We’re entering the last quarter of the game called business. Now is the time to defend our lead with first-team public relations tactics that enhance the brand, engage employees and showcase innovation. Are our customers, employees and investors/partners applauding? Do we have revenue growth? Are the right players in the right place on our teams?
Here are five tenets of the finals playbook:
Year-end report (Get it out in October): What happened in your industry? What do you have to brag about? Did you win any awards? Did your leadership team go beyond its objectives? Did the company launch a new product or service? Remind people. A press release distributed to industry reporters and a paid wire distribution will increase SEO and establish the CEO as a thought leader with third-party validation.
Boost Activity Around Q4 and Q1 2024 Tradeshows: Investors, media and thought leaders (and their competitors) will be there, and so will we. Reach out to media before the show to schedule meetings. Learn who will be there and who won’t. Show organizers will share the media list with companies with booths. There also will be panels to speak on, or perhaps host your own panel in your booth. Invite a customer or compelling speaker to interview your CEO or for your CEO to interview. Sign up and be ready for Q4 and Q1 2024 critical conferences. Keep the OWC do’s and don’ts of tradeshows handy. (https://www.olmsteadwilliams.com/pack-your-bags-tradeshows-and-conferences-are-back-enews-from-owc/
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Awards Program: Awards are a critical component in a strategic plan to drive a company’s mission and vision forward and boost employee morale. Daily newspapers, business journals, magazines, chambers of commerce and other business organizations roll out various award programs throughout the year to showcase the latest innovations, leadership and commitment to a safe and thriving company culture. Here’s a list of some awards. You need only apply, including to the EY Entrepreneur Of The Year® program in your region, the Fast Company Most Innovative Companies list, the Inc. 5000 and awards from the nation’s many business journals.
Amplify on Social: A successful social media strategy drives sales, engagement, impressions and recruitment. However, the landscape keeps changing. Twitter is now X and Threads, its competitor brought about by Meta, showed early promise but is slowly fading (see our summary on the social media market: https://www.olmsteadwilliams.com/unraveling-twitter-now-xs-newest-rival-threads-enews-from-owc/
) In 2024, social media content should revolve around the rule of thirds: ⅓ of posts to promote company news, ⅓ of posts from industry news and ⅓ of posts to spotlight the people and executives behind the scenes.
Optimize Website SEO: Reporters, investors, potential new hires and the everyday curious players go on Glassdoor, Google and Yelp when they want to learn more about a company. Messaging is key, but everything else pales compared to what others say about you. Encourage employees, past and present, to draft a friendly review. Good feedback boosts a company’s online presence and sets a business apart.
We’re in the finals, and public relations got us here. Time for a full-court press.
Finish 2023 Strong and Set Up for A Brilliant 2024 | eNews from OWC