ARTICLE
Ready to maximise your messaging? It’s all in the timing.
The 24-hour news cycle means that stories are developing all the time, and deciding when to comment can be difficult. Go too early and your predictions might come back to bite you. Go too late? Well… no one will care.
While that might sound harsh, the secret to maximising the impact of your messaging is getting the timing right – and that’s where a great PR team can make all the difference.
From little acorns mighty media stories grow
In the face of what can feel like constant pressure to keep up with the rolling news agenda, PR is the key to knowing when to go for a story at the right time.
For example, throughout the recent general election, policies were flying, rumours were swirling and for those not used to commenting publicly, trying to spot what had legs and what didn’t could quickly feel overwhelming.
That is where the skills of a trained PR team come in – to spot the developing stories that are sure to grow and will provide lots of opportunities for your messaging to get heard.
One such story was about tax reforms. We used our media expertise to spot the story at rumour stage and create a comment with tax expert, Julia Rosenbloom, at law firm, Shakespeare Martineau to get the messaging across.
As the story grew and potential changes were outlined, we built upon the initial comment with further insight. Once it looked as if Labour would sweep the election, we were already primed to go out with a stronger, longer advice piece – getting our expert heard in publications such as ThisIsMoney and The Telegraph, and gaining a fantastic 27 pieces of coverage overall throughout the election.
Strike while the iron is hot
To maximise your business messaging you need to time things right – and sometimes when work is busy, there simply aren’t enough hours in the day to keep one eye on the news agenda.
That’s where a PR team can make a real impact, by monitoring the news and using their media connections to create opportunities out of breaking stories.
By getting to know your strategic goals and the areas that your business wants to talk about, a PR team can help you to join the industry debate, ensure your key messages are delivered in insightful ways and achieve that all-important coverage that will make your target audiences sit up and listen.
Want to find out more about how PR can maximise your messaging? Contact us today.
RELATED ARTICLES
Creating credibility through thought leadership
‘Thought leader’ is one of those phrases that is in danger of being dismissed as corporate jargon. Tarred by puff pieces and self-aggrandising LinkedIn posts, many often declare themselves thought leaders whilst offering little in the way of value.
“So, what do you actually do?” A deep dive into the different marketing disciplines
To the untrained eye, advertising, public relations (PR), marketing and branding could seem like one and the same. But while these different disciplines do have elements of crossover and the digital age introduces new tactics that blur the lines.
Research can be good for you
As PR people, we like nothing better than a nice, juicy statistic to start the day, especially when consuming the latest news stories on our channel of choice. This could be one of the reasons why businesses often choose to use external audience research to gain a closer understanding of their customers and to elevate their brand.
Starting out in PR: our newest account executive on how to land your first PR job
PR is a competitive, fast-paced industry to work in, and the job market is just the same. So, how do you break into the industry? Our newest account executive, Izzy, has done just that, so grab a cuppa and read on for some top tips on how to stand out from the crowd when starting out in PR…
Let’s talk about the Autumn Budget…
The Autumn Budget is a staple of the PR calendar. Twice a year we wait eagerly for the first glimpse of the chancellor holding the famous red box, knowing that a flurry of comments is soon to follow. With a new government in power, this budget will be under more scrutiny than ever, with the whole nation looking to share their opinions as the crucial details are released.
Getting the community on side
It’s not uncommon for there to be some friction from community groups when it comes to property or construction works happening near to where they live.
Pearl Comms’ Summer round up
We love to get out and about and have taken our charity work very seriously over the last few months. When we’re able to combine our day job with our charitable work, it’s even better!
The art of the consumer case study
Journalists never struggle to get their hands on content from brands, with some receiving over 500 pitches every single day in their inboxes. But where interview requests, pitches for features and press releases are common, great case studies are often few and far between.
Communicating sustainability and avoiding buzzword bingo
At a recent event from the Greater Birmingham Chamber of Commerce, sustainability was the topic of the day. Held in Lichfield, the latest event in the Chamber’s Sustainable Business Series focused on Green Infrastructure Solutions and featured talks from M6toll, Birmingham City University and Auditel, all discussing their own approaches to sustainability.
Hiking for a great cause: highlights from the 15th annual Prologis 100
This month, we laced up our walking boots and took part in the 15th annual Prologis 100 to support three fantastic charities.
Looking for more?
Sign up to our “Pearls of Wisdom” newsletter here.
