Resolve to Revive Your Communication's Strategies

Just a few days into the New Year and already I’ve abandoned my personal resolutions. Easy come, easy go, I guess.

Professionally, however, things are still on track, and with a new At-A-Glance daily planner, they’ll stay on track for the next 355 days.

As the calendar ticks from one day and year to the next, it’s not a bad idea for companies to reset their New Year’s resolutions in terms of public relations and marketing. With help from various LPP staffers, here are a few suggestions, ranging from messaging resolutions, to social media, to just simply being ready for the unexpected.

Refresh your spokespeople’s storytelling ability. In a 24/7 Youtube, Twitter and Facebook world, any presentation or interview has to get to the point fast, with colorful and concrete examples and facts that help you stand out from your competitors.
Brainstorm often to get out of the weeds. One of the unique things about tech PR is that the subject matter is tough to up-level. For example, one of our clients develops embedded technology that enables consumer devices like the GoPRo Hero3. Still, try telling someone what’s inside the GoPro and they will slowly back away from the conversation, crossing their fingers that you don’t notice. Brainstorming with your PR team yields great storytelling ideas that are more accessible and resonate with media and consumers alike.
Take a look at your website – does it really reflect who you are today? And is it optimized to reach the people you need to connect with?
Work hard to truly integrate social into your outreach efforts and storytelling in order to standout. Two key and easy-to-remember factors are: lead time and visibility. If you are working on building a pitch, organizing a webinar or hosting your annual event, share it with your social media team in advance so they may recommend ways to leverage social media channels and digital content to boost those efforts. Posting Tweets to share a press release is nice, but think about how much more of a dent your story could make if you were to invite a small Google+ audience to a Hangout or to watch the premiere of a video related to the news. Or host a Twitter chat to foster conversation? Or launch a mobile app where users could interact with the story behind your announcement?
Measure! From beginning, to middle, to end. You will find yourself throwing spaghetti at the wall and waiting for something to stick unless you identify key metrics (aligned with communications and/or corporate goals) for your PR and social campaigns, monitor performance throughout, and collect metrics at the end in order to determine whether or not your efforts have been successful. Web developer or not, you should get to know Google Analytics and become familiar with URL tracking codes – these are two of your best friends in terms of tracking traffic, conversations and identifying new leads.
Ask yourself if your company is prepared (pre·pared [pri-paird] 1. properly expectant, organized, or equipped; ready) from a communications perspective to handle any type of crisis. If the answer is anything short of a confident “yes” take steps to get a crisis communications plan in place.

What are your company’s New Year’s resolutions?