Blog post -
Getting your PR plan ready for 2021
We can probably all agree that 2020 was quite a year. However robust your PR strategy was at the beginning of the year, when Corona hit us, all your plans and editorial calendars probably went out the window. At least that is what happened to us at Mynewsdesk, maybe you had the same experience as us. Events were cancelled, digital campaigns changed at a day’s notice and the media buzz was concerned with one topic only – unless you had a pitch revolving around the new buzzword (yes you guessed it: Corona), it was not an easy year to work in PR.
As we’ve entered 2021 we are all SO ready for a fresh start, a positive chapter, a new beginning. To help you we’ve updated our popular PR Plan and give you 4 ideas for getting a head-start to the year.
1. Stay flexible
Even though we’ve turned a corner and are facing a new year, the remains of the old are still spread around us. Uncertainty was the one constant in the chaos of 2020 and is something we’ll likely see more of in 2021 across the board, including PR.
Top tip: Make flexible plans and don’t count on “back to normal” happening anytime soon. This is the time for new ideas that will make a difference for your communication and ultimately your brand. One tip is to make a list of 3 Need to have activities and 3 Nice to have. Need-to-have is what you’ll try to complete no matter what, and Nice-to-have is activities you are ok with changing to stay flexible.
2. Take the best of 2020 with you
It’s a no-brainer to do a review of your PR activities in 2020 to see what worked for you. For instance, if your brand survived the pandemic by being more personal on social media, why not keep up the informal tone and let your co-workers in, as contributors or even administrators (after proper training of course)? And why think about physical events when you can meet your important target groups in great digital events?
3. Check your spend
Most companies have had to reevaluate their spending this year. If you are on a tight budget then consider how to plan your PR. Maybe this is not the year to launch a huge campaign? Make the most of your budget by choosing an intelligent PR tool that helps you with both media monitoring, distribution, and keeping track of your results. This will keep you on top of things while the world settles in for post-pandemic life.
4. Be prepared for the worst
We’re sorry to end on a gloomy note but we encourage you to include contingency planning into your PR plan for the year. We don’t know for sure what the rest of 2021 will look like, so a plan B might come in handy. Do you have a crisis communication plan for how to handle communications both internally and externally if you end up in crisis mode?
Planning for the future is always a must and we hope these 4 tips will help you get a good start to 2021. We aim to inspire and empower you in your communications effort – here’s to 2021!
