It started last week, when the temperatures reached 70 degrees. A lovely sneak peek of the season to come. I opened the windows, and tackled the counters, cabinets and appliances. With that, the annual ritual of spring cleaning was underway.

Just as we wipe away winter in our homes, spring is a perfect time to tidy up our marketing and public relations programs. Reviewing and refreshing your marketing and public relations efforts on a regular basis will help ensure you’re on the right track to achieve your goals.

Below are five steps for your organization’s marketing and PR spring cleaning checklist.

  1. Assess Your Messaging. Have there been changes within your industry or organization? Do your messages accurately reflect what you need to communicate and to whom? Make sure you have 3-5 relevant key messages that your stakeholders will understand and be motivated by.
  2. Review Your Content. Once you’ve updated your messaging, you’ll need to incorporate the new messages across your digital platforms and other marketing collateral. Use this opportunity to remove any pieces, like videos or PDFs, that may be outdated.
  3. Evaluate Your Social Networks. Your organization does not have to be active on every social network. Spend some time with your analytics, and determine which one or two networks are providing the best return on investment. Accounts that aren’t creating engagement and driving results can be retired, so you can focus your efforts on those with better performance. Then be sure to update your networks’ descriptions, images, and avatars.
  4. Clean Up Your Lists. Take a look at your media and influencer lists. Update titles or remove reporters, editors and bloggers who have left their positions. Then do research to determine others who should be added. Connect with them on Twitter, LinkedIn or Instagram to introduce yourself and begin forging a relationship. Similarly, it may be time to purge your email marketing list. If certain subscribers haven’t opened any of your last several campaigns, try to re-engage them. If they don’t bite, it’s time to bid them adieu.
  5. Get Inspired with Fresh Ideas. Block out time for creative thinking this season. What’s trending? What new tools are available? Brainstorm ideas for pitches, content, promotions.

Spring will be here before you know it. What are you waiting for? Put your spring cleaning plan into action.