Emily Kanter 
While many businesses tend to slow down for a much-needed and well-deserved break over the holiday season, communications and marketing professionals need to ensure PR and Social Media campaigns do not come to a stop around the holidays, but rather build momentum for the new year ahead.
For PR professionals, the holidays are a perfect (and often underrated time) to pitch the media with story ideas. The same goes for Social Media, as more people are consuming social content at home over the holiday season. The important thing to remember is that news does not stop over the holidays, so neither should your strategy.
Below are a few tips to effectively manage your PR and Social Media campaigns during the holiday season:
Pitch evergreen content:
- The holiday season is the perfect time to pitch client stories that are not time sensitive. Reporters like to have a backlog of stories that they can run during the season when there are holes in hard news, so submitting ideas and content in advance is a great way to conduct media outreach during the last month of the year.
Don’t get discouraged by out of office replies:
- While many reporters take vacation during the holidays, there are still plenty of reporters who are working hard in the newsroom and need stories from PR professionals. Additionally, the holiday season tends to lend itself to slower news cycles, so there is potential that reporters are more receptive and willing talk to you about potential story angles.
Take advantage of having more eyes on social media:
- Do not let your client’s social media pages go silent over the holidays. Social media usage spikes this time of year – as people are home enjoying their time off, there is a direct correlation with an increased number of eyes on social media. That doesn’t mean you have to post more than usual but plan accordingly knowing your content will be seen by many.
Use tools to optimize your social scheduling:
- Help yourself by planning to automate your social posting. There are a variety of social media scheduling tools, such as HootSuite and SproutSocial that allow you to pre-package content and schedule posts in advance . Find the one that works best for you and start planning your content. Just remember to stay on top of current events that may affect the posts you have planned.
Ultimately your PR and Social media campaigns should shift to accommodate the holiday season, but you should never go silent. Reporters will appreciate receiving the pitches and clients will appreciate your ongoing expertise.
Posted In Content Marketing, Digital Strategy & Social Media, Public Relations