There are a few ways you can go about a successful media relations strategy for your business.
- Know everyone in the industry, not just those covering your beat. This is difficult to do because of the mass amount of journalists, but it’s nearly vital with the amount of turnaround, layoffs, beat changes and acquisitions shaking up the reporting industry. By the time you establish a relationship and present your pitch, they’ve moved, but it won’t matter if you know them all.
- Create, to the best of your ability, a pitch calendar and stick to it. The problem with many pitches is you don’t know who you’ll be pitching to until you know what you’re pitching. The sooner you can get what you’re pitching on the calendar, the sooner you can start establishing the relationships you need.
- Meet and greet the outlets you think you’ll be pitching to. The best first pitch you can make is yourself. Before the pitch calendar and on your path to knowing everyone in the industry, begin by setting up a meeting at an outlet. It’s much like an informational interview where you learn who to talk to, what they care about, the best way to pitch, how they handle their stories, etc,.
Media relations is a time intensive strategy. While that’s not to say you won’t land something by shooting off an email. It’s a lot less likely and, being forward, you’ll enjoy the process a lot less.
Do media relations because you love to, not because it’s your job. It’s what most journalists do.
Stay Positive & Media Relations Is Another Case Of You Get Back What You Put In
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Garth Beyer is a Certified Cicerone®, Senior Content Specialist at Encompass Technologies, owner of Garth's Brew Bar and a Madison-based freelance writer.
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