By Bill Smith

It has been an eventful week, to say the least. Many of my clients have begun to work from home and chances are, your customers have too. It’s important to remember that social distancing doesn’t mean people will be disconnected. Your customers and potential customers will have Internet access and they’ll be online. And as they work from home, they’ll have fewer distractions (at least those who don’t have young kids!), and more time to spend reading professional journals, online publications, and professional blogs.

Many of the publications that parking professionals turn to for new ideas and information on trends and best practices also have online versions and blogs. For instance, IPMI’s blog is always looking for new content that will benefit IPMI members. And it’s not just parking publications that are looking for useful content. The various vertical publications that cover parking—university, airport, healthcare, municipal management, real estate and building owner/manager publications, and more—also need articles. And those articles will reach your customers and prospects.

In the coming weeks, don’t give in to the urge to sit back and wait for the coronavirus hysteria to pass. Be aggressive and focus more on public relations and reaching your most important audiences quickly and effectively online. That way, you can take advantage of readers’ more focused attention while they are working from home. Not only will this benefit your organization, but it will help publications that are trying to serve subscribers and other readers while they are working at home.

Bill Smith is president of Smith Phillips Strategic Communications and contributing editor to Parking & Mobility magazine.