Monica Faulkenbery, APR
Recently I was asked to judge the communication plans category of a national awards program.
It was disheartening to view so many plans submitted by seasoned public relations professionals who did not understand the difference between goals and objectives, or strategies and tactics.
So the purpose of this article is to serve as a primer for understanding the difference between these terms. I may not be an expert, but I do understand that you cannot measure the success of a project without setting a measurable objective. Maybe because I have taught it for so long in our APR sessions, but it just seems so simple and reasonable to me, so here’s my version of the 411 on understanding the differences.
First of all, goals are not objectives. Goals are longer-term, broader, more global future statements of “being.” Probably unbeknownst to him, Shakespeare was well on his way to writing a goal statement with his famous line of “to be or not to be.” An example of a goal statement is “to become the recognized leader, foster continuing public support, etc.” Consider using action verbs when writing goal statements, such as “to maintain, to continue, to create, to enhance, to increase/decrease, or to promote/prevent.”
Objectives should be specific, measurable, attainable, audience-specific, relevant, results-oriented, and time-specific. You should think both short-term and long-term when writing objectives. An easy way to think of it is to remember: who, what, when, and how much? For example, “Within six months, 40 percent of employees will contact the benefits office to inquire about setting up a 401K account.” Or, “By the end of twelve months, 65 percent of the residents living within one mile of the plant will be aware of at least two anti-pollution projects undertaken by the company.”
Strategies serve as a road map or approach to reach objectives. This is the planning process of how you will approach the challenge to reach your objective. You probably will have several strategies for each objective. Examples include media relations, third-party endorsements, and public engagement.
Finally, tactics serve as specific elements of a strategy. They are how you plan to use your resources to carry out your strategies and work toward your objectives. Examples include meetings, publications, community events, news releases, etc. These are probably what many of us are most familiar with – the hands-on activities that get the job done.
So you can see, it is definitely not earth-shattering, but it is important and should be something that you pull out of your toolbox and understand how to use.