7 Ways To Maximize The ROI Of Your PR Budget In 2024

CEO of Next PR, an award-winning, full-service public relations firm with offices across the U.S.

With the economy still in limbo, many companies are looking to scale back spending in 2024. As CEO of a PR agency, I’ll be the first to say that PR is often one of the first things to take a hit. I’ve already shared the many reasons not to slash your PR budget entirely—the key instead is to maximize the value of your PR spend to keep your brand ahead of the competition in the new year.

PR isn’t just about media relations; there’s a world of value in leveraging an integrated PR campaign for your brand. Before you cut the budget altogether, consider these seven elements to get the most ROI in 2024.

1. Hone Your Message

Over the last few years, we’ve learned how critical it is to communicate with empathy. Between Covid-19 turmoil and social and political unrest, change fatigue is pervasive, and you have to think carefully about positioning and customizing your messaging for each audience. Your employees, customers, partners and the media all have different concerns, and one-size-fits-all statements can be too ambiguous, or worse, perceived as insensitive.

Now is the time to develop a micro-messaging strategy that addresses each of your audience’s needs and considerations.

2. Master Interviewing Skills

Famed media philosopher Marshall McLuhan once said, “The medium is the message,” meaning how you communicate is just as important as what you communicate. In PR, the medium includes your spokespeople. Now more than ever, it’s important to uplift diverse voices and the depth of expertise across your team to show you’re committed to innovation, inclusion and distributed leadership—all of which make for a more stable and agile organization.

Even if your team members have the knowledge and are aligned on the message, delivering it effectively is a skill they must develop. That’s where media training can help—by coaching your experts to refine their delivery and learn to navigate challenging questions and situations under pressure.

3. Create A Crisis Communication Plan

If you don’t have a crisis communications plan in place or haven’t revisited it in the last six months, this should be your top priority. Running a business without a crisis plan is like driving a brand-new car without auto insurance—why take such a huge risk?

In today’s social media climate, it doesn’t take much for a small situation to become a huge issue: A single X post or offhand comment from the CEO can go viral. A poorly handled crisis has the potential to cost you millions in lost revenue and reputation damage, and it’s completely preventable. Investing in an effective crisis communications plan will pay for itself multiple times over.

4. Lean Into Podcasting

Podcasts are having a moment with skyrocketing listenership across a range of topics and genres. Whether you start your own podcast or pitch your subject matter experts as potential guests on existing shows, podcasts are prime opportunities to reach target audiences with hyper-focused content.

Podcasts give your executives an opportunity to tell your brand story in an authentic way with much deeper context than a short sound bite or quote in an article. And don’t forget to promote podcast episodes or guest appearances across all the other channels you are (or should be!) using—especially social media.

5. Run Paid Ads

Yes, advertising is part of PR. It builds brand recognition, credibility and top-of-mind awareness. It’s also a relatively inexpensive way to get eyeballs on your content—where you’re able to completely control the message. LinkedIn ads are especially useful for promoting your latest research report, product launch or even your podcast. Because they can be hyper-targeted to pinpoint your audience down to their role, title, company size and even Zip code, you can spend wisely. Advertising is also a great opportunity to conduct A/B testing to see which graphics and messaging work best to inform broader messaging decisions and collateral materials.

6. Invest In Events

With Covid restrictions behind us, travel and events are coming back. After all, we know there’s no substitute for face-to-face, personal interaction with potential customers—the same goes for reporters and analysts. When preparing for events, put together a strategy to maximize your presence. Set up interviews with reporters, meetings with analysts or even a social hour to build stronger, personal relationships with reporters and analysts. During the event, a PR team can even arrange to interview customers for testimonials and case studies, providing material for content to repurpose in the future.

After the event, following up is crucial to not only make sure those contacts have everything they need, but also to nurture those relationships so you can focus on customer leads.

7. Step Up To The Podium With Speaking Opportunities

Positioning your team members as subject matter experts builds credibility, trust and top-of-mind awareness. Submitting for speaking opportunities is the ultimate way to get your experts in front of key audiences to share their insights and expertise. Especially if you’re already attending the event, the investment in submitting to speak is minimal.

Remember, PR isn’t just about landing a certain number of media placements. Vanity metrics don’t drive revenue. What drives key performance indicators across the organization and delivers strong ROI in any economy? A smart, comprehensive and integrated PR program. Before you go cutting PR entirely, consider a tailored program to maximize the value of your budget.

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