During the holiday season, many organizations experience a lull in their public relations and social media outreach because key staff is taking a holiday, or fundraising is prioritized to meet end-of-year budget goals.
Regardless of the reason for the lull, we have four simple ideas that you can adopt to reinvigorate your organization’s strategic communications and help build momentum in the new year.
Develop a Schedule of Pre-Programmed Social Media Content
Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter all have features that allow you to schedule posts for later delivery directly in their apps.
For other social media sites and platforms, websites like Hootsuite and Later allow you to load prepared social media content to go out whenever you like.
During the holiday break, we recommend scheduling at least 1-2 posts a week of engaging content that serves your organization’s end-of-year goals. You can always add more if time and circumstances challenge you to do so.
Plan Communication Accordingly
Think about the communications platforms you have at your disposal and how to use them most effectively. For instance, people may not be checking work email over the holidays, but they may be on Instagram and Twitter — think about adjusting communications accordingly. Put yourself into the mind of your target audience. What do they need to hear from you and where do they need to hear it? When you can identify these answers, it can guide your public relations and social media strategies.
Brainstorm and Delegate With Your Team
The end of the year is a great time to review metrics, end-of-year achievements, and plan for the next year. Consider using the first two weeks of December to identify your best and least effective outreach of the year. Explore how social media tools and even your public relations outreach generated feedback. Identify what you learned and then consider how to put it into practice.
You can then use the second half of December, as things slow down, to spend time with your team to brainstorm new ideas to engage with your audience/community. Pick 2 or 3 of the most interesting ideas and delegate a staff person to oversee their implementation. Not only will this make your staff feel empowered and excited about being included in planning, but it will also help you tap into the creativity that surrounds you during a low-activity period.
Your team may also consider committing or recommitting to prioritizing metrics in the new year. Data is essential to help you make smarter choices on content and communications tools.
Build and Strengthen Your Network for the Future
Consider hosting a get-together with your current and/or potential allies in your public relations, outreach, and policy work. Now is a good time to explore how to reconnect with organizations and individuals who you haven’t seen in a while – whether that’s safely in person or virtually over Zoom.
If the conversations prove fruitful, you might suggest an opportunity to share the burden and have partners “cover” your issues by writing a blog post about your work, and perhaps you can do the same about their work. This effort will have the added benefit of bringing a fresh perspective to the work you do.
Strengthening your network during this time will also leave you in a strong position if you or your organization have thought-leadership goals for the new year.
Develop a Communication Plan with the Help of a PR Agency
FCP Communications has been helping clients navigate the holiday season for 20 years. Our team can help you make sure that you put your best foot forward in the new year. To learn more about our communications planning, media relations, and other PR services, contact us now.