How PR can help a business to come back from lockdown 3.0

With roadmaps announced, Brits are finally starting to plan again; outdoor BBQ’s, park escapades, garden pub visits and staycations, we are all ready to get back to business, and a new normal. As the UK is slowly easing out of lockdown, it has never been more important to deploy a number of  PR  strategies to help support your business  as it begins to resume normalcy. Normality might be a stretch, as life as we know it has changed a lot over the course of the last year. 

It’s time to start marketing to your pre-existing and potential new customers – let’s make up for lost time. 

Answer Britain’s questions  

Every time the Prime Minister makes an announcement, there is a surge in Google search trends. In the latest Year In Search report from Google, the top four questions were:  

1. 1. When will lockdown end?  
   2. When will gyms reopen? 
   3. When does lockdown start? 
   4. When will schools re-open?

As soon as announcements are made, people start Googling, PR is the best way to make sure your product/service is at the forefront to answer these topical searches.

Media websites such as Daily Mail, The Telegraph and The Independent are LOVED by Google, and often get top ranking positions to answer these highly searched and topical questions. Google’s top positions gather more visibility. Estimates show that only  0.78% of users click links on the second page  of Google results. They are ranked highly because they have relevant content to the search queries, as journalists write up digital topical stories; they have a strong domain authority with content that is trustworthy and high click through rates and digital media teams spend a lot of resources optimising their content to make sure it is ranked highly.  

As PR’s it is therefore essential to get our clients brands featured in round up articles that have high SEO, answering topical questions around lockdown easing. For our client Delphis Eco, we created content around ‘getting your BBQ ready for Spring’, ahead of restrictions lifting on 29 March, allowing gatherings of up to six people outside. Working with the client and a third-party chef endorser, we put together a press release featuring cleaning hacks from Delphis Eco. We received numerous requests from media and have been covered in titles such as  Gardening etc and Ideal Home.  

We’re back  

If like many businesses, you have been closed over the last three months, now is the perfect opportunity to make some noise that you are re-opening. With strong media relationships, Team Siren has been able to cut through the clutter of ‘we’re back’, providing strong coverage for clients that are re-opening this season.  

Our client Uber Boat by Thames Clippers had been out of service during the lockdown as people were asked to stay home. The Siren team, having already navigated 2020 coronavirus uncertainty with the brand and with nearly two decades of experience with transport journalists, announced to media that London’s River Bus would be back in operation with a limited service from 29 March. The announcement, through hard media relations, has received national and regional coverage in the UK including  PA News Wire, Evening Standard,  MSN and London Post.   

Clients are seeing the benefits of PR as their inbound sales increase during these critical times . Our travel client Rabbie’s has seen their bookings double since the roadmap was announced. We shouted about this to media too, giving them an extra boost, as seen here with an interview with Selling Travel.