2012: Time for a PR refresher

By: Kristen Paquet, Account Executive, Leonard & Finco Public Relations, Inc.

The holidays make many of us think about the future and the inevitable list of resolutions: lose weight, read more, be more community minded. The New Year is a great time to renew yourself and your lifestyle. But it’s also a good time to renew the company PR plan.

Just as people can fall into a mundane routine or a rut, so can the actions you take with your PR plan. Taking time now to review your plan (or develop a plan if you don’t have one) and making just a few updates can help ensure success throughout the year.

Here are a few ideas to get you started:

• Do you have a big event coming up? Launching a new product? Working on a special project? Determine if anything your company is doing is newsworthy well in advance so you have time to plan ways to attract local media. 
• Take a look at your website and social media accounts like Facebook. Can any of these tools use an upgrade or be refreshed in any way? Make sure the content is current and that all links work properly.
•  Start a photo archive of activities and events and make it a point to include photos with any news releases that go out. 
• Scan national headlines on a regular basis and contact area media outlets to offer a local perspective when appropriate. 
• Develop or update the company media kit and send it to local media outlets so they know they can tap into your expertise for any stories. Make hard and electronic copies.

You took the right step to develop a PR plan for your company – now make sure you use it! Making simple updates can yield a big benefit in the long run. Who else has ideas to help renew a PR plan for the New Year? Please share!