A day in the life of a PR professional may overwhelm anyone. The whirlwind of tasks that a PR pro accomplishes in a day is no joke. There is no shortage of things to do or hats to wear. This is why it’s crucial for PR pros to optimize their productive time.
As a PR professional, you can adopt a range of tools and tactics to come out a winner as the sun sets on 2021. Highly productive PR personnel are the ones who stay organized and follow a smart routine with utmost discipline.
Here are five tips that can make you more productive throughout the day.
1. Automate repetitive tasks
According to a HubSpot survey, marketers spend approximately 16 hours per week on routine tasks. So, using a typical 40-hour workweek as an example, a typical PR professional spends over a third of their time on repetitive activities. But you can choose automation that helps save most of those sixteen hours.
Many professionals consider marketing automation only for more time-consuming processes. But, for PR pros, automation can work as a cost-effective solution that PR teams of all sizes can use to improve their efficiency and increase their productivity.
So, consider integrating PR activities with marketing activities and using PR automation tools. The aim should simplify marketing processes, minimize mistakes, and manage activities across numerous campaigns.
However, marketing automation doesn’t always have to be highly tech-focused. For instance, a business can also create an online knowledge base that can serve as a source for high-level messaging for other activities such as crafting social media posts and blog articles.
2. Create and follow a to-do list
As a PR professional, you are no stranger to quick tasks that can take you by storm. Anything from an urgent client request to completing pending tasks would need your swift attention. Things constantly tend to rear their heads in your life as a PR professional, which requires you to prioritize your day.
For instance, you may have a draft ready for the new product launch and may have shared it with the client for evaluation. While it may seem that your job is done, it isn’t. You still need to follow up with your client, go through edits and revisions, and submit all related assets in a required timeframe—or, often, request a deadline extension.
Therefore, you need to create a digital to-do list. Use the To Do List app or create sticky notes of different colors that imply various phases of projects, task priorities, etc.
Another PR tip for your digital to-do lists is to break your tasks into two categories — to do and review. This makes it easy to keep track of your own and your team’s tasks. Also, you need to keep track of jobs that aren’t directly in your purview, but you are responsible for it. Having a to-do list helps keep check of your to-do tasks smartly.
3. Keep your distractions away
PR and social media go hand in hand, but you don’t have to be on social media all the time. If you find it difficult to focus on certain work because you’re worried about being distracted by internet temptations, there are applications like Pomodoro that may come in handy.
As a PR professional, you may tend to navigate from one task to another without realizing how much time has passed. The goal is not to let any internal thoughts distract you and create a stream of consciousness that lasts longer.
For internet-related distractions, you can use the StayFocusd extension, which works on self-control. It is a Google Chrome extension that restricts your time on select websites and fully disables others. It’s adjustable in which websites to block and how much time you want to spend avoiding them.
4. Use scheduling tools
You may harness business innovation to begin using time-saving PR technologies. When used properly, it increases production and efficiency. Nowadays, professionals use AI Cloud to transform PR and communication as multiple industries rapidly adopt AI tech to thrive.
A PR distribution can simplify the process of sending out news releases. However, it is critical to maintaining everything properly structured and updated regularly. If you find that Excel tables need too much work, start using Prezly. You can rely on Boomerang for Gmail scheduling, which also includes reminders to follow up on emails.
If you are looking for a cohesive scheduling solution, choose Bookafy, which helps you sync the calendar with meeting schedules. Also, you can also simplify scheduling your posts on many social media platforms by using Hootsuite. It helps manage several social media accounts from a single dashboard.
It’s also possible to have a single base for your WordPress blog, social media accounts, and email marketing content with an editorial calendar tool. A good example of this is CoSchedule’s marketing calendar. In other words, you can now write and schedule your inbound marketing material using the same calendar.
5. Set boundaries
Creating and enforcing expectations in the PR line of work can get difficult. That is, it’s a challenge to maintain boundaries between clients, media, crisis management, and technology when it comes to communications.
Since you work long hours and are expected to be “on-call” for your clients and teams, you’ve got a perfect storm on your hands. The first step involves dividing your personal and professional timings. If you make yourself available at 6 AM or 8 PM every day, clearly demark your personal and professional terms to achieve that perfect balance.
Establishing contacts with reporters, editors from various media outlets—5print, broadcast, and online enables you to set a reciprocal relationship between you and others from a media database. This exchange is necessary for a win-win partnership; your media contacts need access to newsworthy material from your end. You can benefit from the enhanced visibility that they provide with a wider reach (through their PR network).
Time to implement
Following the above-mentioned productivity tips to better realize your PR goals. Ultimately, it’s all about spending less time on mundane tasks and increasing performance by adopting smarter techniques at work.
Being a PR professional necessitates making the most of every minute by increasing your daily output to its highest possible level. Fortunately, there are tons of other tips that you can follow, coupled with adopting the right tools to improve productivity.
