By Jane Lee
Media relations is an important part of any communications strategy and if managed effectively, can yield great results. This part of the strategy is developed for clients to maximize opportunity and create a streamlined media relations process.
To maximize your chances for catching a reporter’s attention, here are some tips to enhance your media relations efforts:
Know your audience
Aligning your messaging to the right target is essential to your media relations strategy and achieving your goal. Knowing your audience is the first step to creating a successful pitch, creating a relevant media list and increasing your chances of earned media coverage.
Refine your media lists
Begin by following the basic rules of engagement and ensuring you stand out from the crowd by avoiding mass list distribution. Rather, compile a list of media connections that line up with your established goals and objectives. Do your due diligence by researching the journalist’s beat, what they cover and some of their recent articles.
Prepare your pitch
Ensure your pitch is clear and concise. If the journalist cannot easily understand your main points, you will fail to quickly grab their attention and the journalist may pass on the story. Instead, blend a clear narrative with specific details. Combine it with a compelling subject line and you have a winner. Never underestimate the power of a great subject line, thorough research, and well-prepared materials.
Provide all relevant information
When pitching, try to make writing the story as easy as possible. Make sure you have shared all information and resources you have on hand. This can include images, b-roll, quotes or even a brief. However, remember that you are not writing the story so just provide facts that you believe are useful.
Measure your success
The hard work doesn’t stop once all the content is rolled out. Based on your objectives, you must measure your results to know if you have got value from your PR campaign and how to refine future messages. Measuring your results will also help you make well-informed decisions about your methods going forward.