With the New Year upon us, now is a good time to consider how your organisation can achieve better results in 2016. In this article, Jack Murray of MediaHQ.com shares five ways to improve your PR results this year.
1. Up your PR productivity
One of the big problems with public relations is that people don’t do enough of it. Despite the notion that there are too many press releases issued, most organisations only send a handful of press releases each year. To develop a professional public relations approach, you need to share a new message with a different audience at least once a week. It doesn’t always have to be a national press release – you could issue to your local media or to your trade press. Just get busy and start issuing.
2. Build a new audience
You shouldn’t be overly reliant on one audience. Use 2016 to build a new channel of communication for yourself. In the digital age, it is essential that you nurture many audiences for your message. Resources are always an issue, so pick your new tools wisely. The rule here is to invest in tools where your audience is spending their time. If you are selling to businesses, Twitter and LinkedIn are great. If you’re involved in a consumer business, then Facebook is essential. Instagram and Snapchat are good for younger audiences while Pinterest is used by more creative businesses.
3. Focus on a few small things
You don’t have to do everything. Focus on a few PR tools and don’t spread your limited resources too thinly. Be aware of the talent in your team and use it wisely. Be motivated by the maxim “what is the one PR action we could do this week that would improve our results?” Have a weekly activity list and measure your success, assess what worked and what didn’t.
4. Pitch a story to a journalist in your area
Work on a great story idea about your topic. Elaborate on a raw idea and write as many headlines as you can. Keep tweaking until you have at least 15. Run them by a colleague with good judgment and pick one. Then, pick an influential journalist who covers your area to pitch it to. Start with an email pitch. Put the story headline in the subject line and write a short email about it, and why you’re the best person to talk about it. Put a time limit on it and offer exclusivity. Follow up with a call.
5. Learn a new communications skill
What new skill would improve you and your communications team in 2016? Maybe you’d like to learn how to write a better press release, pitch to a journalist or perform better in media interviews? Invest in yourself and your team, and you will see results.
Jack Murray is CEO and Founder of MediaHQ.com, a Dublin-based media intelligence agency.