How forward planning can be the jewel in your PR crown

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In the coming weeks it will be hard to miss the red, white and blue and the crowns as the country prepares to celebrate the coronation of King Charles III.?

It is an event we knew would be happening since the passing of Queen Elizabeth II and a date we have known about since October last year. ?

That date will have been in journalists’ diaries since then, and they will have been?planning their coverage, sourcing great stories, finding interesting angles and priming people to interview from that day until now. ?

This is a clear example of forward planning, something businesses can use to help promote their own stories.?

When we know something will undoubtedly be a topic of conversation in the media, something like a coronation, we need to be asking “what value can I add to this conversation? What information or background do I have which would be of interest to media covering this and how will it help my business to share this?”?

Perhaps you are a local factory chosen to produce official merchandise for the coronation, or you have fantastic images and memories of the King as a prince opening your factory. Maybe you are a local charity in Coronation Drive organising a street party for the community or a school planning a record-breaking attempt at singing God Save Our King, you can see how these stories would add colour, interest and local historical information to a reporter’s coverage of the coronation.?

What’s more, they will show how your business is recognised for quality, your factory steeped in history, how your charity cares about the community, or your school aims high. ?

There is a value for the reporter and a point for your business.?

Recently fellow Penguin Kerry Ganly has been working with Amanda from Cosy Direct on a piece which was published in the Royal Edition of Yours magazine, discussing her involvement in the Big Help Out (pictured), a perfect example of using the news agenda to highlight how?Cosy puts its principles into practise. ?

But when does making the most of the news agenda become ‘jumping on the bandwagon’??

There are a couple of ways we see this happen.?

The first is?tapping into the social media chatter. Perhaps?changing social media colours to those of the royal standard and sending out messages of support. While there is no real harm in this (if consideration to your audience is given) it doesn’t really add much value either. A properly planned social media strategy which looks at what information you have, what interest this will be to your audience/customer during the coronation period and how best to effectively share it via your channels, would be more productive.?

?The other way in which I’ve seen , as a former journalist, “bandwagoning“ happen is from those who see an article, perhaps in this case a photo spread of previous royal visits, and decide to send theirs on too, asking for it to be published like the others.?

If you have already seen it in the paper, then you have not planned ahead and you are simply reacting. You’re jumping on the bandwagon. As a journalist, that element of the story has already happened and what is needed is something new.?

For those wanting to make the most of the news agenda, the important messages are to:?

Look ahead – research what major events are coming up?

Plan ahead – consider how you can add value to those upcoming events/stories and get what content you will need to prepare to make the most of it for your business?

Repeat – don't just stop at one event. Keep looking and keep planning.?