Why PR should be an important part of your recovery strategy

There are very few businesses who will have been unaffected by the Covid-19 pandemic in some shape or form. For some, it has meant more or a different type of work with the need to pivot rapidly, and for others doors have been closed and trading has stopped completely. Undoubtedly, it will have changed the way your teams work, how your services or products are delivered and what your customers are now expecting from you.

As you think about ‘recovery’ and how your company is going to emerge in the wake of the pandemic, now is the time to consider ways of raising your company’s profile and making sure your business is visible.

PR is a great way of doing this.

Our experience is that the local and regional media are now hungrier than ever to share positive news stories and support local businesses, and throughout the pandemic we have continued to achieve great PR results for our clients.

Why PR?

PR is much more than inches in the local newspaper. In the digital world, PR stories reach online media outlets, radio, as well as traditional print and they all have extensive social media reach so your story is likely to be shared widely on their social media platforms which means it will reach even more people.

Of course, your news story and coverage can be shared on your own social platforms and website, creating great content and adding credibility to your brand.

This kind of ‘online PR’ is also great for your search engine optimisation (SEO). By having links to your own website from other reputable websites, your website’s domain authority will increase and, in turn, help to improve your search engine rankings as google believes your website to be trustworthy.

One great press release, therefore, has the potential to reach a huge audience and massively increase your brands visibility!

So, where should you start?

To get the best results from your PR, it’s vital that you have a clear plan in place for your campaign. What do you want to achieve and who you want to reach? Once you’re clear on this, you can work out which stories will be the most relevant and engaging, and where you’re going to need to pitch them.

To really help build momentum and increase the visibility of your brand, we always recommend having a 6 – 12 month plan to ‘drip feed’ new stories. Of course, the plan can be relatively fluid at the beginning, but having an outline of when and what you’re planning will keep you focused on achieving your campaign goals.

What are journalists looking for at the moment?

Journalists are always looking for news about something new and unique, however at the moment they are increasingly searching for ‘good news’ and ‘local community’ stories.

• Good news and successes – What have you achieved recently, maybe a new contract, an award win or an exciting new development, project, service or a significant contract win. Think about the economic impact of your story and what difference it will make to the readers of your news.
• Innovation - Has the pandemic resulted in an exciting innovation for your business? Perhaps you’ve moved your sales online and experienced great results? Or finally had the time to develop a new product that you’ve been thinking about for years.
• Team and community news - Stories about people are great for PR! Has your team done something amazing during the pandemic? Fundraising or donating products or time to local causes?
• Recruitment and jobs - Journalists are also often interested in recruitment stories, especially in senior roles or if a number of new jobs have been created. If the recruitment can be linked to plans for your business growth or new projects, that will make for an even stronger story.

We always recommend getting a strong PR photo to accompany your story as this will increase the chances of getting good coverage - remember a picture says a thousand words! There is an ‘art’ to taking the perfect PR picture and we’d always suggest investing in a specialist photographer if you can.

At Intandem, we’re experts in helping businesses to unearth great PR opportunities and maximising the results you can achieve. If you’d like to find out more about how to maximise your visibility and get your stories covered in the media, please get in touch.