Silly season PR - should you go for it?

PR of the past

Twenty years ago before we had all become slaves to the internet, no PR in their right mind would have advised you to do PR in 'silly season'. If everyone is on holiday who would read your story? There was a reason why July issues were always combined with August and weighed far less.

How the silly season affects PR now 

However, times have changed big time. And silly season isn't as detrimental to coverage as it was. Yes people go away, but there are still newspages to fill online. The chance of your story making it to the front page is much higher than at any time of year. And given people don't switch off there's a fair chance they will see it - especially if you share your coverage on your social channels (there's another tip; get the social working hard for you - followers will look at social even when they are not at work). 

Our top tips

1. That brings us to our first piece of advice then. Do release news. But make sure you still do the leg work to get it in front of editors. Don't think that fewer stories and less competition means you don't need to commit to a sell in. You do.
2.  You might think I haven't got any news. Now's a perfect time to be inventive then. Run a survey, perhaps turning things on their head and asking consumers what they think about a topic related to the b2b industry you serve. More light hearted pieces will work so long as you strike the balance between serious and frivolous. The press will still see through press releases for press releases' sake.
3. Track the news agenda. See what's making headlines and work out what you have you can piggyback it with. You might not have news but using someone else's news to create your own coverage is a brilliant stop gap.
4. Summer can have a more gentle pace and people will make time to read things. It's therefore worth thinking about the thought leadership you're producing, turn it up a notch, and get placements so you can ensure your coverage momentum doesn't break. You may find that editors will be relying on you to help fill their pages.
5. Plan ahead. Clients often say they don't have time to produce the longer thought leadership reports and studies. Now is a great time to plan them, and get them started - write the framework, interview the contributors, research the content, get the copy written. You may find that you can get ahead of the competition on coverage sooner into the autumn.

If you're thinking 'I need some inventive brains on my account' then talk to us, we're here to help!