The three tips below are basic starting points for laying the groundwork on a solid public relations campaign that includes news coverage as one of the primary goals. We recommend finding someone with a solid PR understanding and background to really develop these areas, whether it's a communications professional you hire within your organization or outside help from a public relations firm. But just having the knowledge will start moving you closer to a goal that could ultimately take your organization to the next level:
1)Get Outside The Details Of Your Own Business...and start thinking industry-wide. Let's just get this out of the way right now. Many owners and executives believe the latest product, hire or event they're running is ultra-important and worthy of coverage by every newspaper and tv/radio station in town. But more often than not, what's important to these business leaders is of little to no importance in the news media, and more importantly, their audiences. A company official may have written an email to a newsroom or called a television station requesting coverage of their event, then are surprised, or even offended, when not a single reporter, writer or camera crew shows up. The issue is these organizations simply do not understand the tenets of news coverage and appeal. Does whatever you are offering truly have mass appeal to an audience that ranges well beyond the people in your organization and it's customer base? Is there anything timely about your proposed story that fits into the broader context of current events? Why should I care?
Here's a much better approach to get the bees to your honey: Become an expert in what's going on in your industry, and start thinking about how you can leverage that knowledge to position yourself as an expert to the media. It's not necessarily about the details of what's happening in your own company, but you can still attract attention to it indirectly by becoming a thought leader. Do you run a daycare or pre-K? There's no shortage of story material regarding current funding levels in state and local government and how it could impact preschool growth. Are you an attorney? I'll tell you right now that journalists are always looking for some kind of legal expert, especially when the attorneys who are directly tied to a case cannot comment for legal reasons. Hello Supreme Court decisions. Or maybe you run a small, family-owned business. Stories I successfully pitched and covered as a reporter in that arena included summer employment for teens, crowdfunding initiatives and health insurance options. One of the non-profits we recently worked with was able to tie in a state budget battle as a tie-in for a unique drug and substance abuse recovery program they oversee.
2)Create Tangible Content To Push Ideas...that will develop and support your goal of becoming a "go-to" industry source. Think blogs, op-eds, timely social media posts, events centered around a current industry trend or theme. These are platforms to push ideas that are of interest to media outlets. As you continue to produce this content, people will start taking notice. A reporter or editor may not initially see it, but someone they know very well could and pass along. Yep, it's going to take some of your time, and the payoff will almost certainly not be immediate. But it should be a priority. A lack of visibility is one of the primary obstacles most businesses face when launching a public relations campaign, and these are tools that will start addressing that area. Related to this, be sure to show up at events and be engaged in your community. Events and outreaches are great venues to let people know what you're up to, and you just may run into a key decision-maker who can connect you with the media.
3)Make Accessibility A Top Priority After making an investment in steps one and two, you have now finally showed up on a media outlet's radar. And there's no quicker way to sabotage all of your hard work by not being available when the media requests your time. You simply must be available on the media's timetable if you truly want the coveted coverage you've been seeking. Prepare to be inconvenienced and have to rearrange your to-do list. We are always upfront with potential clients on this item before entering into an agreement, and those who cannot commit to being accessible, or will only be accessible under certain conditions they define, are simply not a good fit for our firm. That's because we understand the dynamics of media relations from our own experience in the news business, and we know that those individuals or organizations that brush off requests hinder their own efforts by wasting the time of deadline-oriented journalists. These are two-way relationships that should be cultivated and handled with care like any other business contact in your professional network. Yes, there are some occasions where you can plan a story days or (rarely) weeks in advance. But more often than not, you will have just a few hours notice for an interview request that may not necessarily be directly related to your own business. See the big picture and seize the moment. Unless you're dealing with a legitimate family emergency or are five states away you've got to play ball. And here's a dirty little secret: Those dinky little announcements and events we referenced under step one can still garner media coverage sometimes if the organization behind them has proven to be a reliable partner in a time of need for a station, newspaper or other outlet. Those who master the art of being accessible will almost always see a big ROI on their campaigns.
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