Media Relations the Professional Way

Think a single media release will guarantee good media coverage? Not so! Even with a good story, if your media relationships are weak, you will only get so far.

The best way to build your media presence is to build your media relationships. But don't be fooled: It takes years to develop strong media relationships - not a single media release - and the best relationships go two ways; help the media and they will listen to what you have to say (sometimes.)

Looking to build a media presence? Here's what the experts do:

Spend time with the journalists who cover your beat. Buy some coffees! By chatting about your industry and relevant issues, you're also providing background on your organization. Do this over the course of a year or two and the journalist will come to consider you a valuable source. There is no need for a big sexy angle - leave your presentation at the office - this is simply coffee.

Be the expert. Identify industry issues early and be ready to offer accurate information at a moment's notice. You'll be amazed at the frequency that journalists return to you for comment. That's because they know they can depend on you to share accurate information rather than pushing your own agenda. Being the regular expert is a win-win. You inevitably plug your organization while helping out your favourite journalist and cementing that relationship.

Know your boundaries and be professional. What's the difference between commenting on an issue and speaking on background without attribution? In the first instance your name will appear beside your quote. In the second, your name stays out of print. Know the difference between on and off-the-record and that, in reality, the latter doesn't exist. Learn the jargon and the nuances. Understand the boundaries and you'll earn the respect of your media contacts.

Don't be afraid! Remember that media relationships go two ways. Media hacks and PR flacks need each other. Both parties have to respect the relationship for it to work. But also remember that working with the media is like swimming in unpredictable waters; you can take every precaution but there are times when the riptide will catch you unaware. No point in taking it personally; just learn to swim strong.

Sound like a lot of work? It can be, but consider the benefits:

First, when the time comes for you to communicate a formal message, your favourite journalists will already have lots of background on your industry and your organization. This will increase your chances of getting balanced coverage.

Second, even in the midst of a media storm, a responsible journalist respects her sources. When good relationships exist, journalists will usually give you a chance to comment before publishing a tough story on you. Believe me, a few hours' prep time helps when handling unexpected media attention.

Good media coverage isn't simply about having 'a scoop'. It's about the media knowing and trusting you. A few coffees a year isn't much to spend to build your credibility and protect your organization's reputation. It's worth the investment.

Want to break into new markets and enhance your online image? You can with Kim McLaughlin - owner of Lyra Communications. Kim is obsessed with writing marketing materials for small to mid-size businesses -both online and off. From brochures to blogs, Kim will design an affordable campaign tailored to you. For more free writing tips, check out http://www.lyracommunications.com. Let's make contact! Feel free to give us a call and we'll chat about making your business income grow.

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Using Social Media to Strengthen Customer Relations

Social media began to be prevalent around 2005. Today, it's sites like Facebook and MySpace that are prevalent among all age groups, although they began with a focus on young people as their main audience, to keep in touch. Today, corporations use these sites to improve customer relations. As of 2009, social media has begun to revolutionize the way corporations are managing their customer relations altogether.

According to IT research and advisory company Gartner, by 2010 60% of Fortune 1000 companies will be using social media in some form as a way to improve customer relations. That's the good news. Gartner also posits that over half of the companies using web 2.0 sites for this function will do it wrong and actually harm customer relations. Gartner suggests that companies focus their analysis on customer online buying in order to offer a direct calculation of return on investment in terms of sales and customer loyalty coming through social media sites.

Gartner has said that there are four steps that businesses need to pursue so as to use social media successfully as a means to improve and manage customer relations. The first step is to clearly define what the purpose of the social and media initiative is. The second step is that a company must be willing to surrender some control over social media as a means to customer relations, because the public at large wants to "own" part of the relationship as a reward for their participation.

Companies then have to reward those customers that participate socially. This may mean allowing them to vote on, or otherwise rate contributions and information on the site. Finally, companies must appoint someone in-house who has the skills to head up a social media customer relations initiative. Using web 2.0 sites for customer relations should never be an afterthought. In fact, it should probably have someone specifically devoted to it full time, with their own staff if necessary.

Social networking has indeed changed customers' and prospects' behaviour, in critical mass. Gartner has stated that these customers can no longer be described demographically in a way that is entirely accurate or adequate; demographics are the usual means of measurement when it comes to corporate customer relations' effectiveness.

