LET’S GO SURFIN’ NOW! EVERYBODY’S LEARNING HOW! COME ON AND … oh wait … I’m in PR! I don’t have time for surfing!
That’s right. Much like New York City, the public relations field NEVER sleeps – as long as the 24-hour news cycle keeps on chugging. And even though summer is upon us, there is still plenty of work to do to prepare for fall – arguably one of the busiest times of the year.
So, when your clients are all out enjoying vacation, the kids are out of school, and you’d like nothing more than to be sitting by the pool sipping something frozen, it’s important to remember that overcoming the distractions of summertime is necessary to keep the momentum going for your clients’ messaging and goals. Read on to learn some of the challenges that PR pros often face during the warmer months and how the team here at Nereus meets those challenges head on.
Your clients are likely in the Bahamas or somewhere else cool
As we mentioned previously, clients travel and want to enjoy their summer off with family and friends just like the rest of us. Wrangling large group meetings with participants in different time zones can be challenging to say the least, especially when some are on a beach in the Bahamas. Our advice: Get ahead of it. In the spring months, address upcoming travel schedules, get to know your client’s back-up, and ask for volunteers to step in and act as “point” for any items that may come up while others are out of the office. Sometimes, it might be worth adjusting deadlines up to ensure mission-critical items get buy-in from key stakeholders before they head out of the office. The more informed you are, the better you can plan.
Everybody is busy watching the beach volleyball game instead of your news
Your client’s target audiences are likely enjoying some downtime as well, which means that you may need to repeat key messages over different platforms to make sure they’re up-to-date on all your client’s news when they get back. For example, if your client has a blog on their website and a quarterly newsletter, you might consider sharing some key news elements in both areas – potentially even repeating some content and referencing the other platform. This way, if their audience tends to be a “delete all the emails from vacation and pretend they never happened” type, the references will remind them that they may have missed some key information in a newsletter.
The volleyball game is way more interesting than anything you have to say
Even if you’re repeating your news and have the team in place to make sure things continue running smoothly, you need to make sure what you’re sharing is engaging and attention-grabbing enough to cut through the noise. Everyone is sharing Insta-photos from their travels or latest adventures and you’re trying to educate them about a new tech advancement. Good luck with that. Our advice: Find interesting ways to stand out on social media. The summer months are a GREAT time to introduce a new element, such as an illustrated video or a fantastic flow chart that clearly and simply outlines your latest tech development. People are much more likely to click on an image or video than simply a line of text – and that click is what you’re really looking for.
But it isn’t all bad
Recognizing that the summer months move a bit more slowly, this is also a great time for PR and marketing pros to expand their skills and learn something new. If you’re looking for an interesting and educational beach/poolside read, here’s a list of some books our team enjoys:
- The PR Masterclass: How to develop a public relations strategy that works! by Alex Singleton
- Growth Hacker Marketing by Ryan Holiday
- All Marketers are Liars Tell Stories by Seth Godin
- The Book of Why: The New Science of Cause & Effect by Judea Pearl and Dana Mackenzie
- And anything by Ruth Ware – we know these are mystery novels but come on, IT’S SUMMER!
The Nereus team wishes everyone a happy and fun summer. But if you are looking for public relations and marketing communications help, don’t worry – none of us know how to surf anyway!