In public relations, providing consistent messaging on behalf of your client is a top priority. By focusing on a central value and preparing your team in advance, you and your client can develop the messages that will reflect their mission in any situation. These are six ways you can ensure your messaging stays consistent at all times:

1. Prioritize and focus on one central message with your team. Prior to communicating with the media, you’ll need to settle on the core messages of your client’s brand or product. What are your client’s values, mission, and goals? By determining their utmost priorities, you’ll be able to hone in on a specific message.
2. Get ahead of developing stories in your client’s industry. It is important to consistently track industry trends and media coverage relevant to your client’s field. This helps your team prepare messaging that is relevant to what is being talked about in the industry. One of the best ways to track these stories is by setting up Google Alerts or getting news notifications sent directly to your phone.
3. Monitor social media activity. While it is important to adhere to key messages in response to developing news stories, you should also be monitoring any relevant social media channels to ensure you are always in tune with what your key audience is talking about. By understanding a client’s stakeholders, you’ll be able to stay on track with the right messaging that will resonate with appropriate audiences.
4. Assign a spokesperson for your client. In order to effectively share your narrative, your team will need to divide up responsibilities and prepare for situations. Roles should be clearly defined from the beginning. It is also important to appoint a spokesperson for your client’s brand. This person will be responsible for speaking in interviews, press conferences, and events. Most importantly, they’ll be delivering your key messages.
5. Always remind reporters and stakeholders of your key mission. While reporters and stakeholders will undoubtedly have many questions in regards to rumored announcements or developing issues such as product rollouts or recalls, always remind them of your client’s priorities. When answering questions, consistently relate your client’s key messaging in your answers. It provides an easy-to-follow theme for the media and your stakeholders so they remain clear on your client’s priorities. If your spokesperson is being interviewed, make sure they are fully media-trained to ensure they are comfortable with the key talking points and know how to portray those ideas to the media.
6. Don’t get distracted by extraneous details. If you find yourself straying from your core message while answering questions or developing plans, prioritize reframing your answers and ideas so they fall under your key messages. By focusing on a baseline message, you and your team will be able to more clearly develop answers that directly align with the type of story your client wants to see. When your team maintains consistent messaging, everyone will understand how to communicate your client’s brand and mission to the media.
   
   What other tips do you think are essential in delivering consistent key messaging? Let us know in the comments below or on Twitter!