Even though they know they need it, public relations and marketing are almost never on top of the list for executives to spend money on. Sometimes it’s because they don’t believe it’s necessary, others rely on their sales teams to spread the word for them, or frankly, they’re cheap.
All of those reasons are of course wrong, but that’s not what this post is about. Many companies higher master of none but know enough about everything communications professionals to get the job done. But for these poor souls the question then becomes: how do you manage all those responsibilities? There is no easy answer, but hopefully these tips will help.
1. In a crisis think: what is the best way to protect the brand?
Recalls, bad audits, you name it, they happen, and sometimes without any preparation. But the best way to think about these situations is to create a factual message that puts the company or executive in a positive light. By recalling the product you are protecting your customers, and the numbers found in the audit are being fixed. Just stay factual, explain what is being done, and move on.
2. Lean on your strengths.
In addition to helping your organization, you also want to show your boss your worth. So when your to-do list is adding up but you want to make sure you continue to put out positive work – do what you do best. That can be social media copy, pitching reporters, or designing a new image. Of course whatever deadlines are coming up comes first, but when you can, keep producing strong work that shows your worth.
3. Ask smart questions.
Communications experts are not lawyers, scientists or policy wonks. Our job is to turn into what they tell us into something that anyone reading, hearing or watching understand what is being put in front of them. But to do that effectively you have to ask smart questions. When being explained something and you don’t understand a term being used, ask what it means; or if they have trouble explaining what a certain number represents, ask why they care about that number in the first place. This will not only help to do your job better, but also gain the respect and trust of your colleagues.
4. Create an editing process.
Press releases, newsletters, social media posts, marketing materials, in the communications world we having to write and review tons of items, constantly. But to avoid spelling a name wrong or missing grammatical mistakes (which happens to the best of us) have an editing process in place so you look at whatever it is with fresh eyes.
Depending on how fast your inbox grows, or whatever deadline you’re on, your process may not always be easy to follow. But by having one in place you can feel confident whatever is being looked at won’t have the embarrassing mistakes you don’t want anyone else to see.
5. Do not let them do your job
This may be an obvious one, but when you’re surrounded by people who know the industry better than you, or have seniority, it can be intimidating to tell them why it’s important to phrase things in a certain way – but that’s your job! You are not getting paid to regurgitate whatever they say, you are there to grow and protect the brand the best way you think possible, and you should have your say on how to do it.
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