Could you be diminishing the impact of your PR by doing the same thing year after year? You may be achieving a reasonable level of press coverage and a decent return on investment (ROI), but you could do so much more…
A fresh perspective means taking a step back from the day to day PR tactics, and really looking at the core of your communications campaign – is there anything you could do differently that would help you achieve your business and sales objectives? Are you reaching the right people? Are there new ways to reach your audience and stakeholders?
Not sure? Here’s 5 tips to help you refresh your PR:
- Know your market – PR and communication strategies should be based on facts about your market, its buying behaviours and your audiences. Don’t just put your finger in the air and make assumptions, commission some market research to gather solid evidence about your industry and customers – that way you can market your products and services, and even your brand, in a way your audience will really respond to.
- Review your key messages – regularly assessing your key messages keeps them fresh and relevant. You may have diversified into new markets or consolidated your product lines since the original list was drawn up. And once you have your final list, be sure to use them throughout your PR campaign.
- Set some objectives for your communications programme – these will help focus the PR programme too. Are you trying to raise awareness of your brand or sub-brand? Do you need to improve your reputation? Or do you want to be seen as a thought leader in your market? Do you want to focus on lead generation? Emerging digital platforms can help deliver leads from content.
- One size may not fit all – if you have quite a diverse product or service range, or you work across numerous countries and markets (and who doesn’t these days?), a ‘one size fits all’ approach to PR may not get the best results. Review your programme and tweak it accordingly. At its simplest this could be tailoring core PR materials for each region, or you might need separate, small campaigns for each product line, sub-brand etc depending on your objectives and each market. In our experience, a flexible PR programme generally gets the best results for our clients.
- Mix it up – one way to liven your PR up is to expand your toolkit, or the channels that you use. Reviewing who and where your audience are could throw up some surprises – for example a new magazine to add to your trade press list, or a social media outlet where your audience is gathering and discussing the industry. For me, traditional print media still has its place in trade PR, but adding digital media and social media channels could maximise your reach and refresh your campaign. A few words of advice though – use channels that are relevant to your audience, and create a brand persona or tone suitable for each medium.
If you’ve tried digital channels in the past but didn’t get the results you wanted, assess why it didn’t work and perhaps try it again – could a small change such as timing or a targeted approach get better results for a customer email, or is your market more receptive to digital PR elements now?
Think your PR could be refreshed? Get in touch to see what we could do for you.
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