Want to share your cause or business expertise with an audience? To be a top resource for members of the media, keep a pulse on the daily headlines, develop sparkling content and tailor your message to inspire those listening. Public relations is sharing catchy, newsworthy information, offering timely resources, and forming relationships with reporters. When local and national news strikes, journalists reach out to influential sources they know to complete their story.
I’ve been a media relations specialist for years, and in many cases the saying is true—it’s all about who you know. My Rolodex rotates with the editors and producers that I’ve worked with throughout my career to help fill their news pages and segments. Specifically, I work to coach business owners and brands to recognize what is newsworthy and what is not. Newsrooms receive hundreds of pitches, and to make your message really pop, it must be relevant and designed to help others—not self-serving.
PR is most successful when social media and traditional media work together. At corecubed, we have the skill set to create award-winning websites and marketing materials, draft compelling content for social media, and to pick up the phone and call the newsroom.
When developing a PR communications strategy on your own, you have to ask the following questions.
- Who will want to hear about your news? (no family, friends!)
- Where does the story belong in the newspaper? Know what the different sections write about.
- Is your topic timely?
- What is the human, emotional factor about your news?
When reaching out to reporters, the following are a few media dos and don’ts.
DO:
- Return any calls from the media right away. The reporter may be on a deadline.
- Be informative and enthusiastic when speaking with reporters.
- Alert your staff to possible calls from the media, and make sure they get pertinent information from the reporter: name, publication or station and phone number.
- Know what the reporter writes about.
- Offer to call back with a fact or figure they need.
DON’T:
- Expect a reporter to do a story because you advertise in their publication.
- Pester the media with nagging follow-up phone calls. They will call you if they want to pursue a story.
Or, reach out to corecubed, and we’ll pull it all together. We’re happy to share your strengths and keep you on the media’s radar. PR is a long-term strategy that can produce game-changing results.