Mid-year PR check up

By: Angela Walschinski, Account Assistant, Leonard & Finco Public Relations, Inc.

No matter where your business is in its fiscal year, now is a good time to pull out your PR plan for 2010 and see how you’re doing. Like most business activities, PR requires consistency and persistence to be effective; but flexibility and a recognition that things will change over time are also important.

If you have a PR plan in place, take time to review what you set out to accomplish and determine if you’re still on track to achieving your PR goals by doing the following:

• First, review your PR goals and objectives. This is how you develop and refine key messages. By reviewing your goals and objectives you can make sure that what you are saying, and how you say it, reflects what you’re trying to achieve.
• Second, review your PR activities. What worked and what didn’t work? Whether it’s social media, traditional media relations, community outreach or sponsorships, take a few moments to look back and evaluate how it played out. Is there something you need to improve or change? Is there something that worked really well and should be continued?
• Number three on the mid-year tune-up list is identifying potential new opportunities that might occur during the rest of the year, such as major milestones, product launches and new service offerings. You can then develop a list of action items to organize activities that will enable you to achieve your objectives.
• Finally, adjust and update your plan. Hopefully your PR plan is a written document as opposed to something you “just do.” Every PR plan should be a living document that you refer to on a regular basis.

If you haven’t created a PR plan, this is a great time to review past PR efforts and develop a plan to meet your PR goals. If you don’t have the time to put together a complete PR plan, at a minimum put your goals and objectives in writing so you can refer back to them and evaluate your success.

Remember, planning and reviewing your PR strategy now will not only help generate new ideas and opportunities, it’ll give you guidelines for day-to-day activities. While PR plans are subject to change, planning ahead enables your business to stick to your overall goals and maintain a focus. What is your business doing to make sure its PR goals are met this year?