Pugliese on PR: Maximizing media coverage
By Tina L. Pugliese, APR, Pugliese Public Relations
Have a strategy. Tailor your strategy for each public relations opportunity. Think about the audience you want to reach and how to create excitement. An effective part of your strategy should be to enforce your organization's core messages in all news releases.
Have a good story. A news story must have a compelling beginning, middle, and end. Journalists recognize a strong story within seconds, so tell your story quickly and succinctly.
Know your audience. You would not follow up on a potential business opportunity without knowing something about their business, so do not call the news media blindly. Before you pitch to any media outlet, study their work. Read the publication, watch the show, and listen to the broadcast. Get familiar with the characteristics of the media outlet you are targeting. Find out about their main audience and their likes and dislikes.
Invest in relationships. The more you know about the media organization and your target editor, the better and more confidently you can pitch to them. Building relationships now means editors will be more likely to take your call when you have an important story to tell. Best of all, even if they cannot offer you coverage on this particular story, they may refer you to another reporter who can. As with any relationship, building trust is critical. Keep your promises, and be on time. Be upfront about what you can and cannot do. You might not be able to do everything, but reporters will appreciate your honesty.
Look for a unique angle. Look for personal stories that can spur news media interest. Unusual stories and angles that affect a media's audience are more likely to get media coverage than mundane ones.
Follow up. Many potential leads are lost because people fail to follow through. If a reporter tells you to call back another time, make sure you do! Also, if a reporter does not answer your e-mail immediately, do not assume they are not interested. They might not have had time to respond to the large volume of e-mails they receive.
Be creative. Infusing your media relations plans with innovative thinking produces stronger, more effective results, so avoid recycling the same old news releases and fact sheets.
Find information. Do you sometimes feel like you just cannot write the news release? This blockage often indicates you do not have enough information. Do outside research. Interview an industry analyst. Get another perspective. This investigation can lead to the information for a great story.
Study and adopt good writing skills. Use a journalistic approach. Look carefully at how reputable publications like The New York Times or The Wall Street Journal structure a story. What is the lead? What kind of quotes do they use? Study different types of stories. Features, appointment announcements, news articles, and opinion pieces can all be useful in your public relations campaign. Often, you will see the most important information is in the lead and that the rest of the story follows. This inverted pyramid style is the best way to organize an article.
Eliminate jargon and techno-speak. Buzzwords can be highly irritating. Write with clear language, and avoid clichés, which are another sign of weak writing.
Tina L. Pugliese, APR is an executive coach and counselor for Pugliese Public Relations, a communications firm in Boynton Beach, Florida. Pugliese is an accredited member of the Public Relations Society of America, and is the author of the book, Public Relations for Pharmacists, and e-books, Marketing Your Business for Success, How To Work With The Media, Public Relations Manual — A Guide for Entrepreneurs, and the PR Survival Kit. She can be reached at (561) 889-3575 and by email at Tina@PugliesePR.com. Her web site is www.PugliesePR.com.
Article excerpted from e-book, PR Survival Kit, by Tina L. Pugliese, APR.
