A five-step guide to media relations
According to 2022 Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism (RISJ), far fewer people regard news found through social platforms like YouTube, TikTok and Instagram as trustworthy compared to traditional media channels. And almost half of adults still turn to traditional, well-respected news websites. Therefore, good media relations, now more than ever, involves careful planning and targeted pitching. Our five-step methodology provides a good framework for this.
Plan
Most people want to jump straight into pitching rather than spending time aligning the right stories with the right journalists and outlets. Story identification is paramount. The strength of your media relationships comes second.
The story needs to be developed in a way that enables you to insert your business’s key messages. Plan what you want to say and who you’re going to say it to. Your story needs to be compelling for the journalists and publications that you’re looking to target. This might require interview offers with subject matter experts, comments that add to (not echo) an existing news item, case studies, multimedia assets etc. Journalists are looking to you to help them meet deadlines, fill column inches AND TikTok channels and impress their editors!
Create
Some think that B2B PR agencies don’t get as many opportunities to be creative as their consumer-facing siblings. However, this is wrong – B2B campaigns can range from data-led research ideas to video and content production. The days of the press release being the only media medium and long gone. The creative process is key to any successful media relations strategy that wants to cut through the noise and catch the journalist’s eye.
Be consistent
A short project that relies on one campaign or story may not yield any tangible results to take back to the board. Regardless of how good your story is, it might get spiked in favour of breaking news. That’s why any agency worth their salt should provide a full strategy that covers multiple touchpoints over a sustained period of time.
Amplify
Getting quality coverage is just the first step – the next is shouting about it. It’s just as important for you to take responsibility for amplifying your coverage as it is for the journalist and publication they’re writing for. Publishers rely on social sharing to increase their traffic, so it’s only fair that this be reciprocal.
Integrate
In order to get marketing-driven results from PR activity, your media relations agency should be fully integrated into your marketing plans and strategies. If PR and marketing work together, the results are greater than the sum of their parts.
Results
As well as getting the coverage you crave, a solid media relations strategy will also net you a higher profile, more website traffic, leads (if you have integrated it properly, of course), followed links (which boost SEO rankings) and a whole array of experience, expertise, authority and trust signals, which are all important to the modern day CMO. Find out what journalists want by reviewing our exclusive media relations research with top tier publications, or drop us a line to discuss how our media relations services can help you achieve your business objectives.