However, with that said, don't spend a lot of time or effort in trying to use social media as a focus with any great effort unless you know it will pay off by driving truly valuable traffic to your website.

Non-linear Creations did a year's study of five social media sites, and their effects. These web 2.0 sites were Stumbleupon, MySpace, LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook. It was determined after that year that social media sites drove about 18% of its site visitors from referring sites in aggregate.

In the Case of Non-linear Creations, Linkedin and Facebook outperformed the other social media site. That's important, but it isn't the whole story. What about conversion rates? Non-linear Creations measured conversion rates by whether visitors downloaded one of their white papers, subscribed to their blog or newsletter, or contacted them by phone or email. In this case - driving real prospects - Linkedin outperformed the other sites. Traffic from Linkedin was much more likely to convert than the average site visitor. Other web 2.0 sites actually underperformed the average.

There's no guarantee that Linkedin will give your company the tangible results that Non-linear Creations got. It probably depends on what type of business you have. It is not quite understood what the less tangible benefits are of reaching customers online in a way that makes them feel as if the brand is listening and cares enough to interact in the way they desire. One of the things people dislike about customer support call centers is their anonymous feel. It keeps them from feeling a sense of relationship to the brand. So far no obvious downsides of using social media for customer service, so it would seem to be in any company's best interests to use this form of outreach.

It certainly isn't hard to create accounts on web 2.0 sites. The hard part is in actually interacting with customers on them, listening to them, and analyzing your online visitor numbers to see which sites give you the most return on investment in terms of online sales or some other metric. At that point you'll have to determine how much effort to put into making under-performing social media referrers more effective.

Learn more about Social Media. Stop by David Baxters's site http://www.SmartMediaInnovations.com where you can find out all the latest data and information about Social Media and how you can use it to improve your customer relations today.

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Military Media Relations During Wars

There have been media reports that the military has been talking out of turn, and counter views have also been expressed on the topic by some supposed thinkers. It is not by individual perceptions that policies are made and the subject, in today's context needs to debated with select examples of the world military media relations kept as a backdrop and the examples of using the various media tools as force multipliers.

Military has opened up to the media only recently. Kargil operation was the first televised war, which brought the conflict to peoples homes. It showed the war zone to the world and changed people's perception on the pattern of conflict in high altitude areas. It reduced the gap between the military and the civilians and connected people with the lives of soldiers, who carry out their duties even at the peril of their lives. It is in their prompt response at the borders that our countrymen can remain comfortable at their homes. It was a bonding established and a national fervour built which brought about unity in diversity. The up front reportage altered the world opinion in our favour and justified the conflict, making Pakistan the bad guy. All this happened only because the media by India was handled with an aim, a vision and the public, in many ways participated in the conflict.

The negatives, to balance out, have also been true, with at times some media personnel being given preferential treatment by the military and the same media men, when rubbished on an occasion have been nasty in the reporting about the military. Such practices are reasonably common, despite the users in the game being quite aware, and such practices are bound to take place in a democratic system, yet it is important to analyse the reasons for the reporters adopting a sudden change in their outlook. It must be appreciated, after all, they are also individuals and bound to err and swing one way or the other to gauge the mood swing of the readers.

Just prior to Kargil, Kosovo happened, and just a little later the United Nations Force launched an operation in Sierra Leone. A brief mention of the two will facilitate in framing opinions on the media being used as a weapon system. While Kosovo was a 'War of Will' at least as projected by the western media, which gave only a one sided picture with Mr Reuben giving his daily briefings; the Sierra Leone intervention, despite the Indian contingent being actually responsible for the success of the mission, was over shadowed by the British media which highlighted the contributions made by the British troops in the success of the operations. However, damage control was carried out by the Indian Foreign Service at a later stage more as a reaction by sending the Indian media to cover the happenings, bringing to focus the Indian Army actions which brought about peace in the Region. More recently, the American coalition war in Iraq was again a reminder that a war can be projected as a justifiable war, if the events are doctored well and projected selectively.

The above examples bring to focus one important aspect, and that is, media has to be intelligently applied and it must be situation oriented. It cannot adorn a template which has to dittoed in all situations and the content also has to vary. An over or an under play will neither be good for the public nor for the military. The responses from the military have to be couched and well articulated. A total ban on interaction with the media will give rise to speculation and invariably result in misreporting. An over eager, inadequately thought of hurried response, is again likely to give a negative projection. The bait by the media will always be given with smiling faces approaching the military and wanting to be the first to report an incident and in the bargain getting access to an event. It may also be that the military, at times may feel that some other security agency may take the credit for the task accomplished and therefore prematurely reveal some details to pre-empt the other stake holders, which at times may result in tendering apologies at a later stage.

