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Are you planning a communication strategy for 2023? Let us give you 11 communication strategy tips for 2023 that will help you plan and succeed in PR.

WHY ARE YOU IMPORTANT?

The phrase ‘dive right in’ should be the norm these days. No extra fluff when writing content. Get to the point of why you are important and why the information you are giving is necessary. Short messaging translates to social media better than a lengthy one. And, this goes for your pitches to writers and journalists as well. Convey your message without extras unless it’s necessary.

That being said, this post is not short, but it is ‘to the point’ for each tip given for PR and communication strategy in 2023.

STORYTELLING: DON’T SELL, GIVE VALUE

People want to support businesses that align with their values!  Storytelling is an art, and quite frankly, requires mastery over time. You can start with your mission. If you really want to learn storytelling, Hubspot has a great downloadable document ‘The Ultimate Guide To Storytelling’.

HOW CAN ENTREPRENEURS and SELF-EMPLOYED USE AI

Artificial intelligence (AI) is on the rise and you can use AI software to automate your most tedious tasks, proofread your pitches, and monitor audience sentiment on your latest campaigns. 

What can you use AI for and why:

  1. Virtual events – Experiential marketing stats show that the use of event management software increases attendance by 20%, productivity by 27%, and profit margin by 20-30% on average. Check out this article about event management software that uses AI. 
  2. Writing CopyJasper.ia and WriteSonic.com. By the way, WriteSonic.com has a page with a lot of free tools!
  3. Proofing Grammarly.com and ScribeMedia.com
  4. Response and Engagement – AI-powered software or plug-ins can exist on a business’s website or app 24/7, allowing unlimited opportunity for customer engagement via Chatbots.
  5. Analytics – Analytics for all of your online contributions, is important but it’s also very mind-boggling if you don’t like it or know how to do it. However, here is the BIG DEAL … if you work diligently to get out front online via social media, ads, or write loads of content for SEO purposes, how will you know what is most successful if you don’t look at or even set up analytics? The best thing to do is let a software with AI capabilities do it for you and then send you a report. Additionally, check out Neil Patel online portals for finding out exactly what people search, most frequently searched on topics in your industry and constantly keeping abreast at auditing your site for you. Here is his most recent video on AI Analytics.

For even more AI info, check out this article by USChamber.com ‘4 Effective Ways Small Businesses Can Leverage AI’.

EMPATHY IS EVERYTHING

Empathy is everything to today’s consumers. If you remember, businesses who continued as if Covid wasn’t happening in their promotions and campaign were slammed. Many influencers took a break from promoting “look at me products.”  Journalist would only write about ‘all things related to Covid’.

Please make sure you are not tone deaf to what is going on around the globe, especially during a crisis. A single poorly timed social post can cause a PR crisis. Businesses who were innovative in helping their customers/clients during this time, stood out and received a lot of PR from even strangers.

One of our fabulous clients owns a nail salon.  She made removal kits and put in nail strengthener as a bonus, then dropped them on the doorsteps. Not only was that innovative, but she wanted to let her clients know she was thinking about them. The loyalty she created has been priceless.

FLEXIBILITY IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN EVER

Have you ever had to pivot after you spent so much time and money on a pitch, a campaign, a direction? It happens, right? Overhauling a strategy because of an unforeseen circumstance or opportunity is common in the entrepreneur life. One of the ways to get ahead is to prep multiple pitches or angles in advance.  When brainstorming, prioritize all the ideas just in case the top one doesn’t come together, you will have the next best thing at your fingertips.

By the way, please plan out an editorial calendar for the year based on your favorite media platforms. Do you know when they need to hear from you? How do they want to hear from you? What is it you will be pitching?  We love all things Hubspot. They have a free ‘Editorial Calendar Template’.

PITCH EXCLUSIVES

Have you heard the term ‘I want an exclusive’? Exclusive content is everything and because magazines and newspapers are online now with news stations, they are competing with the ‘you heard if first here’ media. More and more media outlets have paying subscribers and because of that, they need to be able to offer exclusivity.

Exclusives are great tools for building new, mutually beneficial media relationships that will land you key coverage in the future. If you need help with exclusives and being able to frame news about your business as an exclusive, you must chat with Cyndy Hoenig. She is an ‘exclusive guru’.

IN PERSON EVENTS ARE BACK

Re-incorporate in-person events into your campaign plans. Keep in mind that some consumers aren’t quite ready to return to in person experiences. You can start with small events or go hybrid with a virtual component to reach people at home, then scale as you go.

TAILOR YOUR PITCHES

Now more than ever, it’s essential to treat journalists with respect and empathy, whether you’re meeting them for a chat over coffee or pitching a story via email. Show that you know what’s going on in their industry by sending relevant pitches only, keeping your communications specific and targeted, and including captioned and credited multimedia in your emails. Their stories have to generate revenue for the publication on top of being compelling, engaging, and credible.

MEDIA RESEARCH AND BUILDING MEDIA RELATIONSHIPS

Building a media list takes a lot of research. A media list is your guide to all the contacts you need to land epic press features, boost your media outreach, and build connections with editors and journalists.

Although we would love to offer nationwide outreach through The Media Insider to editors and journalists, it’s too hard for us to compete with online software like https://justreachout.io/.  This is a great tool.  One of the problems with online databases is their accuracy.  We hear all the time ‘OMG the emails were not correct!’ regarding PR software.  It’s expensive to be frequently wrong.  We like Just Reach Out. It has great reviews for DIY PR people. The negatives had to do with worldwide outreach that they don’t offer, or it was limited. Just Reach Out starts at $79 a month and that is affordable.  Most PR Agency software is 10x’s that price.

When using an online software tool, make sure you follow your niche editors and journalists on their social platforms.  Comment on their posts for publications they write as well.  More and more journalists are freelance now and write for many publications. As mentioned, they need to help the publication generate revenue. Engagement will help you create a relationship.

GET INTO AFFILIATE MARKETING

Do you sell a physical product? If so, you need to add affiliate marketing to your website.  More and more editors are giving priority to businesses who have an affiliate marketing element.

When they write about your business and link to your website or products, it gives them a way to monetize the story. Like it or not, it’s huge in 2023.

PERMISSION-BASED MARKETING DATABASE

Per Entrepreneur.com, you must have a permission-based marketing database.  One-to-one marketing and customization will become more prevalent in 2023, and they will be the main factors in the success of many brands.  If companies want to reach the right people at the right time with the appropriate message, they need to figure out how to use data to divide and conquer their audiences. Just using cookies to track people is not the way to go anymore.

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Remember you can always grab a DIY PR KIT for $99 and get LOADS of knowledge and step by step instructions on doing your own public relations.

Use our COMMUNICATIONS STRATEGY PLAN and receive a review from us after you complete it!