Public Relations Tips to remember during a pandemic

Public Relations Tips to remember during a pandemic

by Mahrukh Inayet

“If you can’t explain it simply, you don’t understand it well enough,” said Albert Einstein and even though the pandemic has altered a lot in PR messaging, the importance of clarity remains constant. Even more so today as attention spans have shrunk and are divided between multiple stimuli.  What has changed is the tonality and substance of messaging in keeping with the times we are living in. The pandemic has impacted the vocabulary of PR outreach and for good reason. No product, brand, company or celebrity today can exist in isolation from the faultiness the pandemic has revealed. To not acknowledge the human cost of the pandemic will be considered apathetic and every PR campaign will have to be designed around empathy and a comprehensive awareness of ground realities. If not overtly, then in a subtle but unmistakable way. Trust, respect and goodwill cannot be built in a bubble. They have to be co-created with all stakeholders.

Here are a few other PR trends that I feel will emerge in the post pandemic environment.

Doing more with less

The past two years have been economically challenging and we still don’t know when the pandemic will ease and businesses will revert to the old normal. This means that budget cuts, curtailed promotional activities, paucity of resources are here to stay along with an opportunity to do more with less. By that I mean, maximising the reach of messaging via digital means, thinking out of the box, strategising innovatively and rethinking ‘events’ as virtual entities with limitless reach. It is possible now that those who did not have direct access to physical events earlier can also tune into major promotional activities via live streams and various online platforms. This way, money that was being spent on creating photo ops and on paid appearances can be ploughed into time and resource saving technologies. Harnessing the e-commerce wave and engaging powerful influencers and being aware of every new trend in virtual marketing is essential for all professionals now.

Reflect a larger purpose

PR was once about projecting a perception, an image and now it is increasingly about projecting a purpose. Campaigns can no longer be created from the perspective of the client alone but must include the concerns, perspectives and preoccupations of consumers. This is a time that has taken a toll on emotions, psyches and a sense of normalcy in a profound way and no brand can afford to remain self-absorbed. How can a brand contribute to the larger good, make a difference, show up to express solidarity with those in distress or need will define how much substance it is perceived to have. Profit may no longer be the end goal of clients. Goodwill and trust will be because they automatically deliver more brand engagement. More and more clients are going to be made accountable for their carbon footprint, fair trade, diversity, and labour policies and how much they give back to the community. And PR will have to take these shifts in consideration because self-absorption in these times can be perceived as insensitive. Every campaign must make the effort to be user-centric.

Make messaging authentic and well-informed

This is the era of thought leaders and opinion makers and no client can come across as uninformed or without a well-formed perspective about the world. Like the protagonist in the Emma Thompson film ‘Late Night’, connection with an audience is reinforced only when they are spoken to in an honest voice. As the PR professional in the film demonstrates, manipulating perceptions can only get limited results but what really sparks interest in an individual or a brand is authenticity, humility, a sense of community, good humour, and a world view that is unique and non-derivative. Another factor that will make or break a brand is the relevance of its messaging. Is it tailored to the needs of targeted consumers? Is it timely? Is it addressing a specific need? Is it relatable? Out of touch messaging is out of date. Staying in touch with the news cycle is now absolutely essential.

Engagement is all

With traditional media losing its clout and dominance over perception creation, the most amount of power now is wielded by individuals who actively use social media (Instagram Reels, Snapchat, YouTube and even Pinterest). They may not even be influencers but users who spend a lot of time online, like and share content and  trigger trends.  Any campaign that creates positive engagement with these legions of digital media consumers will succeed in achieving its goals. During the harshest months of the pandemic, individuals and companies that created solutions, donated resources and time, ended up generating more positive engagement and goodwill than those who did not. Today, every single affirmative click on a brand story has to be earned and no PR professional can afford to forget that.

Make content multifaceted

With media professionals preoccupied with hard news, PR professionals will have to think like feature journalists and create content that can be immediately picked and used by portals and publications. This means, brand positioning has to be subtle and the story must be powerful enough to stand on its own. This also means that PR professionals will have to research not just the clients they are promoting but the context within which their services and products exist. Organic coverage is always more effective than paid promotions and that can unfold only when the content is written professionally, succinctly, with economy and clarity. A PR company must now be adroit in churning out podcasts, blogs, organising webinars, panel discussions and helping the client with multi-media outreach. To paraphrase Albert Einstein, the PR industry must learn from yesterday, live for today and hope for tomorrow. And keep preparing for the worst just in case, like the pandemic, it keeps showing up in the form of multiple challenges.