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Sharing news and information has never been more important

Emma Speirs

Public relations has proved to be a vital tool in keeping lines of communication open for businesses during the pandemic. A report by the Chartered Institute of PR explores in detail the role that PR professionals have played over the past 20 months and Emma Speirs, managing director of Ballyhoo PR, reflects on how she and her colleagues rose to the challenge in Northamptonshire.

The Chartered Institute of PR has released a report entitled PR in a Pandemic which looks at the work carried out by PR professionals during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The report makes for interesting reading and shows how PR practitioners have been recognised outside of the industry for their contribution during the pandemic.

PR professionals, from agencies and freelancers to those in in-house roles, have been integral to keeping the lines of communication open as events unfolded and more traditional routes of access, such as the telephone and ‘popping in’ to businesses, were no longer possible.

Public relations practitioners have supported organisations with proactive communications and marketing with activities such as digital transformation, online content creation and social media management.

They have led crisis PR plans and executed them and supported internal communications efforts around staff and business changes as well as keeping stakeholders updated with time critical communications.

It has got me reflecting on the work we have undertaken since the start of the pandemic.

We have supported eight doctors’ surgeries with the roll-out of their Covid-19 communications, which was extremely fast paced. This included managing their Facebook pages, fielding questions from worried patients and liaising with the press in their local area to plan and communicate the roll-out of their Covid-19 vaccination programme.

We have worked with a retailer who has had to deal with several store closures and kept their customers updated via their website and social media pages.

And we have worked with an accountancy practice and estate agent, both of which were dealing with their busiest periods for some time.

We have secured national press coverage and regional TV and radio interviews for companies and individuals looking for other ways to reach their target audience and tell people about what they are up to.

And we have stepped up to support a number of in-house marketing teams who have had to cover for furloughed employees by writing their blog posts, website copy and managing their social media profiles.

We have supported charities whose fundraising events have been cancelled and they have had to look for other ways to raise money online.

I often think that it is quite ironic that the PR industry has a bit of a PR problem itself, with people either thinking it is a dishonest profession full of ‘spin doctors’ or people simply not understanding the type of work involved.

PR encompasses so much activity, from proactive pitching to the media, crisis PR and turning around urgent press statements to the more day-to-day elements of communications such as newsletters, blogs and social media posts.

PR is essentially about sharing news and useful information, which has been more important than ever since March 2020. How do you share your news with your customers, stakeholders and the public?

n For advice on all things PR and communications, visit www.ballyhoo-pr.co.uk or contact Emma on 01536 682800 or email .

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