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What to include in your PR and marketing strategy for 2022

As we come to the end of yet another mixed-up year, the idea of having any sort of plan for 2022 seems like it might be jinxing it.

But when it comes to your PR campaigns, it’s worth getting a strategy in place now to keep your marketing activity flowing – whatever the world throws at it.

Charlotte Nichols, founder and managing director of PR, social media and content marketing agency Harvey & Hugo, explains what you should be including in your PR and marketing strategy for 2022…

Right audience

Who are you talking to? What do they want? How do they like to be communicated with?

Remember, the goal of your PR strategy is ultimately to reach your audience, so you need to put your investigator’s hat on and find out all about them, all the better to be able to tailor your message to them.

When it comes to identifying your audience, there are a variety of ways and means. You can start by looking at your current customers, to see what they have in common, or maybe look at your competitors’ audiences too.

There are also tools on social media platforms to help you get a better idea of who’s looking at your brand, as well as which content is appealing to them.

Right message

Once you’ve found your audience, you can now work on your message, getting to the heart of what you do and, most importantly, why.

This is where working with an agency can really help; you’ve been doing what you do for so long, it’s second nature – often, it’s only with an outsider’s perspective that you can really see the bigger picture.

Then you can work on your messaging itself – who do you want your brand to be? Helpful and informative? Creative and entertaining? Innovative and disruptive? All this goes towards developing a tone of voice that can be used across all the content you produce, ultimately building a cohesive and coherent brand.

Right channel

All channels are not created equal, and it’s important to assess what is right for you.

While the world is, indeed, becoming more digital, there is still very much a place for print media, for example, and if that’s where your audience is, that’s where you need to be.

Same goes for social. With five key platforms to choose from, you may think the right thing to do is be on all of them, but that’s not necessarily the case. If your field is heavy on info, LinkedIn is perfect; Instagram, with its focus on perfect, eye-catching imagery, not so much.

Likewise, video content is big news for 2022 - social media posts with video generate 48 per cent more views - but you’ve got to make sure you can show people what they want to see. However, if you do work in an industry with limited visual appeal, all is not lost – at Harvey & Hugo, we can create eye-catching animations to stop the scroll and bring your brand to life.

Another channel that has seen rapid growth over the past few years, fuelled largely by the pandemic, is e-commerce. We’ve jumped on board with our Pay-as-Hugo website, which allows customers to browse our range of PR, social media and content marketing services, add whatever they want to their baskets (no retainers or contracts required) and pay, all from the comfort of their own homes.

Again, choosing the right channel depends very much on knowing your audience, so if you’re not sure, back to the beginning you go.

Right timing

Timing is everything, from when to launch a new product to when to send out a press release or to post on social.

That’s why having a strategy in place is so important; a good PR plan will take you through the year, considering all important events and what’s going on in the wider world, so you can make sure your brand is in the right place at the right time.

For example, it’s no use sending out a press release about your latest product if it’s not available yet, while matching your social media content to relevant awareness days can improve reach and engagement.

You also need to consider when is the right time for your audience: when are they listening and when are they buying.

For social media, you can use analytics to find out what times of day your audience are online – there are also plenty of guides out there on the internet too.

For wider campaigns, think about when you want to launch and work backwards from there – it’s a bit late to start thinking about Christmas in November, you need everything ready to launch by then to hit peak buying season.

And, while we’re talking about timing, don’t necessarily expect overnight results; PR is all about playing the long game, building up positive connections in your audience’s brain so that when they do want to make a purchase, you’re the first brand they think of.

If you’d like some help coming up with a strategy for your PR and marketing in 2022, throw us a bone on 01325 486666 or email info@harveyandhugo.com

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Harvey & Hugo .