Time for a PR refresher

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

The end of 2014 is closing in fast (yikes!). Now is the time for your business to conduct a review of the current PR plan and draft a strategy for 2015 so you can start the New Year right.

As you prepare for 2015, keep these ideas in mind:

• Don’t feel you have to start from scratch. Review your current plan to find out what worked, what didn’t and what you didn’t have time to do. Some of the ideas and tactics may be able to be rolled over into next year’s plan.

• Review what the company has on deck for next year. Note any big events, product launches, expansions or milestones as these may be great PR opportunities. Determine if these are newsworthy items in advance so you have time to plan ways to attract local media.

• Make sure your website is current. This is especially true if you are driving social media traffic to your website. If content is out of date, links are broken or images are old, add “refresh website” to the PR plan.

• Note opportunities for using images and video. Image sharing is huge. If you want to make an impact, especially to your online audience, you’ll want to post content with photo and/or video. Remember to keep the videos short and relevant to your post.

• 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’re going to put a lot of work into developing a PR plan for your company – so make sure you use it! Note outcomes as the year progresses so you have helpful feedback when it comes time to develop a new plan. Does anyone have suggestions on developing a PR plan? Share your ideas!