Why do you want to be in the media? Those who are eager for an affair with the media often think that by sending out their first press release they will automatically be on everyone’s lips. Well, they won’t. The brutal truth is that no one cares about a company that no one’s ever heard of before.
Media Relations, as the name suggests, is based on building RELATIONSHIPS. It’s a process that’s ongoing. The longer it lasts, the better it works. It’s great when the agency knows the journalists and can speed up the process. However, journalists need time to get to know the company and its founders. To gain confidence that this is not just another joyful idea with nothing behind it (anyone remember Piotr K., the youngest Polish millionaire?).
So, although it is possible to generate a number of cool publications with one-time cooperation, we achieve the best results when we have the opportunity to work for you for at least a few months. Because it gives us time to build relationships with all the key journalists on your behalf.
The more publications about your company, the better, right? Well, no. Confirmation of 20 publications in media such as Voice of Lutosław is much simpler than one qualitative publication in Business Insider. However, these 20 publications will have little impact on the reputation and success of your business (unless, of course, it is in Lutosław). Unlike publication in BI.
So replace thinking about the quantity of publications with thinking about the quality of publications. Which media are strategic due to the goals of your company? Which media should write about us in the coming year? Do not trust agencies and PR people who clog up reports with worthless clippings and reprints of them.
“We don’t expect any spectacular results. We only need a news ticker on TVN” – a potential customer told me many years ago during our first meeting. News tickers, magazine covers and spreads in weekly magazines are reserved for the so-called breaking stories: major disasters, tragedies, sensations, the most prominent experts and politicians, well-known entrepreneurs and important social topics. And it’s possible that your company will be there soon. But most likely before that can happen, we will first have to get her to start appearing regularly in the media at all.
What is interesting for you will not necessarily be interesting for the journalist and the readers / viewers / listeners of the medium they represents. The fact that you exist is not exciting enough. The dynamic growth of your company, unless you are ready to give the numbers and names of your customers, will also not sound very convincing. What matters is the specifics and the interesting story.
How do you know if you have anything interesting to say? Try to answer these questions: How did you and the company get to where you are today? What (physical?) difficulties did you have to overcome on the way? What mistakes did you make in developing your business? Who are your clients? What are their problems? Who and how did you help? What were the measurable effects of this? What does the market in which you operate look like? How has it changed? How will it change in the next few years? Where is the ordinary Kowalski in all this with his everyday problems?
To see if you actually have something interesting to say, start talking about it during a family meeting. If after 5 minutes your uncles and aunts will still listen to you, you are on the right track. However, if you are struggling to find such a story, hire a good PR person or agency and try to answer the questions they are sure to ask you honestly and thoroughly.
These situations can happen and it would be wrong to take offence at anyone. There could be several reasons for this: perhaps, although “the topic sounded promising”, the journalist didn’t learn anything interesting from you at the meeting? Usually it is the agency representing the client, it should make sure beforehand what the journalist will want to ask and so prepare the client for the meeting so that they are able to answer the questions exhaustively (not to be confused with evasively). Sometimes, however, the decision to “drop” the topic will be made by the editor-in-chief/publisher and the journalist will have no influence on it.
Sometimes during the recording in front of the camera, it may turn out that the client is so stressed that he is not able to formulate any reasonable thought correctly. It is worth being aware of your weaknesses and honestly informing in advance about your concerns about the PR person. Nervousness and inexperience can be eliminated with media training and appropriate exercises.
It may also turn out that on the day when we release our news, a more important topic will unexpectedly appear, which will “cover” our news. We do not wish any startup to send information about the acquired investment on the day when the media circulates information about the bankruptcy of a large startup. Sometimes it is a simple bad luck that is responsible for failures in communication with the media.
Journalists of one of the most popular online business media in Poland must provide five publications a day. Every day. All the journalists. The medium I am writing about is not unique in this respect. Let this information soak up for a while.
If you had to come up with five topics in the morning, then do research, talk to experts and write these articles by the end of the day, would they be flawless? Would they address the issue in depth and exhaustively? That’s probably not the case. So don’t be surprised that the articles you receive often seem to be dashed off. Because that’s often the case. Journalists work on a chord. The role of the agency is to correct all substantive errors. The role of the proofreader in the editorial board is to correct possible stylistic and grammatical errors. But it usually happens at the last stage, after you authorize it. It is therefore worth showing understanding towards journalists. Because they work hard and you benefit from it.
Have you told him that in a way that made him realize it was important? It’s not an art to say a hundred irrelevant things during an interview. It is not an art to write a press release loaded with insignificant details. The trick is to say or write only the three most important facts, but in such a way that they remain in the journalist’s head. This is what we call key messages. Key, because they are expressive and there are few of them. They have a chance to distinguish our story and stay in the journalist’s head after he finishes an interview or reading a press release. You should have them ready before the interview.
Well. However it may sound, a journalist is a free man (and profession). He writes what he wants, in the way he sees fit. Even the best PR agency will not force a journalist not to mention this small, inconvenient fact that concerns our company. Especially if you mention it yourself during the interview.
How to avoid unwanted information in the final article? The best technique is not to mention them during the interview. Most often, it is the clients themselves who are indiscreet and tell the journalist things “off the record”.
However, sometimes uncomfortable questions are prepared by a journalist on time or even constitute the main reason why a journalist meets with us. It is worth realizing this beforehand. If there is such a threat, perhaps there is no point in organising the interview at all? However, if we decide to talk, it is worth presenting the elements that are important to us in the most objective way.
Finally, let’s remember one thing: If we said something during the conversation, a journalist can write about it and even the best agency will not take back the words you said.