Media Relations is hard work, but it can also be incredibly fun and very rewarding when you get it right. In this lesson, we're going to look at how you can build a strong and engaged network of journalists who will be much more likely to cover your company and your stories. Here are the seven guiding principles for building strong relationships with journalists. be personal. Don't keep everything to email, phone them, arrange meetings to get on their radar and stay there. If you're meeting with journalists, it's always worth making it as easy as possible for them.
Don't make them travel. Instead arrange to meet them somewhere near where they work or at a favorite spot. Be consistent. Your company's messages should be so clearly defined, that they're naturally evident in every involvement a journalist might have with your organization. Be ongoing. You have to work hard to keep on a journalist radar.
It's no good meeting. Reporter one Giving her an information pack on your company and then expecting to be offered first dibs on the next article she's writing about your sector, your competitors will likely be wearing the same people as you. So as soon as you slip out of their consciousness, you will quickly be replaced. be useful. Like most people, journalists do not like one sided relationships and need to get something out of knowing your company. Many people make the mistake of assuming that if you buy a journalist lunch, she's obliged to quote you in an article.
This is not necessarily the case. journalists have to write certain standards and guidelines placed on them by editors and publishers. provide them with prepackaged quotes, images they can use, and case studies that they can interview to add depth to their stories. Ask questions. One of the most useful questions you can ask a journalist is what sort of stories do you find resonate best with your audience? Once they tell you, you can update your media list and make sure you only pitch them the type of stories engage.
Journalists are so much more likely to work with people who they recognize. Build Twitter lists of journalists so that you can keep on top of what they're saying. In fact, 10 year two years released a piece of research that showed that over two thirds of journalists use Twitter to find stories. Become a PR person who they recognize by commenting on and sharing their articles online. Right Well, and according to a journalist hostile nothing irritates a journalist more than sloppy writing, and poor grammar. Don't use your stories to advertise your company.
Journalists won't include your slogans in their copy. And don't give up. Journalists are busy, and you often need to make a few attempts to get results. In summary, play the long game when dealing with journalists. Once you've started building relationships with journalists, you're going to need to learn how to persuade them to run your story. This is a very specialist skill but if you can master it, it will serve you in credibly well on your PR journey.
You can learn the skill in the next lesson pitching your story to the media.