The term Public Relations itself suggests that there is a lot of interaction with people. In COVID times, the interaction still remains but has shifted online. The question is that with so many negative things happening all around, how do you get PR on track? Here are some smart ways you can tide over this period and transform negativity into opportunity.
Stay active
The pandemic is not the time to slow down, it’s the time to accelerate your presence in the media. There are many companies even large ones that are not being active and have slowed down their PR activity. However, the strategy should be to stay in the news actively. Remember , public memory is short and you just can’t afford to be forgotten or filed away in the recesses of the mind.
More space online
Most printed publications have stopped printing and have moved online. The advantage of them being online is that more space is available for articles. This means that more news can be carried and it’s the right time for you to cash in on the opportunity.
Breaking location barriers
The pandemic has let geographies melt away! Earlier, if a client was based out of Chennai for instance, it would be difficult to connect with journalists in Mumbai or Delhi. However, now this has become easier. With every journalist being easily accessible via social media pages such as Twitter, one can not only gain their attention but also connect easily, With facilities such as Zoom calls and watzapp video, they are just a video call away!
Video releases
With physical press conferences having been affected due to the pandemic, the ‘new normal’ has all these interactions going online. Since media professionals are not likely to meet you in person, getting a good video release to communicate what you want is a great way to generate publicity. You don’t even need to have a professional video camera, a good mobile camera and a quiet place will do to shoot your bytes. You can share these with the digital and electronic media.
What to communicate
The situation is bleak but yes that silver lining breakthrough will come soon. You just need to wait a bit. That does not mean that you can’t do anything about it. Find something that you can share, a mix of how you are currently managing the crisis and future plans can work. If your brand is something that has a market in COVID times like say food products, groceries, surgical gloves and so on, don’t be afraid to get more aggressive.
The time to grab your share of the spotlight is now. Start.
Here are few more relavant topics to help you,
What is good publicity and how PR agencies do it?
Target audience reach through PR agencies.
How to stand amid Covid, a PR perspective.
