It goes without saying that press office skills are vital in public relations. However, as well as issuing standard releases (e.g. product launches, company news, events, etc.) it’s really important to be as proactive as possible when to be successful. Here we’ll be running through some of the key considerations to keep in mind that can allow us to keep a proactive press office for any client.

Securing forward features to get coverage confirmed ahead of the deadline

This is particularly relevant for B2B clients, as content is often very industry-specific and therefore is usually planned well in advance by relevant publications. The first step would be for us to reach out to those media outlets and get a list of their planned topics. This would then allow us to work with you in order to get features drafted and approved well in advance. Publications are always looking for features and press releases, especially if it is a niche industry, so it’s definitely worth being proactive and seeking out future opportunities. This means we can keep a constant flow of coverage and meet the targets that your brand or business may have.

Being on top of our game and responding to reactive PR

Good reactive press office means keeping a close eye on relevant news and drafting pieces based on that to push to the media. An example of where this has worked well for one of our clients, ProGARM – Arc Flash Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) specialists, was that we saw an article in the national press containing a video where a Russian Substation worker encountered an Arc Flash and drafted a reactive piece referencing the incident, warning people of the potentially fatal dangers it poses. On the back of this, we successfully pitched it to relevant media titles and were able to gain several pieces of coverage.

Spotting industry trends to help secure press coverage

Keeping up to date with current industry trends is another important aspect of any successful proactive press office. This means we can spend time each day curating content from influencers, the media and other trusted sources that can be adapted into content for us to pitch to the media on your behalf. It’s also really helpful if you can communicate any industry specialist knowledge you have with us so that we can ensure we’re on top of our game when spotting this trends that we can jump on to gain more coverage. According to an article on Gartner.com trends can be put into three phases; emerging, growth and mainstream. If you can identify trends at the emerging stage, you’ll then see the benefits as it goes onto growth and then mainstream. Once at the final stage, the trend will often start to decline as it has now become common knowledge amongst your key audiences.

Coming up with new feature ideas is key to keeping a proactive press office

This is another great way to ensure we can have a constant stream of coverage. Working together to come up with new articles and features is something that we pride ourselves on, as this keeps the media interested and gives us a better chance of securing coverage. If you can keep us up to date with relevant, interesting and anything new about your brand and business – we will be able to draft content off the back of this and keep the media engaged. We often find exclusivity is guaranteed to get you coverage, as niche publications have a lot of crossover and journalists/ editors will not want to publish an article that has been covered throughout that particular sectors’ media – so if we can offer something such as an exclusive quote or a statistics that you could share with us, this could be really beneficial.
At Prohibition, we work with many brands across B2B and B2C sectors delivering PR services to get them featured in national, regional, lifestyle and trade media that has seen real results for their business. If you’d like to find out how we can help meet your businesses objectives, please do get in touch.

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