7 smart things every PR pro can do during a snowstorm

1. Use SlideShare to create a slide deck from a previous post that received a lot of hits and comments. Repurpose the post by grabbing a few key points from your written text. Add images and graphics to spice up your words. Post it on SlideShare and cross-promote it on your other social channels. (If you’ve never tried SlideShare, decks are created in PowerPoint, so it’s easy enough). 2. Take pictures to energize your blog, e-newsletters, and presentations. Original pictures are much better than stock photos. 3. Write your editorial calendar for the year. We are well into January; it’s time to get the framework together for 2014. 4. Check out Muckrack.com (on Twitter @muckrack) and Help a Reporter Out, or HARO. These are sites where journalists and bloggers scout out subject matter experts and trusted sources. There’s plenty of activity to pursue while your sluggish competitors watch the snow fall. 5. Subscribe to the Harvard Kennedy School’s Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics, and Public Policy. It’s a research center that provides in-depth studies and data on timely news issues. You’ll want to bookmark the Journalist’s Resource. 6. Identify five blogs and pursue opportunities to write guest posts. 7. Poke around Pinterest to see how others in your field are using it to (visually) appeal to customers and prospects.