To help you navigate slow news months and maintain a strong PR presence, we’ve gathered insights from top industry professionals, including founders, CEOs, and marketing managers. From pitching to podcasts to hosting charity events or campaigns, here are 12 expert strategies to keep your PR game strong during those quieter times.
Pitch to Podcasts
Public relations don’t have to be limited to digital and print media. There are other ways you can widen your reach.
For instance, you can pitch to podcasts so you can share your expertise. To secure a podcast session schedule, it is important to highlight your qualifications for media outlets to know your expertise.
As of 2023, there are 464.7 million podcast listeners all over the world, and 74% of these listeners want to learn new things. Use these numbers to your advantage by providing thoughtful insights.
Becky Moore, Founder, Global Grasshopper
Maintain Social Media Engagement
One effective way to keep your social media accounts active and engaging during slow news months is by consistently sharing valuable and informative content. This could be as blog posts, infographics, videos, or user-generated content.
In a travel agency, share inspiring travel stories, budget travel tips, and destination-specific guides to keep your followers interested. Regularly providing your audience with relevant and engaging content can build a loyal community of followers who trust your brand and are more likely to engage with your posts.
So, focus on creating content that provides value to your audience, and you’ll see a significant increase in your social media engagement and followers, even during slow news months.
Saneem Ahearn, VP of Marketing, Colorescience
Evaluate and Plan Strategically
For an experienced public relations expert, slow news months present an excellent opportunity to do an evaluation of the previous months’ activities. It is the best time to do research, conduct surveys, and plan for the upcoming months’ events and develop appropriate content marketing and social media strategies.
Although evaluation is usually done after an event, an evaluation of a succession of events and activities leads to trend prediction and more insight into what works and does not work.
With the rise of AI and how people use them, research made half a year ago might have become semi-obsolete and totally ineffective, so it’s best to conduct further research and do surveys.
Tristan Harris, Demand Generation Senior Marketing Manager, Thrive Agency
Create Your Own News
Making your own news is an unusual tactic for months with little news coverage. This can entail completing a poll or study relevant to your business or sector and sharing the findings with reporters and media sources.
Another suggestion is to work in collaboration with other companies or groups to plan an event or campaign that will attract media attention. Additionally, it might support the development of networks and contacts within your sector.
To keep your audience’s interest during lulls in the news, you may also think about experimenting with other sorts of content or investigating new and developing social media sites.
Inga Broerman, VP of Marketing, BluLogix
Collaborate with Businesses or Influencers
I’ve found that collaborating with other businesses or influencers can enhance your client’s visibility during slow news months. We can accomplish this by working together on a shared project or hosting a combined event. You can reach a larger audience and generate more media coverage by utilizing your partner’s audience.
Gerrid Smith, Communications Manager, Property Tax Loan Pros
Repurpose Existing Content
Repurposing and redistributing your previous material is always a smart move, even while producing fresh content is always a fantastic idea. It’s a terrific idea to focus on this and make a specific social media calendar during the slow season.
You can even use this time to pre-schedule any kind of post for the busy season if you use a social media management program. Just make sure you’re also producing fresh, timely material throughout each season.
Dayna Carlin, Director of Marketing and Sales, NovoPath
Provide Relevant Material
During slow news months, I believe you should provide timely and relevant material for your target audience. We can accomplish this by performing research on current trends and discovering issues of interest to your target audience.
When you have determined which topics to cover, the next step is to develop content that is both captivating and informative.
Cindi Keller, Communications Coordinator, THE CRIMINAL DEFENSE FIRM
Engage with Interactive Content
During slow news months, interactive content like quizzes, polls, and games can engage your target audience and generate media coverage. You can boost the likelihood of your material getting shared on social media and picked up by media outlets by providing interesting and interactive content. For example, if your customer is a travel company, you could build a quiz to help people decide where to go next.
Andrew Priobrazhenskyi, CEO and Director, Discount Reactor
Build Media Relationships
By revisiting past successes, repurposing existing assets, or crafting fresh stories that highlight timeless themes, PR professionals can continue to generate interest and drive conversations around their clients’ brands.
This period offers an ideal opportunity to build relationships with key media contacts and influencers, solidifying partnerships that will amplify future campaigns when the news cycle picks up again. By focusing on these enduring strategies, PR experts can ensure sustained brand awareness and growth even during periods of reduced media activity.
Michael Lazar, Executive, ReadyCloud
Leverage Social Media Buzz
Create your own buzz by leveraging social media. Run social media campaigns that highlight your products or services, share behind-the-scenes glimpses of your business, or showcase user-generated content.
Even better, create shareable content to widen your reach during slow news months. Create infographics, informative or fun, creative videos, or other visual content your audience can easily share on their socials.
Peter Hoopis, Owner and CEO, Peter Hoopis
Tap into Influencer Marketing
Slow news months are only a nudge to get creative with PR campaigns. Tapping into influencer marketing will help generate some buzz for your brand at this time. Influencers have a way of staying on top of the latest trends, and they will know how to make relevant promotions for your product.
Pick influencers whose audience is your target market, so you can boost your reach and gain meaningful engagement despite the slow news season.
Garrett Smith, Head of Local SEO, GMB Gorilla
Host Charity Events or Campaigns
In my opinion, hosting a charity event or campaign is a terrific approach to attracting media coverage and boosting your client’s awareness, while also supporting a worthy cause.
This can be accomplished by collaborating with a charity or non-profit organization to hold an event or launch a campaign to gain awareness and funding. You may boost your client’s visibility and help a good cause by using the media attention generated by the event or campaign.
Tiffany Hafler, Marketing Manager, Fortis Medical Billing
Brett Farmiloe is the founder of Terkel, a Q&A platform that connects brands with expert insights.\
PR stock image by Eternalfeelings/Shutterstock
