3 New Year Resolutions for your B2B PR

by Melissa Sidnell

1. Get creative with case studies
Case studies remain an incredibly useful PR tool, as they show your product or service in action. Many companies have trouble securing case studies, but you could try including a clause in any new contracts you are signing with customers, asking whether they would be happy to publicise the work you are doing together. This isn’t always an unreasonable request: you both have a lot to gain from this publicity. Once you have buy-in, you can get creative when showcasing your partnership. Think about using video to capture your clients’ reflections, or even the possibility of putting on an event to present the results of your work together.

2. Prepare to be responsive
Being able to respond quickly to breaking news – in an activity often known as ‘newsjacking’ – can be a very effective way to secure lots of high profile coverage. Offering opinion and analysis promptly, whether in the form of a news alert or even an appearance on broadcast media, helps to position your spokesperson as a key industry voice and shows the world that you have your finger on the pulse. Think about creating a ‘PR lines’ document which identifies the topics on which your spokespeople can offer insights, and which gives a short summary of your company’s messages on each issue.  This will enable you to get off the mark quickly when news breaks.
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3. Keep an open mind
Whilst you certainly want to be prepared before you start a PR campaign, it’s important to remain flexible to feedback whilst the campaign is running. Listen to journalists, to your clients, and also to your agency, who may all have thoughts on the brand messaging that you’ve developed. People who spend more time on the outside of your company than you do will all have thoughts and ideas that may not have occurred to you before, so prepare to be surprised.