The new year is almost upon us! Although December can be a slower month for public relations professionals, there are ways to productively use this time to prepare for 2017 that will benefit you and your clients. Check out the following tips to get a great start to your new year:

1. Start conversations with clients to integrate this year’s wins and challenges into innovative plans for 2017.

• Ask clients to provide feedback on your public relations services, and adjust tactics accordingly.
• Evaluate how 2016 goals were met this year and what can be improved.

2. Be sure to develop social media content through the holidays.

• In addition to creating compelling and relevant content, ensure someone on your team is still monitoring notifications and comments to provide timely responses.

3. Have a team meeting to evaluate how you did on a group and personal level.

• Set aside some time to reflect on what you did well personally, and what you can improve on for the new year. Ask yourself how you were as a team player, and how well you contributed to the client’s goals. You can even make a list to remind yourself to stay motivated!
• As a client team, discuss how you worked well together and how you can improve the team and public relations efforts for your client.

4. Use the holiday break to better yourself and set aside some time for professional development. Some activities you can do to keep your public relations mind ticking include:

• Read industry books. The NST book club’s recommendations are “How to Win Friends and Influence People,” “The Inevitable,” and “Thinking Fast and Slow.”
• Catch up on industry publications, such as Forbes and PR Week.
• Watch for trends. Check out Forbes’ “PR Trends That Will Help You Dominate 2017: Part I.”

5. Use the extra time to catch up on the items that get pushed to the side and do some public relations housekeeping. A few items you can check off your list include:

• File and clear your email inbox – I have found creating different category names based on clients, and creating subcategories for different tasks or projects can be a great way to stay organized.
• Review master media lists – Editors and contributors are always moving around at publications, so make sure you have the most updated contacts listed.
• Update news monitoring services – As with any technology, news monitoring services are always coming out with new platforms or tools. Heard of a new one that might suit your clients’ needs? Use some pre-holiday downtime to try out a trial subscription.

Avoid holiday stress by getting a head start into the new year with these tips! You will benefit as a public relations professional, and most importantly, your clients will too.