While not a popular process in the Public Relations realm, the evaluation process could be stated as the most important step in a Public Relations plan of action. The evaluation process will take you through several steps in order to develop a concrete, substantiated plan. “The steps in evaluating are program conceptualization and design, monitoring and accountability of program implementation, and assessment of program utility: impact and efficiency” (Broom, 2009, p.353 para. 3). What is Program Conceptualization and design in the PR process? The best way to explain this step would be by showing a comparison of two scenarios. In today’s technological society a PR department may consider the use of social networking as a means to contribute information. However, they are working for a company located in a small farm town in Alabama, where the township consists of families that are in average of 40-90 years old. SO, would social networking be a positive resource in the overall plan? Probably not, looking at local publications is probably going to be the best venue for conveying information. Let’s consider this situation is based with a company in New York City. Just the opposite choices would be made, as a local publication would probably not get the information out to the residents as efficiently as a Social Networking site like Facebook or Twitter. The second step in evaluating would be monitoring and accountability of program implementation. There has to be a method of reassurance that the programs are working in the manner they were set up. Categorize the methods used, for example: • Strategic Planning
• Media Relations
• Customer Relations
• Internal Communications
• Email Marketing, Flyers and Brochures
Once the categories are chosen, then it is important to break them down into sections like, radio/television ads, press...