Planning your PR and media relations for 2025? It can be overwhelming to know where to start.
With AI, rampant misinformation and mistrust, media layoffs and more in the mix, what should you keep in mind as you choose where to allocate your public relations budget and time?
Here’s some advice about how to approach putting together a plan for PR in 2025 that meets the moment.
11 Considerations When Mapping Out a PR Plan
1) Take stock of what worked – and what didn’t.
One of the first things you want to do as you prepare for next year is to look at what you did this year to see how your efforts performed.
How do you know what worked? Measure your success. Measurement should go beyond metrics like referral traffic and backlinks. Intangible benefits include building your brand’s credibility and reputation, positioning your executives as thought leaders, and boosting your recruiting efforts.
Did PR create momentum for your brand? Did your efforts lead to other opportunities to speak, contribute articles, be quoted in roundups, and so forth?
Further, as you evaluate your success, keep in mind what Rand Fishkin, one of the wisest marketers around, says here, “I’m worried about this mentality overall of, ‘if I can’t track and prove that it turned into dollars, if you can’t show me the money, then I should stop doing it.’ And I don’t think that’s how to do it.”
One additional note: If you’re starting new initiatives in 2025 and want to measure their effectiveness, benchmark before you begin. How will you know how you’re doing if you have nothing to compare it to? Yes, it sounds simplistic, but I say this because it happens all too often.
2) Plan out your calendar – and fill in the gaps.
Look at the calendar to see what news and announcements you have coming up. For my manufacturing PR clients, we often start with trade shows – at which ones are they exhibiting or speaking? Then, we look at product announcements and other news, such as significant new hires or acquisitions that may be in the works.
Once you’ve added those to the calendar, you can see where the gaps exist. To fill those gaps, consider contributed articles, thought leadership pieces, and customer case studies.
That way, you consistently stay out in front of your audience with news, stories and content throughout the year.
3) Focus on a consistent PR effort.
One-off public relations efforts often fail. Common sense says that if a reporter has never heard of your business – and you send them one pitch or press release – that’s not going to be enough to move the needle. Also, consider that relying solely on new product announcements won’t be enough to keep your company in the news.
Consistently reaching out to a short list of relevant media contacts with news and stories that are a fit for their audience is a better approach. This is why you should have a calendar with content to fill in the gaps between announcements.
Frank Strong of Sword and the Script goes more in-depth about building a consistent PR program in this piece, Build Marketing and PR Programs Rather Than Executing Campaigns.
4) Build trust by thinking before you act or speak.
Trust – it’s going to be more critical than ever as we develop our approach to PR in 2025. As misinformation grows, people are struggling to know WHO to trust.
Surveys show that people view small businesses more favorably than larger ones, according to a 2024 survey by Pew Research. (A reminder that a “small” business is defined as having between 100 to 1,500 employees, according to the U.S. Small Business Administration.)
While this is good news for smaller companies, keep in mind that your customers’ trust in your business can take years to build – but can be shaken in a flash.
If you question any action you’re taking or messaging you’re sharing, be sure to get your PR or communications team to weigh in before you move forward. It’s much easier to ward off any potential damage a careless action or comment might do to your brand than to try to repair it after the fact.
5) Review – and update – your media list.
You’ll see lots of talk about how traditional media is dying. While there is some truth to that, with hundreds of journalists being laid off and entire media outlets shuttering, I’d say that before you remove any media outlets from your list, do some research to find out where your audience is actually spending time.
For B2B companies, it’s often trade media. Trade media editors are on the lookout for content to fill their digital pages (and, in some cases, print pages, too). If you can provide them with well-written (not AI-generated) content along with compelling visuals, you’ll be well on your way to securing coverage.
As a B2B PR consultant, I’m also factoring in newsletters, podcasts, industry associations and other opportunities to get my clients in front of their audiences.
6) Invest in visuals.
I talk a lot about visuals because they’re an advantage that can help businesses stand out. For example, if you pitch a journalist a story without offering any visuals to go with it, you probably aren’t going to differentiate yourself.
Think about how you can capture compelling visuals to accompany your news and content. That may mean hiring a professional photographer and/or videographer to come into your facility – or your customer’s – to capture high-resolution imagery. Note: It does NOT mean substituting AI-generated images. I recently saw one publication warn against submitting those in its guidelines, which we know means it’s happening.
