The Christmas holidays are nearly upon us and for many businesses this means closing down and going on holidays. However just because the holidays are looming it doesn’t mean you need to wind down your PR activities for the year.
The festive season can actually inspire your PR efforts to help you gain more media coverage, reach your target audience and build your profile.
Here are some ways you can use the festive season to inspire your PR strategy.
Don’t stop pitching
Even throughout the festive season many media publications don’t shut down. With less ‘news’ to write about during this time many journalists are looking for newsworthy stories. You can take advantage of this opportunity and keep pitching potential ideas to gain media coverage for your business. We’ve included some ideas below to help you with this. This is also a great opportunity to get ahead of your competitors who may be on holidays.
Connect with different journalists
Many journalists go on holidays over the festive season which means other journalists will be covering their position. This is a great opportunity for your business to discover different journalists and build a relationship with them. These journalists may be covering your area of expertise in the future and they are another useful contact at the publication.
Usually when a journalist goes on holidays they will set up an auto-reply email message telling you the best person to contact in their place. Always include these contact details in your media list for future reference.
Communicate with your target audience
Over the festive season it’s very likely your target audience will be on holidays and may have more time to read the newspaper, watch TV or go online. By gaining media coverage in the right publications over this period you can increase your chances of getting seen by your target audience.
Networking
At the end of the year there are many events and Christmas parties you might be attending. While these parties are fun, you can also use them to network with other business people or media professionals. However, remember to keep your conversations light hearted and steer away from being too formal. You should remember take your business cards.
The festive season can also inspire you to develop newsworthy story angles to pitch into the media.
Here are some angle ideas you can use:
- Holiday angles: The same holidays come around every year and journalists are always looking for a fresh new angle on these topics. For example you could pitch an angle about New Year’s business resolutions specific to your industry.
- Human interest: Around Christmas the media like to cover feel good stories about charity activities and inspirational journeys. If your business is doing something charitable you can use this as an angle to pitch to a specific journalist.
- Season angles: You can pitch an angle around the change of season and tie it back to your business. For example summer marketing trends.
While it may be tempting to stop your PR activities over the holidays it could be a great time to gain media coverage and reach your target audience. Let the festive season inspire you to discover great new ideas for your PR strategy.
How has the festive season inspired your PR activities?
Sydney Public Relations Agency, CP Communications provides specialist media, traditional and online PR strategies that get amazing results. Contact us today. For more great tips visit our website www.cpcommunications.com.au.
