New Year’s PR Resolution #1: Review Messaging

Another year has come and gone, and that means another season of New Year’s resolutions is upon us.

New Year’s resolutions are not only applicable to personal matters; they can also address necessary improvements in PR.

Sandy Evans Levine, president of Advice Unlimited LLC, has suggested “Five Tips For Planning Fabulous PR In 2013.” Her tips are geared toward Advice Unlimited’s client base of government organizations, but all companies can benefit from them.

Levine suggests keeping the following points in mind when crafting PR campaigns this year:

1) Think through your business goals and objectives for 2013.
2) Define the PR/marketing actions needed to achieve your goals and objectives.
3) Review the past year’s successes and efforts that were especially effective in communicating your message.
4) Establish metrics to be achieved.
5) Spend time with friends and family.

These are all worthwhile tips (the fifth is my favorite), but companies also need to begin their 2013 PR activities by reviewing their messaging (the key words and themes they wish to resonate with audiences).

Messaging provides the building blocks of a brand; therefore, it must be regularly reviewed and updated to make sure it is clear and on-track. Clients and their brands evolve over time and any alterations to a client’s business, industry, focus or internal/external perceptions must be reflected in its messaging. If messaging is allowed to become outdated, then a client will send messages which will not resonate as well with its audiences.

Levine correctly notes, “Consistent, focused PR educates your audience on the solutions you provide to help solve their problems; a results-driven PR campaign builds name recognition and brand awareness, helping you expand your organization’s sphere of influence.”

No results-driven PR campaign can succeed if it is based on outdated or stale messaging. As Startup Blender points out, “The best coverage comes when you are ‘on message.’”

Make sure you start 2013 “on message.”