backlinks
- Sentiment
- Website or lead data (connected to PR activities)
- đź’ˇ Tip: Share wins internally. Turn metrics into mini case studies that show impact.
TL;DR Summary âś… Quick Copy-Paste Checklist:
- Set clear, strategic PR goals that align with business objectives
- Develop a clear communication strategy
- Build audience profiles and tailor messaging pillars to each group
- Use a smart mix of owned, paid & earned media Audit internal comms channels
- Plan a content + channel calendar around key moments
- Create an outreach pipeline and maintain your Press Office / Media Kit
- Prepare a crisis playbook
- Track and report performance
Final Thoughts
Effective PR isn’t a one-time launch. It’s a strategic, measurable, and people-oriented discipline. By aligning internal clarity with external visibility, and by grounding your tactics in real-world frameworks (like those from Enterie), you’re far more likely to build a sustainable reputation and a communication engine that drives real results.
Let me know what else we should cover in this “Do-it-yourself PR” guide!
