PR can be a powerful way to raise your profile, tell your story and get your message out there. Natalie Trice, an award-winning PR coach and publicity guru, shares how you can up your game this summer so you make an impact and shine.
While there is no doubt that COVID-19 has had massive impacts on us, with lockdown easing and all eyes on schools going back in September, now is the time for you to focus on your business again.
PR is something that often gets pushed to the bottom of the to-do list, but doing this isn’t always the best move, because if people don’t know you are there to help them, well, they don’t know you are there to help them. With people pivoting and fast-tracking to a new purpose, now isn’t the time to sit back in the shadows, but instead up your PR game so you stand out for all the right reasons.
Find Your Media Network
You might be clear on who you are talking to day to day, but do you know which publications, blogs or social media platforms your target audience use? PR can really help to build your profile and reach people, but unless you are reaching the right people, you could be wasting your time.
Use this slightly quieter time to become familiar with the magazines, podcasts, newspapers, magazines and websites where people you want to reach hang out. Think about where you ‘could’ fit on the pages, find contact details and add all of this to your plans.
Creating a media vision board that shows all the places you want to be seen is a great reminder of PR goals as well as being a great creative activity, it can help keep you on the right track.
Step up your social media
If the summer break has meant you’ve taken your foot off your social media accounts, now’s the time to speed things up!
Twitter can be a fantastic PR tool and the #journorequest hashtag is one way to find potential media opportunities. It is easy to find media outlets and communicate with journalists and influencers – just don’t stalk them.
Again, think about what media your target audience consumes, and if you know they read Grazia and Red, follow those magazines and their writers rather than HR Magazine and Cat World. If it’s more about business, look at contributors at Forbes and Business Insider and see what their writers are looking for.
Plan out your content
PR in the digital age means you can be your own media maker. You might want to be in Elle one day, but you don’t need anyone’s permission to be visible.
Start to plan content for your website and think about piggybacking on Halloween, Christmas, and winter health as these are all topical subjects that lend themselves to PR and make sure your blog and share those posts on your social media channels
It’s all about the photos
A picture paints a thousand words, and key for PR. Look at what images you have right now, what is missing and fill the gaps, fast. You need clean, clear product images and bright, fresh, creative headshots and if you can, hire a pro professional to take the photos for you.
Celebrate your wins
Whether they are big, small or hardly there at all, if you celebrate each win you will start to believe you are going places with your PR. Writing a blog post, answering a media request or asking your FB group what magazines they read are all steps towards shining, so acknowledge the progress you are making. Yes, an interview in The Times is amazing and hosting an online event is fantastic, but you only get there from hard work, so see each little bit of progress as awarding winning and it will make you feel great.
If you start doing something today and then do something small every day, who knows where you could be by 2021.
