It’s no secret the last few years have challenged marketers as they have had to “pivot,” adapt their plans and reposition their budgets.
As clients consider their marketing priorities and budgets for the coming year, here is some brief insight into PR trends and planning for 2023:
Short and smart gets their attention. It’s harder to get editors and reporters on the phone these days. So many are working remotely and newsroom phones just aren’t staffed like they used to be. To break through all the noise, pitch letters must be direct and take into consideration an editor’s time and bandwidth to wade through it to get to the story idea. Get to the point and clarify what resources you can bring to the story. Be targeted and strategic in terms of whom you pitch: do your research to know who is covering what. I found that so many reporters’ beats changed during the pandemic and have been changing again with greater frequency.
Bylined articles are big. Greatly reduced staff at many media outlets means that editors welcome contributed content more than in prior years. While this is not an open invitation to overtly promote your company’s product or service, editors welcome authoritative and informative content that answers readers’ questions. I like to remind clients that editors want to know what you know, not what you do. The “sell” comes in the third-party endorsement derived from the actual byline article that is published.
Use social media to bypass or supplement traditional media coverage. The opportunity to publish long-form content on LinkedIn, for example, or share your company’s recent new hire on Facebook are great ways to share your expertise or company news in a timely manner. Of course, the channel should fit the message and the target audience, but your PR counsel can help you tailor the content appropriately.
The parameters continue to change about content length and format for these channels, but it’s easy to look up those guidelines, which tend to update annually.
Look beyond and appreciate new media outlets such as podcasts and newsletters. More than 20% of people listen to podcasts while driving. In addition, many traditional, well-regarded media outlets have expanded their coverage with the launch of newsletters that have a more specialized editorial focus; these are typically written by the same journalists that work on the “parent” publication. An added bonus – these podcasts and newsletters are usually part of the parent publication’s own website and are completely searchable, too.
If you have questions about your PR plans for 2023, we can help.