There are many reasons why visuals help you stand out. As a media relations consultant, journalists have told me that if they’re on the fence regarding a pitch, if visuals accompany that pitch, that can sway them to say yes. Also, readers are drawn to imagery. Articles with images get 94% more views.
So, if I were in charge of a 2025 marketing budget, I’d allocate some funds toward visual assets.
7) Prepare for AI-based search.
It’s always been a good idea to stay open to any media opportunities that come your way. That means if you’re invited to contribute to an article, be a guest on a podcast or speak at an event, participating helps you build your visibility. Now, with the era of AI-based search upon us, this approach makes even more sense.
The more places you can show up, the more likely you’ll be to appear when someone searches a platform like Perplexity, for example. Yes, AI-based search currently comprises a much smaller portion of search than Google, but it’s growing.
Who can help you unearth more earned media opportunities? A freelance PR consultant.
“If you care about AI understanding your business and recommending you, then your biggest investment should be in public relations,” says Christopher Penn, co-founder of Trust Insights and all-around marketing technology smartie.
For more on this, listen to my conversation on PR Explored with Penn.
8) Make it easy for the media to contact you.
Per #7 above, the more places you can show up, the better it is for your brand when it comes to AI-based search. So, when a journalist or other content creator needs to get in touch with you, make it simple.
Have a press or news area on your site where you post your press releases, logos and contact information. Ensure it’s an email address and phone number someone checks every business day. If a request comes in, be sure to acknowledge it right away. If you need more time to compile the requested information, let them know you’re working on it.
It’s also wise to list contact information on your social media profiles.
Making it easy to include your brand in a story will go a long way toward increasing the odds that you’ll be featured more often.
9) Leverage your CEO and other thought leaders.
If your CEO buys into the power of public relations, that’s SUCH good news. It can truly make a major difference in the success of your efforts. They’ll be supportive and happy to participate when opportunities arise.
If possible, get your executives involved in your PR efforts. Some research suggests that putting executives out in the public eye more often can help boost a brand’s visibility. It doesn’t hurt when they walk into an industry event and people say, “We’ve been seeing your company in the news everywhere” (one of my clients told me this is what happens with their CEO).
Encourage your C-suite thought leaders to post on social media, too. LinkedIn is more popular than ever, especially in B2B public relations. Ghostwrite posts for them, and be sure they’re posting regularly. If they have time to comment on others’ posts (or have someone they trust do that on their behalf), that can be another way for them to engage in industry conversations.
10) Focus on talent – and reassess your tools.
As you plan your budget for next year, take stock of the money you’re spending (wasting? 😬) on tools you don’t need or use. Consider reallocating some of those funds to hire talent to help you achieve your goals. That could be an external resource like a consultant or an internal hire.
Too often, companies pay thousands of dollars a year for tech they don’t even know how to use effectively. Why not spend that money on a human who can apply their skills to the task at hand?
11) Tear down the silos.
I feel like a broken record, but to say it one more time – silos should not be welcome in the communications world. Your PR, content and social teams should work together to leverage each other’s efforts.
I spoke about this at Content Marketing World and have written about it in my newsletter and on my blog in the past. Many public relations pros are strong writers who can help write content. They can also repurpose content created by the content team. The social media team should leverage earned media coverage by sharing it and tagging the publication and the reporter.
These are just a few examples of how these teams could collaborate. Most importantly, be sure they’re talking to each other.
Here’s to PR Success in 2025
What initiatives are you focusing on as you prepare your public relations plan for next year?
Be sure to revisit your plan for PR in 2025 periodically to ensure you’re on track with meeting your goals. Don’t be afraid to change things up if needed.
Need help planning or executing your PR in 2025?
Learn more about my PR consulting services here. Book a no-obligation call to talk about your needs here.
About the author: Michelle Garrett is a B2B PR consultant, media relations consultant, and author of B2B PR That Gets Results. She helps companies create content, earn media coverage, and position themselves as thought leaders in their industry. Michelle’s articles have been featured by Entrepreneur, Content Marketing Institute, Muck Rack and Ragan’s PR Daily, among others. She’s a frequent speaker on public relations and content. Michelle has been repeatedly ranked among the top ten most influential PR professionals.
100% of this blog post was written by me, the human.
Featured image is courtesy of Adobe Express.
