Marija Butkovic

Inclusivity should be part of every brand's messaging, so if it's not, I would reconsider my values and mission. It's an integral part of every brand and company these days, because without inclusivity we are limiting ourselves to same patterns and ways of doing things all over again. Inclusivity should be added 'by design' into our core values and ultimately messaging.

By being transparent, open and vulnerable. Simple as that. Don't try to hide anything or sugarcoat the situation. It won't help. Brands fail and make mistakes, but people connect brand values aligned with their own.

Define your values, your mission and your vision. Once you have done that, you can start working on your strategy. Chances are, what you are doing, already exists out there in some capacity. Focus on your unique strengths, data behind your milestones, your clients' testimonials, etc. This is a good starting point.

It’s always better to send a press release to a small and selected number of targeted media outlets / journalists than to a big number of them. Send personalised tailored emails. Make sure it’s really something relevant and newsworthy. Make sure to have good assets such as high res photos and backlinks to any resources and data sources you are quoting in your press release. Follow up when needed, but not more than once. Remember, it’s about building a relationship, PR is a marathon, not a sprint. Consider sending the release to smaller outlets and relevant newsletters and blogs too.

Having a strong background in your respective space will give you credibility to pursue a career in PR. This means that you also need to have a strong knowledge of the latest trends and news, key players, investment opportunities, etc. Creating meaningful relationships with other colleagues, as well as journalists helps a lot. Sometimes, the key is to get in front of a certain brand or a person several times before you make a connection and start working together. Find your niche and stick to it, whether it's AI, women's health or food. The more niche you are, the better. There is no one size fits all, so try to offer personalised support to brands and people you work with.

Buffer or Hootsuite for automation and scheduling, BuzzSumo / Google Alerts for content discovery. Newsletters are also a good way of discovering great content. Or if you're looking for news, simply type the keyword in Google Search, choose option 'News' and the search engine will list relevant news for that particular keyword.