Want to ensure your PR is effective? Check out The Most Important PR Checklist for Success in 2019. This includes 10 must-do tactics from brand journalism to influencer and word of mouth marketing to storytelling. And what you need to do and keep in mind.

1. Learn about the best tactics that
will set your PR strategy up for
success this year

2. Setting Yourself Up for Success
Ready to hit the “GO” button on your PR strategy?
Before you rev those engines, make sure you’ve dotted
all your I’s and crossed all your T’s. Here’s a checklist
that will ensure your PR is firing on all four cylinders.
TACTICS KEEP IN MIND
Brand journalism refers to companies creating
their own “journalistic” content rather than
waiting for the media to do it. With the decline
in media outlets, companies are finding it
equally powerful to tell their own stores.
Media
content
Don’t make your content all
about your company. Make
it educational and
informative.
Don’t just submit content
to media outlets. Get
buy-in first on possible
topics.
With media short-staffed, opportunities abound
for companies to provide editorial content. It’s a
win-win for the media outlets, which get free
content, and for companies, which get free
publicity and often SEO juice.
Brand
Journalism
TO DO

3. Media
relations+
PR is a process, not a once-and-
done tactic. The more PR you get,
the more opportunities to
promote what you’re doing and
gain visibility and credibility.
Successful PR is about a lot more than media
relations. To be effective, it combines paid, earned,
shared (social media) and owned media (brand
journalism) in a virtuous circle with each amplifying
the other. Earned media, for example, can be
promoted on social media, in your newsletter and
in paid media.
KEEP IN MIND
Native advertising, the use of paid ads that match
the look, feel and function of the media outlet
where they appear, works. Consumers look at
native ads 53% more than display ads.
Artificial intelligence can be a PR person’s best
friend. Today companies sit on top of massive
amounts of data and fail to make the most of it. AI
can sift through mounds of data and help determine
next steps. It can automate menial tasks, determine
true influencers, and create more accurate buyer
personas and more targeted content.
Use native advertising for your
best content, such as a great blog
post, or a video you’ve created
with an influencer.
Native
advertising
Artificial
intelligence
AI is in its infancy when it
comes to PR. Experiment now
to get a head start.
TO DOTACTICS

4. Influencer and
word of
mouth
marketing
As trust in brands and advertising keeps
dropping, influencer marketing and word of
mouth marketing have gained traction. The idea
behind both is that people put trust in people
they know and respect. Influencer marketing
depends on establishing a relationship between
an organization and an influencer. Word of
mouth marketing, while similar, relies on
ordinary people who are big sharers of
information.
Research your audience and
select the best influencers based
on your objectives. Tools like
Buzzsumo and FollowerWonk are
two good tools for researching
influencers. Consider offering an
incentive for people to share your
content via word of mouth.
KEEP IN MIND
Develop your skills as a storyteller. Stories can
turn a brand into a beloved entity, and win the
loyalty and affection of consumers. In the B2B
space, stories can transform a complex product
into something meaningful. Think case studies or
an executive’s origin story as two types of B2B
stories.
Good stories need plot,
challenge, and resolution to
resonate. Otherwise, they are
simply strung-together words or
marketing hype.
Storytelling
TO DOTACTICS

5. TACTICS
TO DO
PR
measurement
KEEP IN MIND
PR measurement has been the holy grail of PR
for years. Now, however, free tools such as
Google Analytics or premium subscription tools
such as Moz, AirPR or TrendKite have made PR
measurement a reality. Website visitors,
backlinks and referrals are a few of the metrics
you will want to measure.
Companies spend an estimated
$11 billion on PR per year. With
budgets tightening across the
board, many C-suite executives
are asking to see a return on
that investment. Now is the time
to start measuring your PR.
Fake news Fake news has created a problem for brands
wanting to get the word out. Consider that a
recent study showed that 63% of people can’t
tell the difference between fake and real news.
Meanwhile, journalists are under pressure to be
vigilant about providing accurate information.
Fake news is a real problem. Go
overboard in fact-checking
content before releasing it.
Monitor your brand to ensure
false news isn’t being spread
about it.
Content today is not a one-trick pony. Create
content across multiple, relevant channels,
including social media, blogging, video and
podcasts.
Create content that
differentiates your brand,
informs and engages. Customize
content for each channel.
New Channels
TO DO

6. ABOUT
MARX COMMUNICATIONS was founded in 1993 and designed as a B2B PR firm that specializes
in innovative, results-driven strategies that promote companies and entrepreneurs.
Over the past 25 years, we have helped hundreds of small to medium sized businesses to
increase their visibility, credibility, and revenues. As part of our wheelhouse, we offer media and
influencer relations, social media marketing, content marketing, and thought leadership.
Like what you’ve read here? As part of this checklist, we’d also like to offer you a FREE PR
consultation to evaluate your own PR and marketing strategy.
As part of your free consultation, you’ll go one-on-one with Marx Communications founder and
president, Wendy Marx, and receive 3 actionable steps to improve your strategy.