Such out of turn exposures to the media must be guarded against and that comes with fore thought and practice. Hence, it is important that media education is imparted to the military as a professional subject. It should be taught in schools of instructions right from entrée level and should be practiced over the years. The importance of the information warfare with media as a force multiplier has to be understood and it has to be correctly used as a weapon of decision making, a weapon of success.

Amit is with Neuronimbus. Read more articles on social political issues on india pakistan relationship at himalayanaffairs.org

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Media Relations Campaign Can Put a Small Business in the National Spotlight

A targeted media relations campaign can put a small business in the national spotlight. Here's how.

Begin with an analysis of the client's objectives in terms of publicity, marketing, forming new business partnerships, potential acquisition, and investment in the company. Once the objectives are clearly defined, develop a strategic game plan and the tactics you will use to implement that plan. Your plan should include:


Aggressive and targeted media relations campaign.

Publicity through news releases and press conferences announcing milestone achievements.

Nominating the client for awards.

Implementing a Web 2.0 strategy to boost the company's visibility online.

Accomplishing this requires developing a good working relationship with the news media, particularly the trade press. You need to establish trust and reliability; i.e., tone down the hyperbole and deliver on your promises. Once you have achieved legitimacy with the trade media, strive to land profiles about the company itself or its key personnel.

You also need to track your results, producing hard data whenever possible, so you can evaluate the success of the program and demonstrate to the client that he got a worthwhile return on his PR investment.

Results Highlight Success

Here's a case study that demonstrates how this approach works in the real world: M Ship Co., a San Diego-based maritime design and technology firm, had patented technology with an outsized impact on the performance of commercial, military and recreational boats and ships. However, despite its influence on ship design, the company had an undersized reputation, receiving almost no recognition for its revolutionary technology.

The goal of the public relations program was to gain traction with important target audiences through the news media. The program began with an analysis of the client's objectives, which included landing further military and civilian contracts, possible acquisition by a large defense industry firm, partnerships with top-tier boat builders, or an infusion of private equity.

Then we developed and implemented a strategy and specific tactics:


Map out media milestones and secure coverage around the launch and testing of the company's new vessel.

Build buzz with local and trade media, then leverage that coverage with bigger media targets.

Increase the quantity of media coverage and ensure the company is credited as the inventor of the technology.

Shift media attention beyond the technology to the company and its potential.

Place the "business story" to reach potential investors, partners or acquirers.

Pursue industry and media awards.

Implement a Web 2.0 strategy.

Complete a "score sheet" of metrics verifying the success of the program.

The results exceeded our expectations, and we were able to prove this to the client by quantifying the successes:


Expanded coverage in trade and local media.

Nationally, stories appeared in Popular Science, Forbes, Time, Maxim and on the Discovery Channel.

Articles shifted focus from the technology to the company itself, with a profile of the company founder appearing on the front page of the hometown newspaper's business section.

The company won Time magazine's Coolest Inventions for 2006 award, as well as CONNECT's Most Innovative Product, resulting in widespread media coverage.

The story was a top pick on Digg.com, achieving an estimated 5 million viewings.

Military personnel published an article about the company's new vessel in Wikipedia.

Media coverage increased 100% in frequency and 19% for story length; articles with photos increased 73%.

Coverage in general readership and business publications spiked 50%.

The company was mentioned within the top three paragraphs in 39% of all stories after initiating the media relations campaign, compared to 20% previously.

Because of the broad media coverage, the ship builder was contacted by a major defense industry contractor about acquisition, as well as by shipbuilders from the U.S., Europe, Asia and Australia about partnerships. A boat builder contracted with the company to build a line of boats based on the company's revolutionary hull design.

The company was approached by several venture capital firms and is currently in discussions with several groups about private equity investment.

These documented results and metrics confirmed the success of the strategic media relations program. You can achieve similar results by following these proven guidelines.

Jon Schmid is a founding partner of San Diego-based Cook & Schmid Public Relations. His prior experience includes more than a decade of work as a professional journalist at a number of publications, including the Chicago Sun-Times, one of the nation's largest metropolitan daily newspapers. As a journalist, Jon was twice nominated for the Pulitzer Prize.

