The global pandemic made public relations a bit harder on us all. As we settle down to the “new normal” we reminisce on the good old days of meeting our clients face to face, shaking their hand and having a real conversation with them while we face them.
The reality is, especially during the peak days of the pandemic, online meetings are the norm and people’s faces on a screen seem impersonal at times.
As more and more freedoms are granted to us with the advent of the vaccines, here are some ways we can move past the shackles of the pandemic in our media relations.
Personal Touch
The pandemic made it difficult to meet and communicate with our clients. Zoom and google meet can provide us with a bare minimum solution to the problem. But not everybody prefers this mode of communication. Not to mention the amount of lost contacts during the pandemic. Lets face it, people lost their jobs when companies needed to downsize or the outright closing of their respective establishments made sure the contacts we had before is gradually shrinking, with no ways to make new ones.
How can we remedy this? Well, for starters, let’s add a bit of personal approach to our growing problem.
Use the phone! We got used to the Zoom calls and we forgot how personal a simple phone call can be. When meeting the person is not a possibility, calling them can be the next best thing. Until we can get in a room with them and shake their hand, phone calls, not zoom meetings may be the next best thing.
Keeping track of previous contacts can be good for the PR world. Reintroduce yourself to key people in a specific field and work your way up from there. They may have cut their ties with a specific company or organisation, but all their prior knowledge and expertise are still present and are still a valuable asset for you and your team. So build your contacts up and keep your eyes open for new ones.
Top-Tier Coverage
It is difficult to get in touch with journalists on top tier media outlets. Breaking through the noise and being able to be noticed by these journalists can be a daunting task for any PR team. How can we solve this? One option is using the Brander App. It is an app that guarantees your publication on 100 plus sites on the top media coverage out there. Another is build your own rapport with the said media journalists. Asking for advice or an introduction to the journalists in social media can help you in the long run.
Making sure you know who you are talking to can really help once you pitch your ideas to them. Who knows? Treating the journalists as human beings instead of robots you just send chain emails can be the difference maker for you being published or not.
Wrapping Up
PR can be a daunting task especially now during the aftermath of the pandemic. But with proper planning and with a bit of luck, the new normal can be put to your advantage.
