Building relationships is an extremely important element in media relations. But like most small business owners, chances are your plate is already full with maintaining relationships with current clients, potential clients and employees, in addition to everyone in your networking groups and in your social media spaces. How can you add building relationships with the media to an already full plate?
Media professionals tend to be extremely busy as well. With outlets downsizing, they’re now doing twice the amount of work in less time, and many are expected to maintain social media presence via blogs and Twitter as well. The good news is this means they don’t want you spending a lot of time building relationships with them. The key is to be helpful and appreciative.
Is there a specific outlet you want to cover your company? After you do your homework and figure out who the best contact is, look around at what they’ve written. Follow them on Twitter. Subscribe to their blog. Pay attention to what they write and engage with them in a meaningful way. Did you really like their column last Tuesday? Send them a quick note to let them know why, or retweet their post about it on Twitter. Be friendly, genuine and helpful.
Of course, with media relations, your goal is also getting coverage for your company. Once you’ve been reading their work for a while and getting a feel for the types of items they cover, send them a pitch about your service or product. If they respond, great! Be responsive and helpful, and answer any questions they have quickly. If you don’t hear back, feel free to follow up a couple of times, but stay friendly and don’t do it too often. You want to be pleasantly persistent – not an annoying stalker. At Three Girls, we include slightly different angles and story ideas in our follow up to give them even more ideas about ways they could share the information with their readers, listeners or viewers.
Building relationships doesn’t stop there, though. If the reporter does write about your business, thank them! In addition to sending a quick email or tweet thanking them, mail them a hand-written thank you card to let them know you really appreciated the coverage. At Three Girls, we include hand-written thank you cards with a fun chotchkie (like a branded pack of post-its) as part of our media relations services. We regularly receive thank you emails in response to our snail-mailed thank you notes because it’s just not common and helps us stand out from other firms.
Have you had success in building relationships with reporters? What additional advice would you add?
Special Offer: Three Girls Media & Marketing Inc. loves working with small and emerging companies to raise their brand awareness and name recognition through media relations, in addition to other services. We offer a complimentary 30-minute phone consultation and can discuss your specific brand marketing needs. Email info@ThreeGirlsMedia.com to make your appointment today!
Photo Credit: Victor1558