Fall and Halloween are right around the corner and an unseasonably successful crop of pumpkins are growing quickly in the field. The huge orange orbs are one of my favorite fall crops to grow and harvest, and this year I decided to start the tradition a bit early. What does picking out the perfect carving pumpkin have to do with public relations? Read on for three PR lessons from the experience.
What does pumpkin picking have to do with public relations? Read on!
Pumpkins and Public Relations: 3 PR Lessons from the Harvest
- Determine Your Needs
When you step into the pumpkin patch, there are all kinds of shapes and sizes to choose from. Figuring out what kind of pumpkin you’re looking to carve can help you make the difficult decision. Will you choose a Cinderella pumpkin or a classic jack-o-lantern? Are you looking for a big or a small one?
Determining your needs is an important PR lesson I learned from the experience. Before embarking on a new campaign, figure out your goals and how you will tackle the project, from how often you’ll be blogging and what social media platforms you’ll use to who you’ll be pitching and how plan to contact them.
- Wait for the Right Timing
For several weeks in the field, we’ve been preforming tests on the pumpkins to judge if they were ready for harvest. There are several ways to do this including checking the pumpkins’ weight and pressing against their shell, but the most important part is to wait until they are fully developed before trying to carve them.
Public relations campaigns are the same way. Timing can be everything and it’s important to judge the climate of your industry before making a big or controversial announcement. Timing is also important on a daily scale, from when you’ll post on social media to improve SEO or what time of day you contact a journalist with a pitch.
- Make Multi-Use Content
There are many different species of pumpkins growing in the field and they each have a specific purpose. There are pie pumpkins, carving types and decorative gourds. Being able to grow one plant with multiple uses helps to save space and simplify the yearly crop planning.
The content you publish should also have multiple uses. Sharing items you’ve already created can help your articles get more traction and visibility. For example, if you wrote an excellent research piece, take snippets of it and share via social channels and on your blog.
Figuring out your needs before you begin, paying attention to the right timing and finding ways to repurpose old content are all tips I gathered from choosing the perfect pumpkin. Are you excited for fall? Can you think of any other lessons from pumpkin picking we can apply to public relations?
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