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How to set a winning communications strategy in 2021

Posted on January 20, 2021 by Wellons team

We’re still right at the start of a new year. Possibilities for your business stretch out in front of you right now, and it’s the time to set big goals to strive toward. If you haven’t already, it’s also the perfect time to sit down and get serious about a communications plan and editorial calendar for 2021.

Don’t close your browser. We know that with so many things on your plate in the first few weeks of the year, you’re likely scoffing at adding one more. But this is crucial. At our Orlando marketing agency, we see it too often with businesses. If there’s no plan set, communications get bumped and bumped again for other items. Doing the thought time up front means it’s not a monumental task chasing you throughout the year. And with a plan, you can leverage communications as a pillar to reach your overall business goals.

But where to start? Developing a winning communications strategy for your business in 2021 doesn’t have to be a painful, time consuming or even formal process. Here are a few easy steps you can take now to create one.

Understand your goals.

You likely set goals for your business already. Perhaps you want to hit a certain revenue number, complete a certain number of projects or attain a certain number of new clients. How can communications support that? A few examples of communications goals could be increasing your number of social media followers, consistently sending out a monthly newsletter to prospects, attaining a certain reach on earned media hits or producing a certain number of pieces of sales collateral. Think about your overall goals, and set communications goals to help you along the way.

Add some context.

Now would be a perfect time to involve your PR agency if you have one. Your agency has a lot of practice at looking at goals and setting effective strategies to help get there, and they can really add value at this point rather than later. In addition, you will want to add some context to your plan. Pull out your latest SWOT analysis. Is there anything you can learn there that can inform your plan? Do some research on your competitors. What are they putting into the marketplace? Are there any winning strategies you can adapt? You can jot down a few notes here or tweak your goals.

Start thinking tactics.

How will you reach your goals? If you want to send out a monthly newsletter, for instance, think through a few things. Who will be responsible for this? Who will you target, and do you have an email list? What do you want to say? What will it look like? While you’re fleshing out the process, you might also come up with a few sub-goals to add to your list.

Set the editorial calendar.

Much of your communications strategy will likely be driven by news, or your editorial calendar. To start to develop this, think about some of the business milestones you’re expecting this year. Perhaps your business has a big anniversary year on the horizon. Or, maybe you know that your huge project will top out in June. Put a few stakes in the ground on an editorial calendar, even if it’s just an estimate. This will allow your entire team and marketing agency to better plan and prepare to implement the communications strategy around these events. Next, brainstorm other content ideas. Again, you can refer to industry leaders and competitors, or turn internally to things you’ve been hearing or seeing. Maybe you want to implement a monthly staff spotlight to go out in that email newsletter or on social media. You don’t have to fill in every slot right now, so there’s plenty of room to pivot later. Add your editorial calendar to your communications plan.

Get going, and analyze.

Now that you know what you want to do and what you want to say, put everything in motion. Start executing on your plan, but don’t forget a key step: reflection. You might not see the needle move immediately (don’t quit just yet!) but after you run your plan for a bit, take a look to see what’s working and what you might need to tweak. Don’t forget to celebrate success.

It’s never to late to set a communications plan and start leveraging this important piece of your business. Having a plan in place sets you up for success.

Need a little help? At our Orlando PR agency, we’ve been thinking strategically for businesses for more than 15 years and can help you set a plan in motion. Give Will a call at (407) 462-2718 or shoot him an email at will@wellonscommunications.com.

Reopening communication tips for businesses after coronavirus

Posted on May 6, 2020 by Wellons team

As the COVID-19 pandemic was making headlines earlier this year and businesses began to close, there were many questions as to how businesses should communicate to customers. Now, as states across the country slowly begin to open up again, there will be many more.

Truly, what you do as a business and how you treat people during a crisis will be remembered. If you do it right, you can win and grow market share. If you do it wrong, the reverse is also true. It is imperative that businesses—regardless of industry—have a reopening plan for communications as well as operations.

The first step to reopening should always be following official guidance and doing your absolute best to ensure your staff and your customers or guests are safe. When you have that plan in place, consider the steps below to optimize your reopening communications.

Update your info. If your guests don’t know what your hours are or even if you are open, they definitely can’t visit, whether for takeout or in-person. Check Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Yelp, TripAdvisor, Google and your own website. Search your business, and check the results. Does everything have your current hours and operations correctly listed? If not, fix it.

Communicate to your customers. You might be scared about blowback, or nervous that with new operations, you’ll be totally overwhelmed by customer demand when you reopen. But your customers still need to know what’s going on. Tell them! Update your website to reflect your new procedures, post on social with regular updates, or send an eblast. Again, if your guests don’t know how you’re operating, they can’t visit.

Be extra responsive. People are going to have questions, and they are going to have opinions. Now is the time to spend more time on call to answer those queries. Monitor your social media inboxes, your email inboxes and your phone line. It might help to brainstorm a few frequently asked questions and create a set response so everyone who is replying stays on message.

Monitor the situation. This is a crisis, and there will be a harsher spotlight on your business now than ever. People might not agree with your operating procedures, or they might not feel they are getting the same experience because of them. Now is the time to deploy your best social media listening tools. Monitor conversations you are tagged in or that mention your business and be prepared to respond in a way that diffuses the situation.

Stay top of mind. It’s not business as usual, but find ways you can continue to communicate with your guests. Post on social media. Send an email. There are a lot of messages flying around out there, and you need to ensure you are staying top of mind.

Learn from this. Did you do anything during the crisis that worked well? Perhaps you started a weekly virtual series, or deployed an awesome family meal deal. What can you continue to do even in reopening that would help move the needle?

We know you’ve heard this many times over, but these are unprecedented times. It can be tough to walk the line of communication during reopening. We hope these tips help, but if you have questions or are feeling overwhelmed, don’t hesitate to reach out.

We, too, are a small business navigating this crisis. We can be your Orlando public relations partner, whether you are a restaurant, attraction or B2B company. Email Will at will@wellonscommunications.com or call 407-462-2718 and let’s start the conversation.

Online reading: Changing the way we think

Posted on June 2, 2016 by Wellons team

In today’s society, it’s getting easier and easier to reach for our phones and tablets to read the latest news story, article or book. Businesses and classrooms are turning away from mail-outs and textbooks in favor of marketing emails and ebooks. But what does that mean for the way we take in information?

Digital reading Apparently, a lot. According to The Washington Post, your brain doesn’t comprehend the information you read online the same way it does in print. Digital screens seem to cause people to focus on the information they are reading at the time instead of how it fits in a broader context.

Researchers from Dartmouth College and Carnegie Mellon came up with different experiments that could compare the effects of reading on different platforms. In one experiment, a group of participants read a short story online and another group read a printout of the story. A pop quiz was given to the participants once they were done reading, and it revealed that the physical-copy readers scored better on questions requiring participants to make inferences, while digital-copy readers scored better on concrete questions about the text.

According to the researchers, the results of the experiments show that our reading comprehension is changing as it is becoming more typical to read information on a digital platform. Our thought processes may slowly be evolving so that we will have to make an effort to look at the bigger picture.

So what does that mean for PR? Even though communications professionals will likely still make use of digital tools, the study shows the key is to try and make digital audiences think more abstractly. When writing an article that is going to be consumed via screen, try to challenge yourself to put in context which will help readers think critically along with the facts of the story.