Ah, spring! A time for hope, reflection, and, in the UK at least, a time to finally top up those vitamin D levels with a bit of sunlight.
We’re almost at the end of Q1 of 2023 and I’m not afraid to say it, it’s been a tougher ride agency side than many of us expected post-pandemic. A looming recession, a cost of living crisis, more Government change at the top, and a load of uncertainty meant things looked a little dark. Not least because people were scared of going bankrupt if they dared turn on a light.
BUT with spring comes the chance to reset and feel refreshed, and in agency land there’s nothing better than a good ol’ spring clean of strategies for clients.
Why refresh your PR strategy?
When it comes to PR, comms, and marketing strategies, brands can find themselves at a bit of a crossroads. Yes, insanity might be doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different outcome, but what about the old adage ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’? People often only question when things are going noticeably wrong, but this is short-sighted. Your agency partner should be reviewing your PR strategy at least once a quarter – three months is a good gauge of what’s working and what’s not – and be offering insight and consultation around what to do next, even if that consultation is ‘more of the same, please!’.
How do you refresh a PR strategy?
- Start the process early – After eight to 10 weeks of activity you should have a good idea of how things are looking so start digging into those insights now to build up recommendations.
- Treat yourself and your team – celebrate those wins! They’ll be there, and even the smallest victories add to the big picture for your business, especially if you’re in the early days of working with a PR agency.
- Acknowledge and learn from the losses – no one fails alone so figure out what happened, chalk it up to experience, and move forward with those learnings now behind you. Knowing what doesn’t work is a powerful tool for any brand.
- Update your business goals – PR is not a direct sales channel but it can help influence your sales pipeline. Ensure your agency knows the latest business updates as soon as possible so they can adapt PR tactics to best fit them.
- Measure what matters – and make sure it aligns with those overall business goals. Backlink profile, email sign-ups, pieces of coverage, site traffic, content that’s converting, keyword rankings etc. are all up for grabs. Remember, you can’t change what you’re not measuring!
- Ensure a strong link-up between all your agencies/in-house experts – Nothing and no one works well in isolation, so introduce your PR agency to your in-house or external SEO, marketing, design, sales and website teams and help them collaborate successfully. If you don’t have these things yet, ask your agency for recommendations about where to invest – whether that’s in technical SEO expertise for an ecommerce brand or in-house designers to elevate cross-channel content and creative campaigns.
- Share your knowledge – No one knows your business better than you, but…
- Listen to the consultancy – you’ve chosen to work with an agency for a reason and there’s years of knowledge and expertise on hand to guide your communications strategy. Trust that your agency partner wants the best for you and your business, and will only recommend a strategy and tactics that will help drive you forward.
So you’ve got a new PR strategy, now what?
Let your agency run with it! And get ready to do it all again in a few months’ time.
If you’d like to discuss a PR strategy for yourself or your business get in touch for a free, no-obligation chat.