By Katie Belton
Establishing and implementing a well-planned media relations strategy can be an important asset for your company or organization. Building a professional and positive relationship with members of the media is a key element in maximizing your coverage.
Instead of marketing or in-person communications, you can inform the public and reach your target audiences through media outlets. By coordinating directly with the people responsible for producing the news and features, you can maximize your coverage without paying for it with advertising.
When working with your local news outlet, a media relations strategy will help insure your direct goal is addressed. You need to cooperate and collaborate with the media so you can effectively convey information about your company to consumers and to the public.
An effective media strategy will:
- Promote your business
- Improve external and internal knowledge about your company
- Drive interest about your company with consumers, other media outlets and business partners
- Convey ideas and information
- Inform the public of your mission, policies and practices
- Enhance the credibility of your program
- Create dynamic exposure of your company
A media strategy, however, will not:
- Eliminate negative publicity
- Drive customer satisfaction
- Control the media’s message
- Get rid of the competition
The media have ultimate control over what is reported on and what they decide is newsworthy. It’s important to understand what the media want and how your message can benefit them as well. MediaCollege, an educational media website about electronic media production, has a handy guide to help you determine newsworthiness of your potential articles.
To develop a functional media strategy, you must first identify the goal and end result you are trying to achieve by working with the media. You must also determine your target audience and who you want to reach with your message.
Decide on a spokesperson for your company that will handle all the media inquiries. Be sure to implement a schedule and decide how you will communicate information through the media. Keep your messages consistent and organized while presenting newsworthy information.
You must approach the media and not wait for them to come to you. Build a relationship with the local reporters in your area and have your spokesperson interact with them on a regular basis and explain your company needs. Send them press releases and public service announcements, inform them of events and activities, contact reporters directly and become a reputable expert source.
While the media is important, don’t forget about your stakeholders or target audience. Focus on what you want your target audience to take away from your media coverage. Evaluate the effectiveness of your strategy and obtain benchmarks to determine if you need to improve or modify your media strategy.
For further instructions on developing your media relation’s strategy, click here.
