Spring Cleaning: PR Tactics to Refresh Your Comms Strategy

Spring cleaning isn’t just an excuse to throw away all those clothes you never wear – it’s also a powerful metaphor for revitalizing your PR strategy. Just as organizing your closets can help you create a more efficient space, taking the time to reassess your strategy can help you identify PR activities that no longer serve you and make room for more effective PR tactics.

But where do you start? The role of PR is wide-ranging and involves so many moving parts; the very idea of taking a step back to assess where to prioritize and focus your efforts can feel overwhelming.  

With that in mind (and drawing inspiration from organizing guru Marie Kondo), we’ve outlined three key areas to focus in on for spring cleaning your PR strategy, with tips for re-organizing, refreshing, and revitalizing your current PR strategy. 

PR tactic #1: Spark joy in your media outreach

The day-to-day responsibilities of media outreach require loads of patience and persistence. Use these PR tactics to make the most of your efforts. 

Optimize your pitching strategy

Take a critical look at your pitching approach and ask yourself: 

• What pitches have worked well recently? 
  
• Which media contacts have shown more interest in my stories? 
  
• How can I adjust my messaging to be more compelling?
  

It’s no secret – one of the most powerful PR tactics when it comes to media outreach is personalization. Be sure you’re building time in your media outreach plan to customize your pitches. It shows you understand the journalist’s work, their outlet, and their audience. According to the State of the Media Report, a survey of more than 3,000 journalists across different industries, irrelevance is the number one reason they reject pitches. When you demonstrate that you've done your homework, journalists take notice.  

Nurture key media relationships

Developing and maintaining strong media relationships is crucial when it comes to effective PR tactics, but it requires consistent care and attention. Focus on the relationship aspect of media relations by: 

• Reaching out to create new connections or following up with dormant contacts
  
• Inquiring about upcoming editorial calendars
  
• Finding ways to support their efforts
  
• Building personal connections
  

Remember, journalists are people too. They appreciate genuine, helpful interactions that aren't always tied to a pitch. By nurturing these relationships, you're creating a foundation of trust that can lead to more fruitful collaborations down the line. 

Audit and update your media lists

When was the last time you gave your media contact list a thorough once-over? Take time to:  

• Remove outdated contacts
  
• Organize contacts by topics or beats
  
• Identify and add new relevant contacts
  

Be sure to distinguish contacts into two categories: A smaller group of high-priority contacts who'll receive exclusive or first-look content and a larger group for broader, more generalized communication.

Using a comprehensive media outreach platform, like CisionOne, can simplify this process by helping you identify the right partners and analyze your engagement history.

PR tactic #2: Show gratitude to your content

Content truly is king, but are you making it work as hard as possible for you? These PR tips can help you extend the life of your campaigns and the reach of your messaging.

Repurpose press release content

Repurposing press release content is a creative PR tactic to maximize the power of your press release. It’s just a matter of tweaking the information and messaging you already have for different formats, channels, and audiences. For example:  

• Post it to your online newsroom
  
• Turn it into a blog post
  
• Share it with your sales team (include talking points for client and prospect conversations)
  
• Ask employees to help spread the word
  
• Pull out stats or quotes for your newsletter
  
• Promote key messages and data points on social media
  

With these PR tips and tricks, you're not just being efficient – you're ensuring your message reaches a wider audience across multiple platforms.

Embrace the power of multimedia

In today’s digital-centric environment, multimedia is critical. It can help amplify your message, increase sharing, and engage diverse audiences.  It can also improve your chances of securing earned media coverage: For 36% of journalists, the ideal pitch also includes multimedia assets. The most used multimedia assets are images (70%), followed by data visualization/infographics (30%) and videos (25%) (State of the Media Report). 

Here are some ways to incorporate multimedia into your brand storytelling:

• Enhance press releases/pitches with images, infographics, or brief videos
  
• Create short, shareable video clips for social media platforms
  
• Develop podcast series or audio news releases
  
• Design interactive infographics to present complex data in an engaging way
  

Optimize your digital presence

Your digital presence is often the first impression potential clients or media contacts have of your brand. Make sure it's a good one with these action items:

• Conduct a digital audit (website, social media profiles, online newsroom, etc.): 
  
  • Is the information up to date? 
    
  • Are brand messages/descriptions consistent?
    
  • Are leadership photos and bios current?
    
  • Does the information and imagery follow brand guidelines?
    
• Perform a web search for your brand to identify any opportunities or issues to address
  
• Check that relevant keywords are incorporated in online newsroom and website pages for SEO purposes

PR tactic #3: Tidy up your PR plan

In public relations, the only constant is change. Revisit your strategy to see if it still makes sense or if updates are needed. 

Optimize your editorial calendar

Look at your planned PR activity for the next 6 to 12 months. Be sure any relevant dates are captured in your strategy, such as:  

• New product launches
  
• Company announcements 
  
• Events (hosted by the company, pop culture, industry, etc.)
  
• Recognitions and holidays that tie to your brand
• Industry awards
  

With a well-planned editorial calendar, you can make sure your PR campaigns and media outreach are timely and relevant.

Update your crisis communication plan

According to the 2025 Comms Report, a survey of over 300 industry professionals across the U.S. and Canada, 26% of comms leaders say crisis preparedness is among the CEO’s biggest priorities.