2023 has kicked off with a bang and your PR team will be chomping at the bit to create great content and pitch out new story ideas to get your product or service mentioned in the national and education media.
When batteries are recharged and the creative juices are flowing, you can go off with all guns blazing in the first weeks and months of a new year.
But it’s worth looking at these seven steps to avoid PR pitfalls, get campaigns off to a flying start and achieve the results you want.
1. Make sure your PR delivers on your business goals
Your PR team could be doing a great job crafting messaging that resonates with senior leaders and teachers and getting your product or company name mentioned in the publications, podcasts and blogs they go to for information. The digital skills of your marketing people are crucial for generating imaginative product launches that generate sales leads too.
But blending PR’s ability to build an audience’s trust in your brand with the focused and measurable strengths of marketing can be a powerful combination to help you meet your business goals in 2023.
Read our blog and find out how you can use PR and marketing to build your reputation, shift opinion towards your brand, and achieve your business goals.
2. Plan, plan, plan
Approaching PR in an ad hoc way with little or no firm plan on what you want it to achieve for your business is a high-risk strategy that is unlikely to get you the results you want.
While an element of flexibility is essential for responding to the changing news agenda and shifting education marketplace, a good PR plan is the linchpin for co-ordinating the efforts of your PR and marketing and ensuring the activity they engage in actually delivers for your business.
The grounding for a successful PR plan comes from asking yourself some tough questions. These are outlined in our blog, along with our top tips for planning a great year for your PR campaigns.
3. Don’t leave keywords to chance
Whether your company supplies software to schools, training for MAT leaders or student record systems to universities, there are some common keywords and phrases the people you want to reach type into search engines when they are looking for solutions to the challenges they face.
Including these keywords in your online content will get your company name higher in the search list and make it easier for people to see how your products and services can help.
But how can you find out which keywords your audiences uses to source information online?
Check out our blog on keyword research and find out which words and phrases you should be using in your online articles and news pieces to reach the right people and put the information they need into their hands.
4. Don’t stifle creativity
When your PR or marketing team has a great idea for a campaign, is there a tendency to step back from activities that are considered to be a bit wild or crazy in favour of what’s been done before?
Make 2023 the year that you consider pushing the boundaries a little more. Even if you end up tweaking the original wild idea, injecting some fresh thinking into your PR could help you stand out from the crowd and take a successful campaign to the next level.
Get some inspiration from our short video and avoid overthinking or stifling the true creativity in your organisation this year.
5. Be ready to manage a PR crisis
No organisation is immune to a PR crisis. If the unthinkable happens – a call from a journalist who has uncovered a major fault in your product, or from a customer who says your products have corrupted their data – you need to be ready.
We have created the Complete Guide To Crisis Management For Brands & Startups in the Education Sector to help you act fast and protect your brand.
6. Get ready for Google Analytics 4
Add 1st July 2023 to your PR calendar as this is the date when Google Analytics 4 will replace the Universal Analytics platform.
But don’t get caught out. You will need to start putting the groundwork in place for the change now as you won’t be able to access your historical data after that date.
Read our blog on what to expect and what you should be doing to get the most from GA4 into and beyond 2023.
7. Don’t miss out on a prestigious award
The new year is a great time to consider entering an education award, such as the TES School Awards or the Bett Awards. An award win – or even a place on the shortlist – can bring added recognition for your brand and demonstrates to prospective customers that your product or service is among the best in class.
Writing an award winning entry can take time, but we’ve done some of the hard work for you here by outlining what you can do to give you the best chances of award success.
Read more about the fantastic results we have achieved for our clients and contact us if you’d like our help to deliver PR success for your organisation.
Photo by Tara Winstead
