The news doesn't stop in difficult economic times. Fast-changing business conditions often result in non-stop media inquiries that must be answered even as ongoing PR work continues. However, a relentless focus on bottom-line results during the downturn may serve to demonstrate how PR, among all marketing disciplines, can deliver the most bang for limited budget dollars. Here are a few tips on how to do more with less in a challenging economy:
1. Align PR tactics with business strategies: Focus on PR
initiatives that will directly support the business and marketing
strategies your company has adopted. Consult the same
market research used by the advertising team.
2. Focus on revenue-building opportunities: Know what makes
the phone ring. Develop lead-generating PR tactics and
campaigns that directly keep existing customers happy,
identify and qualify prospects, and close new sales.
3. Use technology to save time for productive work: It's
increasingly possible to create much more cost-effective
virtual events utilizing webinars, podcasts and video instead of
more expensive and time-consuming live publicity events and
campaigns. It is also a great time to leverage all the low-cost
social networking tools at your disposal, from blogs to
Facebook to Twitter.
4. Confront the bad news head on: An immediate response to
bad news is a lot less time-consuming than days spent
dodging questions. The media will cut you a lot of slack in a
downturn, especially if you are forthright about the problems
you face and forthcoming about the solutions you have
planned, and often this openness will improve your corporate
reputation in the long run.
Article by Cision, February 2009 PR Recession Survival Tip Sheet #1
