1.      Think through your business goals and objectives for 2013.  You should be ambitious about where you want to be in a year and how much you would like to grow, while also making sure your goals are attainable.  Then align your PR goals with your business goals. Want to expand your thought leadership presence? Grow a specific vertical market? Defining your goals helps you clearly identify where PR can provide support and ‘air cover.’

2.      Define the PR/marketing actions needed to achieve your goals and objectives. It’s important to be realistic about how much you can accomplish in twelve months, and you need to ensure that your actions truly support your goals. For example, if you want to grow a specific vertical market, you want your PR effort to focus on the media and events that serve that specific market.

3.      Review the past year’s successes and efforts that were especially effective in communicating your message, and integrate these initiatives into next year’s campaign, as well. You want to continue to nurture and leverage these successes to ensure continuity and consistency.

4.      Establish metrics to be achieved: how many feature articles are you aiming for, and what’s reasonable to expect with resources committed? Remember, consistency is key, so an important element is securing feature articles that truly tell your story throughout the year, not just clustered around an important event. Want spokespeople quoted in the press? Work with your PR team to define the metrics that make sense with your level of effort and commitment, then put them in writing, and track results.

5.      Enjoy the holidays!  Make sure to take the time out of your busy end of year work schedule to spend time with friends and family.  You have been working hard all year long, so take the holidays as an opportunity to relax and appreciate what your hard work has brought you over the past year.

And if you need an engaged, focused PR team to help you achieve your goals, please call me – we’d love to help you plan and implement a focused, results-driven PR campaign for 2013! Our promise to you – we’ll consistently deliver results, exceeding your expectations!

Happy holidays!

For more information on how Advice Unlimited can help you create and implement a successful public relations plan, or provide support for other public outreach and communication initiatives, please contact me at 301-924-0330 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .