PR lessons learned from Daylight Saving Time
It’s that time of year again—Daylight Saving Time!
Spring is right around the corner.
The weather is getting warmer.
The birds are singing.
And technically, you’re about to lose an hour of your day in the time change.
Rather than groan about the missed hour of sleep, use the psychological impact of extra daylight to inspire yourself to work a little longer each day to better your brand.
But first, I need to get a grammar issue of my chest.
Repeat after me: It’s Daylight Saving Time. There’s no s at the end of saving.
Remember, this day is all about saving daylight. We’re not savings daylight.
Because that would be plain silly.
Now that we’re all grammatically correct, here are five suggestions on how to use the extra minutes at the end of each day to make a big difference in your PR activities.
Update your media lists
Guess what moves around more than toddlers hopped up on Pixie Stix?
Members of the media.
It’s simply the nature of the profession to move around from one media outlet to another.
Unless you’ve pulled your media lists within the past 30 days, they are likely out-of-date.
Daylight Saving Time provides a great opportunity to make sure you’re next attempt at media outreach connects with the right people who can tell your story.
Regardless of whether you use a paid service for your pitching efforts or pull lists for media contacts on your own.
Rekindle old relationships
You know those people who only reach out to you when they need something from you?
Everyone hates those people.
Make a cognizant effort to not be the person who only reaches out to a media contact when you need something from them or have a story that you need their help to tell.
If you’re starting to feel as if you’ve become that person to a contact you used to have a better relationship with, take the extra moments provided by Daylight Saving Time and reach out to them.
Call and ask them to coffee, lunch, or drinks.
Email to let them know you saw their last article or Instagram Live and what you liked about it.
Or even just drop them a note to say hello.
Crazy, right?
That contact you’ve been neglecting may be hard at work on a story that’s a good fit for you or your brand.
Do your homework
Let’s face it, there is a lot going in the world and keeping up with the latest new trends can be overwhelming.
We often get so busy or distracted that we forget to pay attention to the news in our own niche.
Use Daylight Saving Time to put an end to the cycle of feeling overwhelmed and uninformed by doing your homework.
Spend the extra hours of daylight thinking about what is trending or breaking in your industry.
Then, brainstorm how your brand might be able to contribute to that conversation.
Finally, pitch your thoughts on the above to journalists covering your industry, a podcaster you admire, or offer to write a guest post on the topic for a well-read blog.
You also can use these bonus hours of daylight to research interesting articles and videos that may help further your brand’s publicity efforts.
get your pitch on
One of the best ways you can take advantage of the extra daylight the time change brings, is by pitching your brand to the media.
It’s true!
Pitching is one of the best ways to entice the media to tell your brand story for you. And the quickest way to get your name to the top of brand's collaboration lists.
It also is the easiest way to solidify yourself, your brand, or your blog as the go-to in your industry.
The best part is, pitching is free!
That's right, pitching is free advertising for your brand that won't cost you a cent.
Not sure how to properly pitch your brand to the media?
Don’t worry!
I’ve got you covered with my new mini course, Rich Pitch.
With five easy-to-follow lessons, you’ll be a pro at pitching in no time!
Write it out
When’s the last time you took even five minutes to write out your thoughts?
I’m guessing, if we’re being honest, that it’s somewhere close to never.
Why?
Because if it isn’t directly related to the work at hand, writing too often gets pushed aside.
With all the advancements in social media, there has never been a better time to share your expertise more easily.
Whether it’s starting your own blog or commenting on someone else’s Instagram post, now is the perfect time to offer a fresh take on what’s happening in your industry.
Not feeling confident in your prose?
Don’t worry about it.
Just start writing.
Use the extra daylight provided by Daylight Saving Time to fuel your creativity.
Draft a blog post about five things that inspired you this week, write a thought leadership article on where you feel your industry is headed, or jot own some notes that addresses a common issue in your industry and hit the live button on Instagram or Facebook.
