Whether you’re a startup or an established organization, taking periodic stock of your public relations efforts can be helpful in maintaining ongoing PR success. When you review which tactics have worked well in the past – as well as ones that may have underperformed – and reevaluate your marketing goals, you gain valuable insights and ensure your PR strategy continues to support key business objectives.
All of this can be accomplished through a PR audit, an exercise that helps you identify opportunities, hone your approach, and better understand the competitive landscape. It gives you a new perspective.
A systematic approach allows you to establish benchmarks and measure progress against them. For the best results, make sure to annually evaluate the following criteria:
- Past media coverage
Revisit the story placements you generated over the last year and make note of:
a. The original angle and how you pitched it, so you get a sense of what types of stories are most likely to capture media interest going forward.
b. Which outlets ran stories. Analyzing where you earned media coverage can provide a roadmap for future outreach, while also revealing gaps in coverage that may require a more targeted or creative approach.
c. The quality of the coverage. If reporters included key messages, note how you communicated them so you can replicate the methodology. Conversely, if they omitted any key messaging, try to figure out why that was so you can avoid similar future outcomes.
d. The reporters who covered the stories. Noting their names can remind you of your most important media relationships, which you should keep working to strengthen. You also should track what types of reporters are most often interested in your company’s news. Do they consistently cover a specific beat? Are they typically feature writers or assignment reporters? Have you had more success targeting producers or morning news correspondents at television stations? Answering these and similar questions should inform future media relations tactics.
- Competitor ink
Follow abbreviated versions of the same steps you took in reviewing your own coverage to evaluate that of your main competitors.
- PR opportunities
Use the intelligence gleaned from the first two steps to generate new story angles. For example, maybe one of the stories on a competitor featured an employee who volunteers a significant amount of time at a local nonprofit. That could lead to a survey of your team to discover newsworthy stories that might make compelling media pitches. You also should cross-reference your media list with the outlets that covered competitors to see if it makes sense to add any of them to your list – e.g., a new podcast you hadn’t run across yet.
- Outside recognition
Depending on your business, there could be multiple avenues for garnering credible third-party endorsements. These include industry recognition, product reviews, and local media awards (e.g., “Best Places to Work”). Review these opportunities annually, and proactively seek them.
If a PR audit sounds somewhat time-consuming and tedious, that’s because it is. The results, however, are worth it. The PR professionals at GYC Vegas, an award-winning marketing communications firm and PR agency in Las Vegas, are experts at mining for opportunities using audits and other proven tools. Then we leverage those opportunities through targeted media strategies that build awareness. Contact us today for a free consultation to learn how we deliver public relations results that correspond directly to your business needs.