The difference between strategy and tactics in PR

The frequent misuse of the terms “strategy” and “tactics” in public relations annoys me. If you’re a student of PR or even just unsure of the difference between strategy and tactics, this post will answer your questions.

A few years ago I charged a young account manager with developing a strategy for a client as part of their review. What came back was a list of press releases. Press releases are a tool – a tactic of PR – not a strategy. I realised we had a perception issue on our hands.

This miscomprehension is not limited to young PR execs in the early years of their career. I read a piece from a Brexiteer businessman last year when it was clear the UK government had no clear plan for withdrawing from the European Union. He said something along the lines of; “we do have a strategy – it is to withdraw from the European Union and seize back control.”

What he was describing was an “objective”, not a strategy.

The word “strategy” comes from the Greek “stratos” (army) and “ago” (moving). “Tactics” comes from the Greek “taktike” (arrange). You can gather they are military in origin, as is much of the terminology in PR. We carry out “campaigns”, after all!

In summary:

Objectives: What do we want to achieve and why?

Strategy: What are we going to do to achieve our objectives? (Effectively, a plan)

Tactics: What tools should we use to fulfil our strategy achieve those objectives? How will we realise our strategy?

For example in practice:

Objective: Build awareness of a rare disease for a charity so it can raise funds

Strategy: Educate, inform and persuade the public through interesting content, social media and PR outreach. Establish the charity’s CEO as a (for want of a better word) thought leader in this field

Tactics: Case studies, reports and research, expert commentary, media relations, events, speaker opportunities, video, social media, podcasts, SEO, influencer outreach

Naturally, some of the more intricate tools require a strategy themselves. For example, search engine optimisation (SEO), as that involves keyword research, content creation and link building, and is thus interlinked with other tactics. In fact, none of the tactics live in isolation.

The way you measure the impact of those campaigns needs to be factored in, and the campaign objectives will inform what you should measure.

If your team needs training on how to build a PR or digital strategy, check out our digital strategy training, which we hold at your office.