2021 has finally arrived. As most anticipate a better year for both health and business, marketers will continue to face new challenges brought on by the pandemic.

A number of trends sparked by the coronavirus are sure to continue well into the middle of the year, if not beyond. Public relations professionals will need to maintain flexibility and adapt accordingly to help their employer or clients achieve their goals.

Here are five strategies to contemplate when creating your PR game plan for the new year.

1. Build strong relationships with key writers and editors. The most experienced public relations professionals understand the value of maintaining strong relationships with key reporters who cover their industry or that of their clients. Those relationships will be of even greater value as print publications, radio and television stations continue to downsize due to declining ad spending. Reporters and editors are still struggling to do more with less and still publish a quality product in a timely manner. Building a strong relationship with a reporter can set them up as a solid resource, able to provide valuable insights and news that the writer can use to shape or enhance her story. This high level of trust is now more important than ever and can lead to multiple elements and opportunities that benefit both your customer and you in the long run.

2. Focus on clicks and results. News outlets are busy building digital audiences to get their piece of the dwindling ad revenue pie. Reporters are also tasked with developing news that can be optimized online and read by thousands. The goal is to not only place those stories on the publication’s site, but also to recirculate them on social media to increase overall readership. Public relations professionals must create and present stories in a way that reflects that goal. Turning a run-of-the-mill press release into something with more meat and zest will help not only get the story out there, but also optimize it on social media for greater reach and market penetration.

3. Write for immediate impact. PR professionals should present their stories where the most interesting points are at the top of the page, not buried in the fifth or sixth paragraph. As mentioned above, reporters have little time and little leeway to try to decipher a confusing press release, especially when there are hundreds of others to sort through. PR professionals should deliver a strong first paragraph and then provide any supporting material below. That material should be easy to read and can even be broken into bullet points to make it easier to digest.

4. Know how to reach your customer audience, today. Key research on your client’s potential buyers is critical to generating top-of-the-line results from your public relations efforts. Properly targeting those buyers can make or break your campaign. This is true for any year, but especially in the pandemic-driven work-at-home environment. Are business-to-business buyers still reading industry publications, listening to podcasts, and attending webinars? Can they be reached on social media or is their time focused on other areas? Determining the best ways to reach them will help you greatly improve your results.

5. Think visually. With much of the media now based on photos and videos, PR professionals need to think about visuals to accompany any story presentation. A short video or interesting photo series (if possible) should accompany any press release, whether printed or broadcast. Images are ideal for social and digital media, and help your story plot stand out from the rest. Small photos can even be inserted into the press release to increase reporter interest and improve coverage opportunities.