We’ve sorted out the relevance quandary, even highlighted the increased importance of media relations today. The question now centers on how to build — and sustain — effective media relations.
The constantly evolving business and media terrain necessitates a new approach to media relations even as it makes such task a lot more complicated. For those that have started a network of media outlets, the difficulty is in managing and sustaining the relationship.
Why is media relations management more exacting today?
Traditional media outlets have had to contend with a lot of other things than just making sure the print comes out as scheduled. After losing much of their previous traction and going through budget cuts and layoffs, they have had to keep up with the onslaught of digital media at the same time start their own digital transformation.
As if these are not enough hurdles, media outlets now have to deliver more than their usual fare of content to satiate the reader, and they have to do this 24/7 and over multiple platforms. Many of these outlets have to do all these with fewer resources than they had before. In such a scenario, accommodating pitches and building relationships with businesses and PR agencies just can’t be a top priority.
On the other side of the fence: For businesses and organizations, the pervasiveness of social media has influenced the valuation of (traditional) media relations. Companies can now directly engage with their audiences through their website and socials. This has diminished for many of them the need to partner with traditional and even digital media practitioners.
Declining news engagement among Filipinos makes it even harder to work on media relations. Fake news, misinformation and disinformation all contribute to this unfortunate situation, making a volatile environment even more challenging to navigate. Pitching press releases to publications losing readership, budget and people has therefore been more demanding. Some outlets may want to give more print or online space to articles that they deem to be more beneficial to their reader base compared to company-specific or agency-sourced material regarded as biased or promotional.
Building the foundation of solid media relations
Just like in any relationship, starting one with the media involves knowing oneself and the other party. Reflect the company goals and objectives in a set of media objectives that will then serve as guide for building media relations. PR agencies can have different media objectives for each client depending on the latter’s need. The media relations plan and media kit must be aligned with the media objectives and include strategies and key messages.
Besides a deeper understanding of the needs of the business and the brand, identify and research on the channels and publications that address these needs. This postulates a knowledge of the current media landscape, including reader or audience behavior and even content or material type most effective to use. If you need to work with specific journalists regarded as experts or a key connection in the target market, some knowledge of the journalist’s general topic coverage and writing style could help in strategizing how best to approach and work with them.
For companies and agencies just building their network, it is best to start with the media outlets and channels that will best reach the target audiences of your current client base. It will be more difficult, worse counterproductive, to try to engage all outlets at once, especially for smaller organizations with limited resources. Slow and steady will work here.
For those that already have a network of media outlets they constantly work with, a review of the existing list against evolving needs may be necessary. This audit could reveal gaps that need fixing and identify other publications or outlets that could be tapped to cater to new or emerging requirements. If your brand or your client is looking to expand into a new market segment or a new region in the country, for instance, reaching out to specialized publications covering that segment or regional media outlets should start soon enough.
Fostering media relations
Once you’ve created that connection, the key — and challenge — is nurturing and sustaining it. Just like with any relationship, the one that you build with media outlets and journalists will have its cycles of ebbs and flows. You have to keep adapting to shifts in the media environment, publications objectives or coverage goals, in some cases even to changes in individual journalists’ work. Think of media relations management as a garden — it needs consistent tending.
If you think that your relationship with a journalist begins and ends with pitching press releases, think again. Remember it may be a publication entity your business or agency is partnering with, but the contact you deal and collaborate with is a person. What this means is that besides the professional collaboration, some degree of personal relationship with the journalist needs to be cultivated as well. This means building not just camaraderie but also credibility, reliability and trust.
How to do this?
Be competent and reliable. Know the industry, brand and the product or service the campaign or press release you are pitching is about. Not just a superficial knowledge but an understanding of things that will enable you to anticipate and address any questions from the media, if any. A working knowledge of the brand will also enable you to develop a more targeted article and even tailor your pitch.
Respond to requests for interviews or information. If you are setting up an interview for your client, prepare the spokesperson. If you are your company’s representative or the interviewee, make sure you are ready with your informed answers. Do the homework before meeting with the media.
Deliver as you promise. If you committed to providing a certain material by a certain date and time, and especially if this is to cater to a media request, you have to make that submission as agreed, even if you have to burn the midnight oil the entire week.
Be proactive. Especially when working with a new or specialized publication, prior planning and research are important. You need to know the type of content they carry, even their style of writing so you can adapt the press releases you’d be sending them. When organizing media events, proactive communication will avert any inconveniences.
Your media kit or briefing document must provide all the necessary information and in the case of the briefing document, cover anticipated questions and issues with their corresponding response. This is highly useful for controversial topics.
Be transparent. Keep an open communication channel with your contact journalists toward building trust. In the event of a crisis situation or negative publicity, initiate a conversation — face-to-face if possible — to address the issue and provide a prompt, timely and accurate response. At a time of fake news, you sharing only accurate information will certainly assure your media contacts of your commitment to maintain the relationship.
Transparency also means you have to manage expectations, both yours and your media contacts. If you are dealing with digital content whose turnaround time can be much tighter, be upfront about any delays or potential bottlenecks. This way, a workaround can be discussed and both parties’ targets met.
If there any concerns regarding media coverage or your client has complaints, discuss these as soon as possible. If there has been a negative coverage or an article by the publication gave incorrect information, work with the journalist toward a quick solution.
Be considerate. Journalists are busy people. Have you been to a news room? Not only do journalists have to meet tight and constant deadlines. With media outlets having reduced manpower many journalists could be handling additional workload. Would it help to know when the best time of the day is to send your pitch article? Do they prefer a different submission method other than email?
These things can improve communication with media outlets. Be respectful of the journalists’ time. Constant follow-ups might be an annoyance rather than a catalyst for favorable coverage.
If you have been remiss in sending material per agreed timeline or provided inaccurate information, acknowledge the shortcoming. Always communicate with respect.
Be personal. Put a face to the name, in other words. Meet your media contacts. Have coffee with them. Even dinner if you have the time and budget. During these times, do not talk about your next pitch or press release. Try to get to know them better. Learn about the type of articles they like or find useful for their publication. This will give an idea of how to approach your pitch the next time.
Balance the professional relationship with a personal touch toward nurturing a collaboration of mutual benefit and value.Don’t reach out to your media contacts only when you have a press release to send. Engage them on other occasions. Engage them on social media and other channels to keep the lines open and remain updated.
Then there’s the content
All the hard work you put into establishing credibility, transparency and open communication will mean nothing if the material you send your media contacts does not make the grade. Yes, content remains king.
To make it a win-win partnership, the content you provide must be something the publication will find useful. Will it resonate with their readers? Does it align with the publication’s theme or area of scope in the case of specialized or thematic publications whether traditional or digital? If your press release leans more toward a news report, ensure it has correct and up-to-date information and that it reads like a news report.
Some PR professionals will argue that they are not journalists and so do not need to adhere to journalism guidelines. But being mindful of journalism rules and standards has its merits. Editors will appreciate clean, publication-ready articles as these save them time and energy and make their work easier. Further, risking legal action against any publication caused of the material you sent them will not do your media relations any good, now or in the future.
Personalize your pitch as much as possible. Your pitch has to get the attention of a very busy reporter or media contact. Anything generic will not do. Neither will a copy and paste of the lead paragraph of the press release itself. In your email, write about why the article and the brand or company are relevant and will benefit the reader. Indirectly, you’d be telling your journalist contact how it will benefit them and the publication as well.
Effective media relations is at core of effective and productive public relations. A positive relationship with media outlets and journalists enables businesses and PR firms to succeed in an increasingly competitive world.
