Media Darlings: The Top Ten Do’s and Don’ts of Working with the Press
This post will cover 10 do's and don’ts for working with the media. They are in no particular order and each one is important to take into consideration when someone is trying to get publicity. One of the most important points to take away from this list is that you need to be prepared for how your story will be represented in the media.
1) Have a Self-Made Media Kit
This is one of the most important things that you can do when trying to get publicity. A lot of clients come into our company and want us to hook them up with newspapers, which we can't do because they don't have a self-made media kit. Putting together a self-made media kit can feel daunting at first, but it will save time and effort in the long run. If you're not great at making these on your own, there are plenty of places online where you can get templates for free. These websites have step-by-step instructions that will lead you through the process of putting one together.
2) Schedule Interviews with Journalists
One of the most important points that you need to take away from this list is to always be prepared for what a journalist might ask you. Within a day, we can reach out to hundreds of different journalists about your story and it won't be easy if they keep asking you the same questions over and over again. A good way to prevent this from happening is by scheduling interviews. In order to do this, all you need is a media kit and some basic information about yourself (i.e. your name, your company and your story).
3) Don't Be averse to a Follow-up Call
Don't be afraid of these follow-ups. It's important that you make the journalists feel comfortable enough that they will want to work with your company. If they don't, then there will be no press release and no interview which means no publicity for your company. You can always send out a follow-up email to the journalist if you have not heard back from them after you have sent them an email. If it's been more than 24 hours, however, then it might not be worth calling them anymore because they are busy writing their stories.
4) Be Quick
One of the things that can slow down getting press for your company is too much waiting! Don't wait for a journalist to reach out to you. Get in contact with them immediately. This will give them more time to write their stories, which will be better for you because it means more publicity.
5) Know What the Media is Looking For
Another one of the reasons why your story may not be getting picked up by a journalist is that you do not know what they are looking for when they are researching a story on someone or something. It's important that you do research ahead of time as this will help you understand what publications are looking at right now. This way, you can send the journalist the link to what you want them to cover (i.e. your main page) and they will know exactly what story they are working on when they reach out to you.
6) Make the Media Feel Important
It's important that the media feels that your company is important enough for them to write a story about it. There are a few ways that you can do this. One thing you can do is to give them a press release in advance with all of your information that they need to know in order for them to write their story. Another thing you can do is to reach out to them and offer your story first. If you are able to reach out to them before they contact you, then they will know how important it is for them to do a story on your company.
7) Do Not Expect Free Publicity
Do not expect free publicity because it simply does not exist. You have to pay for this type of publicity whether it be in cash or in time (i.e. reaching out to the media). You can get free exposure from a press release or by networking with people, but the actual interview will never be free.
8) Don't Expect Yourself to Be a Celebrity
Not only will you not be a celebrity, but it's very unlikely that your story will ever be seen by anyone outside of the local community. Some people think that they can just reach out to the media and their story will get picked up by national news stations and then everyone will know about them. Keep in mind that your company does not have to have a huge national presence for you to get exposure for it. Even if your product is only sold locally, you can still get press because it's starting to become popular and there are other local businesses who are interested in selling your product as well.