In 2007, Cook & Schmid received the Silver Anvil Award, the public relations industry's highest honor, for its work promoting the San Diego Rescue Mission. The firm also received a national Bronze Anvil Award of Merit in the category of Business to Business Media Relations for the M Ship Co. project described above.

Cook & Schmid - http://www.cookandschmid.com
M Ship Co. - http://www.mshipco.com

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Media & Public Relations for Book Authors

Media and public relations is definitely an art form. It's not my area of expertise, which gives me complete license to write about it honestly and ethically.

Media and PR for a book is especially important because most authors (myself included) are clueless about marketing. So, it's important to choose wisely.

One media relations specialist may only act as a consultant, charging you sometimes exorbitant fees to tell you what could just as easily be found in one of the hundreds of great books on media relations. Another media relations specialist might focus on public speakers, helping you to be seen and heard on TV or radio. These media and PR specialists might have many of the skills you need, but may lack an intimate knowledge of the publishing industry.

There are a few media and PR specialist who do focus on helping people like you to sell your book, and this is the primary focus of this article.

One such specialist with whom I've worked, Marika Flatt of PR By the Book (http://www.prbythebook.com), has worked with dozens of authors, many of them first-time authors. As Marika says on her web site, "The mission of PR by the Book, LLC is to attain, or aid in attaining, as many quality media 'hits' as possible.

The real mission of media relations is to help you sell books

Sure, it would be nice to be on a live radio show, but not if it makes you look like a fool. A great media and PR specialist won't just help you get on TV or radio - she or he will help you to prepare for your 30 seconds or fifteen minutes of fame.

There are many ways to present yourself and the message about your book on TV and radio, and most of them are wrong. Someone like Marika will help you craft a compelling message and let you know what to expect when you're on the news.

Preparation is the key to success

Few authors go to the trouble of hiring a media relations specialist, which leaves them lost in the crowd of published, but unread authors. Those that do hire someone to help with book PR will find that the real work has just begun. A good media relations specialist will help you to prepare for your contact with the media. And, media contact is critical to selling a book. Even two minutes on a local radio station can help launch the career of an author.

Thus, you need to prepare.

Be methodical - create a good list of media contacts, and nurture that list until they love you and see you as the "expert" they've been needing. You've got to be patient, and slowly pepper them with newsworthy sound bytes that will help keep your name at the top of the list.

Again, this is one of the things a good media and PR specialist will do for you. They've got the connections and contacts, and if they are well-established, they know how to get the attention of the right media contacts so that you get the publicity you need and want. Don't scrimp on media and PR. Maybe you saved a bundle by getting your book printed through one of the so-called free book publishers. You want to sell your book, and the absolute best way is through good media contacts.

Unless you've got a rabid fan base ready to buy your book, people won't know who you are (or care for that matter) without the right publicity at the right time. That's when you call someone like Marika - a media and PR specialist.

If you've got a book or are writinng a book, you need to visit the Self-Publishing website. Tips & resources for writers; advice on publishing or self-publishing, and relatively unbiased media relations assistance. iPOD giveaway, contests, and teleseminars.

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Effective Media Relations Tips- What To Do After The Media Interviews You!

Effective Media Relations Tips - What To Do After The Media Interviews You!

By Thomas Murrell MBA CSP, International Business Speaker

You've done all the hard work - prepared a media kit, engaged with a reporter and they've listened to your message and asked questions.

What now?

Well, effective media relations doesn't just stop once you have been interviewed.

There are many ways to leverage your media experiences to help build your brand, reputation and image management skills.

Here are five tips on what to do after the media has interviewed you.

1. Implement a Professional Media Monitoring Service

How will you know what media coverage you are getting if you don't monitor it?

Media monitoring collecting and evaluating all press featuring your company or industry. The media however can involve print press, radio, websites, TV and even blogs and it is wise to enlist a professional media monitoring service. These services use keywords to search all media outlets and email summaries immediately to the company with links to the full articles. Often media monitors can break down searches to specific geographical areas. These services provide a far more precise and detailed evaluation of your company's media with less chance of missing something that has been published.

2. Analyse Your Quotes

After the story has been run analyse which quotes the reporter has used. Often a one-hour interview may result in just one or two key quotes being selected by the journalist. This offers an insight on the way the media operates and what journalists look for in interviews.

