5 Easy Ways To Jumpstart your 2019 PR Program

If you haven’t already done your plan for 2019 because you were busy closing out 2018, we’ve got just the thing for you. Our New Year’s gift to you are these five quick and (fairly) easy ways to jumpstart your PR program. These five steps will help you gain clarity and focus on what you need in the New Year.

1. What are 3 things you’d like to achieve with PR? Whether you are looking for sales, app downloads or just brand awareness, think about three things that would help make a dent in your business goals. The key is to think about the bottom line of your business. (Estimated time: 1 hour)
2. Outline your 3 key messages (1 per target audience type). This is a highly important piece of PR planning. Identify your three main target audiences and what they need to know about you. This will help streamline your messaging when developing pitches to target media contacts because it is likely that they are interested in the same things. Make sure you are addressing industry pain points. (Estimated time: 1 hour)
3. Make a list of business and trade publications your target audience reads. Now that you know who your audience is? What kinds of things do they read and watch? Put those on your list of key media targets. (Estimated time: 1.5 hours)
4. Research 25 reporters that have covered key competitors. No need to reinvent the wheel if there already is one. Who is that thorn in your side competitor? Check out their media coverage and see who’s been following them? There is a good possibility that same reporter would be likely to cover your news and space in general. Have some extra time, check out two of your main competitors, or have the intern do it. (Estimated time: ~3 hours)
5. Develop 3 trending topics that you can provide commentary on. It is harder and harder to get media to do a standalone piece on a company or product, so offer yourself up as an expert. Identify some key industry trends and hot topics that you can provide “expert commentary” around. Find the reporters writing about it and start pitching yourself as a resource. Starting to write about these topics on your blog may also help provide additional credibility when reporters come back to you for some validation on your background. (Estimated time: 1.5- 2 hours)

These five steps will give you an idea on the directions you need to take to begin speaking to the media with topical items and start reaching out to them. There are hundreds of things that you can do to make yourself relevant in the New Year, always focus on building relationships and providing expertise and you can never go wrong.

If you need additional insights into the pitching process, take a look at our blog: How PR People Secure Media Interviews.

If you’d like to gain insights on your current state of PR, inquire about our PR Impact Audit, so that The Silver Telegram can set you up for the New Year in the right direction.