At this time of upheaval, I am sharing 20 PR and marketing activities which you can action right now! There is an opportunity to tackle those PR and marketing activities which can sometimes take a back seat as we focus on the daily tasks of running our businesses.
I share much of this advice with my private clients, and I want to share it with everyone at this time so we can all benefit. Like many of us busy running our own businesses, I too am guilty of giving advice but not finding the time to put it into practice for myself – so I will also be doing many of these PR & marketing activities.
Some of these activities will only take a few minutes, some will take a little longer. But, twice a week, Mondays and Fridays, I will be writing a longer blog post, going into deeper depth, giving you top tips and ideas on each of the below-listed topics, so that we can work on all these points together. In addition, look out for bonus Facebook lives and interesting PR and marketing related materials on my Facebook page.
Work with me to move those activities firmly into the front seat, giving them the attention they deserve, and I promise you that once we come out of this situation, you and your business will be in a much stronger position to hit the ground running and take advantage of the opportunities as they present themselves.
- Update your LinkedIn profile
Spend a few moments reviewing your profile. Consider whether the wording accurately portrays you, your skills and experience. Does it also include a little about your personality? People like to do business with those they know, like and trust. Read more
- Review the content on your website
As with your LinkedIn profile, take a good look at your website and make a list of everything you would like to update or amend. This way, you can work through each page, updating without it feeling overwhelmed. Read more
- Review your bios across all social media
Now that you have updated your LinkedIn profiles and website About Me page, revisit your bios on all your social media profiles. Whilst they should be tailored to reflect the different clients on each platform, there should be consistency. After all, you are the same person. Read more
- Improve the SEO on your website
This is a vast area, but I will provide you with three top activities you can do to boost SEO on your website.
- Ask for testimonials
As well as taking this opportunity to make human contact with someone other than your immediate family, reach out to recent past clients to ask them for a testimonial. In this blog, I will be sharing top tips on how to ask for a testimonial which you are proud to share and will have future clients queuing up to work with you.
- Write case studies
Revisit your recent past projects and write them up as a case study. Not sure where to start? I will be sharing a tried and tested format.
- Plan your content
Now is a good time to revisit your content plan. Marketing messaging used before the crisis will make you seem out of touch at best, irrelevant at worst. Your messaging now should be 100% focussed on your customer. Empathy is king at this time, backed up, of course, by real actions, not just words. Just think of all the messages landing in your inbox, how did they make you feel towards that product or service? I will be sharing my tips for building and managing content.
- Review your packages and offers
Everything is changing, and will continue to do so, the longer this situation continues. Look for opportunities to experiment or do things differently. For instance, a local food delivery company which specialised in supplying food to the restaurant trade may now be offering home delivery.
- Connect with people daily
Sitting at home, away from the daily chat with others, can add to the feeling of isolation. Schedule phone/online calls with your clients, business colleagues and friends. A friendly chat will make both you and them feel better. Everyone is affected by what is going on.
- Digital Housekeeping #1: Organise your inbox
Yes, this will take longer than 10 minutes, at least it will in my case. Now is the time to tackle that inbox. Delete, unsubscribe, organise into folders and check out email management apps such as Sanebox and Superhuman to help you save time in the future.
- Digital Housekeeping #2: Organise your phone and play OneAppManship
Weirdly, I am looking forward to organising and decluttering my phone. I am going to properly organise my apps into categories. What is OneAppManship? I will tell you in the blog…
- Competitor analysis
Knowing what your competitors are doing is key for a variety of reasons which I will be discussing.
- Build your email list
Email marketing is still one of the most successful forms of marketing. Devoting time to develop and implement an email list building strategy now will create a strong foundation for your future communications.
- Vision planning
For those of us building a business because we are passionate about what we do, take a moment to check in… Have you got the balance right? What changes can you implement to build your business around a lifestyle which brings you joy. We work to live, not live to work. Do you have a vision board?
- Build new habits to boost productivity
Now that we have a little more time, we can take a critical look at our systems and processes. What can be streamlined, amalgamated? What apps can you learn to help you?
- Write blogs twice per week
Nothing is better for SEO than regularly publishing quality content on your website. As you read earlier, I am taking this opportunity to establish a habit where I write my own blog twice a week.
- Get on camera
Video is here to stay, so get practising with the technology supporting Facebook live, Instagram live and YouTube. I will be providing some expert tips on looking good in front of a camera.
- Take photographs
Those of you who follow me on Instagram will have seen me experimenting with flatlay photographs. Since my initial attempts, I have sought professional advice and, now that the sun is shining more often, more flatlays will be appearing in my feed.
- Learn a new app/piece of technology
Many of my friends are busy getting up to speed on video conferencing platforms such as Zoom, which I have been using for a few years now. But I have been learning Microsoft Teams, with thanks to my teenager offspring, and finally getting to grips with a password manager (much to the delight of my technical support guru!). This week I have been getting to grips with Microsoft Teams, next week I will be learning Microsoft SharePoint. (The children are helping me, as are they are using these programmes for their schoolwork).
- Write every day
This was, and is, probably the best piece of advice I was given as a young PR professional. Writing is a discipline and writing for even just 30 minutes every day is better than trying to write for five hours on a Saturday morning.
Orson Scott Card, American novelist, critic, speaker, essayist and columnist said, “Everybody walks past a thousand story ideas every day. The good writers are the ones who see five or six of them. Most people don’t see any”.
I hope that you will join me on this journey. This list is not exhaustive. It started as a Top 10 things to do and I am already collating my next list!
However, I am working through what I have listed here and blogging twice a week, focusing on each of these topics in turn. I will be providing practical advice and expertise as I work on many of these topics alongside you,
Don’t forget to follow me on Facebook and Instagram
Photo by Plush Design Studio on Unsplash
Based in Tunbridge Wells, Kent, I offer strategic communications and public relations advice to businesses ensuring that you, and your key messages, are seen and heard in the right places.
Please contact me here if you would like to work with me
20 PR and marketing activities to action now
