Emily White 
A new year means it’s officially time for communications, marketing, and PR teams to set their strategies for the year ahead. From finalizing budgets and resources to identifying key initiatives, it can be a daunting process.
However, having a strategy in place is critical to set your team up for success. To help, we outlined four simple steps below to get started:
- Review 2022 Goals & Results
Before you begin planning your PR strategy for 2023, it’s important to take a critical look back at last year. Here are a few questions to ask yourself and your team:
- What were the communications goals for last year?
- Were objectives clear? How did we measure results?
- Were our goals aligned with organizational priorities?
- What worked? What didn’t? How can this be adjusted for future success?
- What communications channels/vehicles were the most successful? Can we identify areas of improvement?
- Were there any opportunities we didn’t take advantage of? Why?
At Maven, there is a reason we always pair our new year planning sessions for clients with end of year reporting. Reviewing the past years’ goals, successes, challenges, and metrics helps provide a baseline and roadmap for the future.
- Analyze Market Landscape
Communications strategies can’t operate in a vacuum – once you conduct a thorough review of the year prior, you can begin to think about trends and predictions for the year ahead. Take time now to meet with subject matter experts and company leadership to discuss current market outlook, industry trends and opportunities, economic challenges, and other factors that are anticipated to impact the business and industry.
- Determine Goals & Measurement
The most important aspect of a successful PR strategy is setting specific goals with clear and measurable results. Every planning exercise should start with defining (or updating) communications objectives. Next, outline a tactical planning calendar with strategies to meet your objectives. All tactics should be geared towards reaching defined goals. Otherwise, they don’t need to be prioritized.
Finally, determine how success will be measured per objective. As an example, if your goal is increasing general awareness of the organization, success may be measured through social media growth or increased website traffic. It’s also important to keep in mind budget and staffing structure to ensure your plans are realistic and achievable.
- Prepare to Adapt
After the 2020 global pandemic, we all know even the best laid plans can fall by the wayside with shifting priorities, unexpected market conditions, or societal challenges. Strategic planning to identify communications objectives and tactics for the year ahead is essential but being flexible and adaptable is just as important.
Change is constant and unavoidable. Companies with the best PR strategies keep a pulse on the industry and adjust to what’s happening around them. Plans don’t need to be set in stone and should be revisited frequently for the best results.
Having a well thought out communications plan for 2023 is the first step to starting the year off strong. Although it can feel like another item to check off your never-ending to-do list, taking the time now to set yourself up for success will pay off in the long run.
For additional resources to prepare for the new calendar year, check out Maven’s blog on 2023 social media trends. “ 5 Tips For Creating A Strategic Communications Plan” is also helpful if you are starting from scratch.
Posted In Professional Services