January is traditionally the time for new plans, new budgets and new business goals. But if you wait until January to start thinking about your PR and communications strategy for 2027, you’re already on the back foot.

October might feel early to be talking about next year, but the final few months of 2026 are the perfect opportunity to decide what you want your business to be known for, where you want to grow and how your communications can help you get there.

What do you want your business to be known for?

Before deciding which social media platforms to use or which press releases to write, think about the reputation you want to build. Perhaps you want to become recognised as an expert in a particular area of your industry. You might be launching a new service, entering a new market or trying to attract a different type of customer.

Your PR activity should support those ambitions. If you want to become known for your expertise in sustainability, for example, posting about sustainability once in January isn’t going to achieve very much. Instead, that ambition could influence your entire communications strategy: thought leadership articles, media commentary, case studies, speaking opportunities, awards, social content and stories demonstrating what your business is actually doing.

Who do you want to influence?

More visibility isn’t automatically better visibility. A business selling specialist services to operations directors doesn’t necessarily need hundreds of thousands of social media views. It needs to be visible to operations directors. Likewise, a hospitality business might be trying to attract more local customers, while a manufacturer could be trying to reach buyers within a very specific industry.

Understanding exactly who you want to influence helps determine where your PR budget and time should be spent. That could mean securing coverage in specialist trade publications, building the profiles of your directors on LinkedIn, targeting regional media or creating social content specifically for prospective customers.

You don’t need everyone talking about your business. You need the right people talking about it.

Which areas of expertise do you want to own?

Most businesses have far more knowledge within their teams than they realise. Your directors and employees answer customer questions every day. They understand changes within your industry. They know the problems customers are experiencing and can often see trends developing long before they become mainstream conversations.

That’s valuable PR material.

Identify a handful of subjects where your business has genuine expertise and build your communications around them. Over time, consistent commentary can help your people become recognised voices within those areas.

That can lead to journalists approaching you for comments, invitations to contribute articles or podcasts, speaking opportunities and, importantly, prospective customers associating your business with that expertise.

What stories could your business credibly tell?

Not everything needs to be a huge company announcement. There could already be dozens of stories sitting within your business.

A customer achieving a great result could become a case study. A new employee could provide an opportunity to discuss recruitment and growth. Business data could reveal an interesting industry trend. An anniversary could tell the story of how your sector has changed. A new contract, investment or expansion could demonstrate confidence and growth.

Then there are the people behind the business. Their knowledge, experiences and opinions can provide some of your strongest content.

Planning ahead gives you time to find these stories rather than reaching the end of every month wondering what you can possibly talk about next.

What proof do you have?

This is an important part that’s often overlooked. If you want to spend 2027 telling people that you’re brilliant at something, prove it.

Look for:

• Customer testimonials and case studies
• Business growth figures
• Project results
• Awards and accreditations
• Customer data and insights
• Photography and video
• Employee expertise
• Previous media coverage

These are the things that turn marketing claims into credible stories. They also give your PR agency much more to work with.

Rather than simply saying that your company provides an excellent service, we can demonstrate it through the experiences of customers, measurable results and independent recognition.

Final thoughts

Once you’ve answered those bigger questions, deciding what to do becomes much easier. 

There will always be reactive opportunities in PR. News happens, trends emerge and social media changes seemingly overnight. But the businesses that communicate consistently don’t rely solely on finding something to say at the last minute.

By planning your 2027 communications strategy now, you can enter January with your priorities established, stories identified, content planned and opportunities already in the diary.

So, before somebody asks “What are we posting in January?”, ask something more useful: “What do we want people to think about our business by this time next year?”

Once you know the answer, that’s where the PR strategy begins.