The Basics of Media Relations
What You Need to Know About Getting “Published”
For many organizations, one key measure of marketing success is getting written about in the president’s favorite publication. If this sounds familiar, there’s a few things you should know before you get started:
Do the Work. When the media had newsrooms full of staff to uncover, develop and write stories, it was good enough to send a press release that just presented the facts. Today, with one editor overloaded with generating content for a growing number of mediums – print, virtual, social media, etc. – they need content that’s practically written for them.
No One Cares as Much as You. Everyone thinks their story is print worthy, but getting ink is driven by the news cycle, the editor’s perception and the space available. Building relationships is the key to understanding where your story fits and winning mind share with editors.
Expect Mistakes. As skeptical as we are of the media about spinning a story, we still assume that they’ve gotten all the facts straight, so it can be surprising the first time you read something untrue about yourself or your business. The best way to avoid this is to simplify your message – keep reading…
Simplify Your Message. When you’re passionate about something, it can be tempting to inundate the media with everything you know. Ask yourself, “If they only get one message from me, what would I want that to be?” Then make everything to present to them revolve around, reinforce and reiterate that one, key point.
Bottom line: As with all marketing efforts, the key to success lies in setting goals, understanding what your audience wants, and delivering it to them in the package they prefer.