The more you understand how the media works, the more you can customise your message to what they want and the greater the chance of success in your comments being used by the media.

3. Understand What Quotes or Sound Bite Elements Were Used

Pay particular attention to exactly which quotes were used and how effective they were at relaying your message. This offers a personal insight into your own media techniques and can identify areas that require further attention and training. For example: simple, direct quotes are often favoured by the media. If a lot of the article has been paraphrased perhaps your messages were too long or confusing or weren't articulated well.

By combining your understanding of the quotes used, identifying areas of weakness in the interview and examining the workings of the media you will have a greater understanding and chance of stronger media relations in future interviews.

4. If You Like Your Quotes Re-use Them

Good quotes are like diamonds. They are often formed under intense pressure. They are valuable, unique and when polished, cut and set can really make you shine. If you've made the diamond and had it set, why not show it off as many times as possible.

If your quotes communicate your message well, re-use them again and again. Not only are they effective in relaying more message but have been approved for use by the media, that is they identify with what the media views as a "good" quote. It is more important to communicate your message confidently, clearly and consistently than it is to be original.

5. Never Get Angry or Trash The Media

If you get interviewed but not quoted, resist the temptation of trashing the newspaper, magazine or reporter and getting angry. Instead, analyse the quotes that were used by others and try to improve your message delivery so they could have been better crafted and therefore more likely to be used.

The quickest way to improve your knowledge in this important and growing area is to learn more about how to craft messages that even the most cynical reporter will want to use.

Thomas Murrell MBA CSP is an international business speaker, consultant and award-winning broadcaster. Media Motivators is his regular electronic magazine read by 7,000 professionals in 15 different countries. You can subscribe by visiting http://www.8mmedia.com. Thomas can be contacted directly at +6189388 6888 and is available to speak to your conference, seminar or event. Visit Tom?s blog at http://www.8mmedia.blogspot.com/

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Effective Media Relations - You Won't be Talking to the Media Without It!

The media's role is to package and spread news, current affairs and public interest information to the public. They have great power to shape and influence public opinion, to target and exploit audience reactions, emotions and opinions.

Setting up and maintaining good relationships with the media can be of enormous benefit. Effective media relations promote trust and balance between the media and an individual and their organisation.

Once you've proved yourself as a useful and dependable information source, you'll realise it can; help to get your story into a news cycle, and provide opportunities for the media to approach you for comment on appropriate stories which in turn helps a journalist add depth, by filling gaps or backing up information, to their story.

Effective media relations is about working with, rather than against, the media. That's not to say you can't have a robust relationship with the media. However, adopting this approach gives you better access to journalists when there is something to say in the media.

Being available for comment when asked is another essential ingredient in effective media relations. In a crisis, your well-established media relationship can also provide you with a stronger opportunity to get a fair hearing in response.

Consider for a moment reactive media relations - the only time you deal with the media is when things go wrong. The reactive situation puts pressure on outcomes and doesn't always allow for your messages to be delivered in a positive way. Obviously pressured reactive responses, or worst still, no response at all, can negatively influence public opinion of you and your organisation.

Media relations is also about; putting out regular media releases on appropriate issues that catch the eye, with short paragraphs written in newspaper style; actively providing comment on issues and or decisions; knowing what builds or makes a story; and knowing how to keep a story alive and when to let it go.

Using the media effectively can help you win public support. Public support is critical when trying to convince others, such as government or bureaucracy of the merit of a particular proposal or application.

Once you're comfortable talking to the media you should take a proactive approach to your media relations. The benefits are well worth it in the long run.

If you're not ready to manage your own media relations, but would like to work toward it, consider approaching a specialist in the field. They can provide advice or management as appropriate on media issues, help write media releases, distribute media releases, organise news conferences, facilitate one-on-one meetings with journalists, as well as deal with crisis and issues management.

Effective media relations can help you and your organisation develop a media profile. The benefit of a media profile becomes obvious when doors open wider for you within government, business and the community.

Mark Croxford advises clients from the government, private and corporate sectors on Government and Media Relations. He is a co-author of Talking to the Media. Talking to the Media teaches readers the skills and techniques they need to exploit the media’s strengths, limitations and demands. Don’t spend any money on media training until you’ve read Talking to the Media [http://www.talkingtothemedia.com]

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