How the COVID-19 Pandemic Has Changed the Practice of Public Relations
Written by Amy Boyle Collins
The COVID-19 pandemic has transformed every industry and all aspects of our lives. Headlines about the coronavirus dominate the news cycle. To say we are living in uncertain times is understated and obvious.
For public relations professionals, so much of what we do is based on gatherings — the fun stuff that people think about when I say, “I work in PR.” Special events, sponsor activations, press conferences, ribbon cuttings, media tours, etc. It is all tied to gathering groups of people in varied amounts, which we can’t do right now.
Simply put, our team has had to get more creative than ever before. We have adapted much of our communications toolkit in a very short amount of time and continue to pivot whenever necessary. As our practice evolves throughout the pandemic to meet the social implications of staying safe and healthy, here are some things I know for sure:
1. The media landscape is forever changed.
As with many industries today, media companies are constricting, which means less opportunity for earned coverage — and an increased need for people on your team who truly understand media relations. From reporters being shifted around and changing beats, to restrictions on guests in studio, we are navigating a very different landscape to garner coverage for our clients locally, regionally and nationally.
For example, our team has started producing cooking segments turnkey for local morning shows. While we’re still doing live, in-person interviews in the field on occasion, they are socially distanced with a mic stand and a reporter who stands six feet away. And of course, there’s the ever-present conversation about “mask or no mask” scenarios while on camera.
Our team has become experts at turning press conferences into tele-pressers. We are media training clients not only to deliver their messaging in a different way (online versus in person), but we’re also supporting those clients in using the technology involved, from presentation software to teleconferencing options.
It’s also important to remember that public relations is not just about media relations. We are doubling down with clients on crafting content for owned and social channels, ranging from videos and images to written content. We explain to clients that now is as good a time as any to build and hone their brand’s story through e-newsletters, blogs, social media influencers, their own social platforms and the like.
2. We must pivot traditional event plans to create engagement online – at least in part.
Whether it’s the annual Beignet Fest at City Park that we transitioned to “Beignet at Their Place,” spread across food vendors all over the city, or helping the Greater New Orleans Foundation break its fundraising record for GiveNOLA Day, we have taken our clients virtual to continue to successfully engage their target audiences.
The internet is the holy grail in today’s stay-at-home world. Zoom and Google allow us to work and socialize from the safety of our own homes while still connecting with others, and various educational platforms are allowing students to continue their education. However, we are starting to see waning interest and burnout due to being in front of the computer or on phones for 12+ hours a day. One can only look at him/herself talking to four or six other people in little boxes for so long. The stream of webinars is endless and exhausting to many. And yes, there are people who never want to have another virtual happy hour again!
What we have found works best is blending online strategies with responsible, socially distanced elements that allow people to engage in-person to their comfort level. People still want the element of community and person-to-person contact (without a screen). So, we are looking at ways to balance online engagement with good old-fashioned get-togethers and offer people options for the amount of contact they have. For example, Beignet Fest at Their Place food vendors offered three ways to get beignets — dine-in service with the proper limits in place, to-go pick up and curbside so patrons didn’t have to leave their cars. With any of the options, participants were invited to engage online by posting pictures on social media, checking in at food vendor locations and even voting for their favorite beignets on the Beignet Fest website. For the client, we achieved a comparable amount of media coverage and online engagement as we have done for the traditional festival in years past.
3. Some things have not changed.
Communicating with your target audiences through this unsteady time takes consistency, focus and perseverance. Especially in crisis communications, there are gold standard principles that endure no matter the severity of the situation. One such principle has to do with the value of communicating with your internal stakeholders. Often we see that clients overlook or don’t give as much attention to communicating with employees as they do with external audiences such as clients, donors, media or the general public.
When you think about your key stakeholders, it’s important to start with your employees and recognize the value you have in them to carry your message, whatever it may be. Communicate with your team, send them daily updates, call them, use video, ensure they are the first to know about things before you communicate to the external world. For schools, this means teachers should not read about a decision on an issue in the paper before they hear from school leaders directly. For nonprofits, it means that program managers should be well-versed on any organizational changes before the organization notifies its clients or program participants. In the corporate world, managers should be trained to deliver messaging to the front lines appropriately before it’s communicated via mass media.
There is an order and a chronology to communications, especially crisis communications. If followed, you have an opportunity to leverage your internal audience to carry your message and advance your brand much faster and much further than you otherwise would without them.
Yes, times are unprecedented. Yes, we are getting creative about the way we do things. Yes, the word “pivot” has become part of everyone’s everyday vocabulary, but there are some things that will endure.
