2016 is just three days away. It’s time not only for reflections and predictions but also for making resolutions – personal and professional.

For startups, too, this is the perfect timing to plan well for the New Year and focus on trying new things. After all, being agile is “in their blood”.

This is why I was so thrilled when I was invited to speak about my new inbound PR concept at a startup marketing meetup in Sofia last week.

Even though it was almost Christmas, we had a great turnout and I was happy to see so many people there interested in learning something new, attentively listening during my presentation, and then asking a lot of questions and introducing themselves to me to chat personally.  

Because of the timing – right before the end of the year – many of these entrepreneurs were there to find out what to focus on in 2016 and how to structure their efforts.

My presentation therefore not only introduced the inbound PR concept and how it differs from traditional PR, but also I gave them a lot of practical tips and actionable advice that they can implement right now, even if they don’t have a sophisticated software like HubSpot.

2016 is just around the corner! It's time for predictions! And educated hopes.

I’m sure you’ve seen quite a few 2016-prediction posts going on and I thought it would be worth sharing my reflections of the past year and my views for the new one with you too.

Time really does fly… I can’t believe how much has happened over the last year in my professional and personal life, but also in our non-silent-always-on digital economy.

Things change in seconds; they get adopted, adjusted and forgotten unbelievably quickly. Our world doesn’t sleep, ever.

I’ve observed many passing and growing trends over 2015 that have given me an indication of what will be happening more and more in 2016 and where brands should focus their efforts on.

My predictions-advice list is short – just 5 things, but if you master them, your 2016 will be a true success.

5 Key Things for Brands to Focus on in 2016:

Dear PR students, how many of you are starting to work on your PR dissertations?

I'm guessing quite a few.

By now, many of you should have at least started planning the synopsis (i.e. topic, objectives, research methods and literature) and thinking abount the actual execution (i.e. doing the research and then the writing). I thought it would be a good time to share with you some useful tools to help you throughout that process.

In fact, the below tools are super helpful for any student or professional as they can be easily adopted into one’s daily life to improve planning, writing, productivity and creativity.

The list is not rank-based but aligned with the actual process a student goes through – from initial activities such as planning and research through to putting findings together and doing the actual writing.

Hope the tools help!

Top 10 Online Tools to Help with Your PR Dissertation:

I’m a big fan of Spin Sucks. It’s where I learned about PESO (Paid, Earned, Shared and Owned) and how to leverage it in PR.

It’s a model that Gini Dietrich – founder of Spin Sucks – has been preaching a lot in the realm of PR for the digital age.

While reading her latest blog about PESO and PR, I was thinking, “Actually, my inbound PR concept fits into each of those quite nicely.”

Here's what they have in common:

• PESO is all about setting realistic expectations and plans, and so is Inbound PR.
• Both make it clear that PR today is a lot more than just media relations.
• And even if you do use media relations, you have to make it a part of a larger, integrated communications or marketing programme.
• They both get your “cash register ring” by fully aligning all activities with the overall business goals.
• Results don’t happen overnight, but if you stick to the plan and track and optimise regularly you’ll see the real ROI.
• PR today crosses all different media types – paid, earned, shared, owned – and uses tools such as email marketing, SEO, lead gen, influencer engagement, social media, native advertising and more.

As Gini puts it, “PR no longer is just about getting your name in print. It’s part of a strategic and measurable marketing program.”

That’s exactly what Inbound PR is all about. It combines the best of two worlds:

Turns out I’m not really normal. Let me ask you something: What do you usually do on a Saturday or Sunday morning? Rest, have breakfast, chat with your loved ones, prepare to spend the day somewhere nice or travel? Can’t say if that’s good or not, but my usual Saturday or Sunday morning doesn’t look like that.

I love waking up early on a Saturday morning, making myself a nice cup of coffee, snuggling on my sofa in my blanket with my laptop in my lap and catching up on all the reading that I’ve missed during the work week. That’s the perfect rest for me. And the additional perk – I learn that way.

Over the years, I’ve garnered a pretty long list of blogs and magazines that I religiously follow. And my little tradition on a Saturday morning is to open up my feedly – where I have all the RSS subscriptions of those blogs and magazines – and go over about 200 articles.

Reading inspires me and feeds my inner need to always learn.

Going over my feedly gives me energy for the rest of the day and the following week as well as new ideas – whether for blog posts that I could write or for advice, tips and new things (e.g. the ‘new kids on the block’ like blab.im) that I could implement at work or show my customers. To quote Jack and Suzy Welch in “The Real-life MBA”, this is my “learn-it-today, apply-it-tomorrow  technique”.