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Be honest. Don't play favorites. Treat journalists with respect, as you would friends, because if you are in PR that is what they are.
They don't call it Media "Relations" if it wasn't about Relations or Relationships. This means that all your engagement and activities with the media must be around building relationships with journalists and people in the media who are going to help promote your company, your success stories or your position statements.
Sometimes, there are companies with well-known brand names that don't have to push too hard to get media attention. Their brand is strong enough to pull in media as soon as these companies have a story to share. There are other companies, which are not well-known, and these companies need to work harder to build relationships with journalists and do double the effort to create content that is newsworthy. Then there are those companies in controvertial industries such as Tobacco, Alcohol, Soft Drinks. Such companies rely very highly on building relationships with journalists and other experts in order to support their lobbying strategies about certain topics in the industry.
Apart from paid advertising and editorial that you can get into, here are four ways for Communication experts to help build and improve relationships with journalists while avail free media coverage, regardless of what kind of company you represent:
1. Find and Select Potential Media Channels. Research, identify and contact potential publications, TV channels, radio stations, etc., including journalists, editors, and bloggers that support your kind of stories, causes or positions, either directly or through a media agency. It is always recommended that you use a media agency at the beginning of your media journey especially if you are new to media planning. It is the agency that has the tools and network to bring you the contacts you are looking for and advise you on what to do and what not to do, accordingly. Selecting the right media agency is another topic all together.
2. Develop a Media Engagement Plan. An effective and comprehensive plan comprises of the following activities:
Media Visits: Take the time and money to visit pre-selected journalists in their offices to discuss your expertise, your company's portfolio, and introduce experts, mentioning that your intention here is to establish an introduction, put a face to a name and highlight the kind of stories their publication may be potentially interested in through your company. One visit per journalists is recommended across the year.
Press Trips: Journalists love traveling and covering newsworthy events! For example, If your company has a state-of-the-art manufacturing facility that manufactures products to the highest quality but has been questioned recently in the media, you can arrange to organize a trip for highly selected journalists at the factory where they can take pictures and have them see the process in reality to prove that you place quality high on your agenda. Combine that with interviewing experts and arranging lunches and a tour around the city, it is almost guaranteed that these journalists will be more than happy to cover your story.
Press Conferences: Very often companies put together events or workshops for their stakeholders in order to keep them up-to-date about their business strategies. Depending on the nature of these events, whether they are private or semi-private as it is usually the case, you can tie in a press conference in conjuction, which will have its own unique agenda on topics to be covered and experts to speak. It is highly recommended that you choose good quality speakers, usually well-known figures in their industries, as this can almost guarantee the attendance of journalists. An invitation along with a press kit that includes the agenda and biographies of the speakers, must be sent to journalists prior to the event at least three weeks in advance to guarantee the highest turnout.
Media Entertainment: Invest in your selected team of journalists by organizing lunches, dinners and even gifts on certain occasions and important holidays, purely for social purposes, not linked in any way to your media agenda. This is a way to show them how much you appreciate their work, their friendship and all the support thay have shown you throughout the year. Let's not forget to be human at the end of the day.
3.Create, Update or Share Newsworthy Content. Newsworthy means having evidence, facts, figures and testimonials. You may receie an article through some press clippings written by experts in your industry about certain topics that you support. Share these with your netwrk of journalists via email. That's what journalists love to receive, proven data that can help build their stories! Once in a while and haphazardly, you will need to send out communication on an urgent basis in a crisis communication situation, for example. Make sure your statement is well-prepared and approved by your management before you share it with journalists, and this through email as well.
4. Keep in Touch. It's not enough to stay in touch with your media network just by email or on business occasions. Pick up the phone and call them once in a while. Ask about their health, families and work. Keep your conversations short and sweet, kind and genuine. They will really appreciate it in return, and this way, they will always keep you in mind and on their priority list when media opportunities or questions arise. Let's remember to be human always.
Be promt. Be useful. Create confidence, realtionships and trust. Be upfront. Air problems and treat as equals. Dont have favourites and when a journalist is in need then try to help them out.
Journalists need to be treated with respect, and it is best not to play favourites. But it should be understood that the longer you have had the relationship, the easier and better it gets over time.
To build your media relations you have to be out there. Attend events, introduce yourself, go to press centers and mingle with media, arrange editorial meetings, etc. To maintain your media relations always respect any person you work with, be honest and professional, be yourself and treat them as friends because this is who they really become to be.
The best techniques to build and maintain media relations are :
