With business back as usual, there’s no better time to review your organisation’s Public Relations & Crisis Management Plan and ensure you start 2019 on the front foot. While it’s common for companies to wait until crises arise before reacting in haste, those that anticipate reputational threats ahead of time can ensure a seamless and consistent response in the heat of the moment.

Here we share four simple PR recommendations to prepare your business in 2019.

1. Discover Your Story

What is the brand narrative that you wish to tell? This is key to cementing your organisation’s brand identity and determining the PR strategy that will guide you forward. This story should be one that strongly resonates with your audience, told with a distinct voice that supports your overall messaging.

2. Conduct Your Annual SWOT Analysis

If it doesn’t already take an essential place in your annual calendar, now is the time to make it happen. Dedicate a couple of hours with your team to lay out the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats facing your organisation in 2019 and determine how these can be enhanced or mitigated. This simple strategy will become the foundation of your Crisis & Reputation Management Plan and is key to anticipating where the next crisis may spring so as to establish a proactive plan of action.

3. Establish Your PR Goals

Determine your Public Relations objectives for the year. What narrative do you wish to push? What kind of audience reach would you like to achieve? Would you like to change your brand image or the type of public conversations surrounding your company? These goals will be essential to the development of your 2019 Public Relations plan.

4. Train Your Team

While your team of experts cannot be expected to know all there is about effective communications and strategic public relations, they should understand enough to confidently execute your Crisis & Reputation Management Plan or to take advantage of media opportunities as they arise. Silvereye’s considered training packages are designed to equip your team with the tools they require to face the press with confidence, engage the right people in government and to create effective social media content that speaks to your audience.

With decades of experience at the frontline of government and public relations, we know how to connect businesses with government and media, offering insider knowledge on getting yourself heard. Our interactive training sessions are tailored to your company circumstances and include practical, actionable advice to communicate your team’s great work.

If you’d like help conducting a SWOT analysis or preparing a Crisis & Reputation Management Strategy, Silvereye also runs bespoke workshops and are happy to come in and run an analysis session with your team.

To learn more about the Silvereye Packages and how we can customise them to your company’s needs, contact our Managing Director Jo Coughlan at jo@silvereye.co.nz to arrange a meeting.