Four Ways to Exit the Public Relations Emotional Roller Coaster

Public relations is an emotional roller coaster ride for many businesses. Profits dip and the C-Suite throws up its arms like a middle-aged man in the front seat of a tiny car hurling down the track of a thrill-seeking amusement park attraction. They want more public relations, more media attention, more campaigns and quick. Once the bottom line begins creeping up hill out of the red and the company re-focuses on customer needs. The public relations campaign gets tossed aside like the automated snap-shot taken during the roller coaster’s horrific drop.

We’ve all heard the adage, pay yourself first. Meaning put money in the bank, or under the mattress, and then pay the all-important life-sustaining bills. The same philosophy can be attributed to promoting your business. Managing your company’s website, blogs, social media, newsletters, smoke signals, etc. is overwhelming, and, more importantly, you can’t send the bill for those hours to a client. The pay off can sometimes seem abstract, until a potential client says, “Hey I saw your blog and you really seem on top of everything. Let’s have lunch.”

Keep these tips in mind when reviewing your company’s strategy:

• Public relations is a long term commitment. Formulate a 12 month plan, review it quarterly and make adjustments accordingly.

• The abstract is more concrete now than ever before. Your public relations efforts can be tracked thanks to social media.

• Schedule time periods on your calendar when you only focus on public relations. Protect this time. Your business’ life depends on it!

• You don’t have to go it alone. If you can’t afford to bring someone in house, contact a PR pro for hire.