Five Ways to Become a Better Press and PR Planner
Being in press and public relations isn’t difficult. You write press releases, work with the media, and promote your company. Being good at press and public relations; that’s more difficult. That takes a special blend of creativity and science – it takes being able to be logical and systematic, along with being able to be an out-of-the-box thinker. Let’s take a look at five ways to become a better press and PR planner.
- Learn to Adapt to the Consumer, to Analytics, and to Trends and Opportunities
One of the best ways to become a successful press release and public relations planner is to realize that sometimes planning has to occur on the fly, and sometimes plans need to be tossed out and replaced with new plans. One thing is certain in life and in business; things change. To improve your skills at getting good media coverage for your business, you have to be able to adapt to those changes. Your consumers, and their wants and needs, change. What they respond to, and what the media responds to, changes as well.
- Build, and Rely on, Your Team
As a press and public relations professional, you don’t have to do it all yourself. You’ll be a better planner if you build a solid team of people you can count on to each do their part of the job. Meet with people in sales and marketing, know what’s coming down the pipeline in terms of deals, promotions, and learn your customer from their perspective. Meet with people in human resources and learn the company from their perspective, learn what is going on with the people that you work with. You never know when you can leverage and capitalize on the name and accomplishments of your fellow workers; they’re probably doing some amazing things. Talk to your social media marketing folks and your marketing writers. Leverage the special skills and knowledge available at your company.
- Create Systems (and Use Them)
There are myriad tools and resources at your fingertips. Use them to create press and PR systems that position you to succeed. Take a look at everything from automating social media updates to leveraging press release distribution services and analytics. Systems make your life, and your job, easier – and give you a better chance at success.
- Remember, it’s About the Story
Build context around your products or services. Create stories that grab attention and interest your audience. Brands are built on stories. Find out or create a story behind any news that you’re announcing or any new product you’re pitching. That’s what people care about. That is what will give you the coverage you’re aiming for.
- Leverage What Works (until it doesn’t work anymore)
One of the best ways to be successful in press and publicity is to test and track what works for your company and your audience. Then you can continue to use what is working and get rid of all the rest. It prevents a whole lot of wasted time and energy, and catapults you to press and PR success.
Focus on one of these at a time. As you add each one to your skill set, you’ll improve your results and your talent will grow. You’re already a good press and PR planner, it’s time to become a great one.
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