Positive exposure in the business media is a strong and often elusive marketing/public relations goal for most companies. At the same time, business writers are always looking for good subject matter experts to use as sources in their articles. Positioning yourself as a valuable resource to members of the business media can result in ongoing favorable publicity for you and your business.
Use these tips to establish and build strong relationships with the business media:
- Know your media markets and target the publications your customers read. This takes a little time to research but it will pay off.
- Identify and build a relationship with journalists and editors. Study the masthead information in your target publications and get to know who the writers and editors are and what areas they cover.
- Pitch story ideas they can use. Don't ask them to do a fluffy, promotional piece on you or your company—that's advertising. Give them news or feature story ideas with value and then offer to be their source.
- Be available for interviews and to provide background information. Nothing frustrates a writer more than to get a strong pitch and then not be able to contact the source on a timely basis.
- In a broadcast interview, speak in sound bites; for a print interview, answer the questions directly and completely. With a print interview, you generally have more time to answer a question, but you still need to be concise and quotable. Practice your comments ahead of time so that your message is clear and easy to understand.
- Be cautious when speaking "off the record." Expect that anything you say to a reporter is actually on the record, even if you said otherwise.
- Never say, "No comment." This makes it look like you are hiding something. Instead say something like, "I don't have an answer for you right now. Let me get back with you on that." And then follow up.
- Always tell the truth. It's basic, it's what your mother taught you—and it's amazing how many people get caught telling lies to the media. Don't risk your credibility; just tell the truth the first time.
- Don't ask to see the article prior to publication. Publications don't allow this and writers don't have time anyway. Making this request brands you as an amateur. It's okay to ask if the article is going to be fact-checked, and it's certainly okay to ask how you can get a copy of the piece once it's published.
- Do appropriate follow-up. That means you should promptly send any information you promised; if the subject is complex, e-mail in a few days to see if the writer needs anything else.
- Keep in touch, but don't overdo it. Send regular news release (but only if you have real news) and story ideas, but don't become a pest. And always ask how the writer or editor prefers to receive information.
- Get permission before reprinting articles that mention you. The story may be very flattering and you want to send it to all your customers and use it in your marketing—that's fine, but get permission from the publisher first or you could be guilty of copyright infringement. You may need to pay a fee for the rights to reprint the article.
Jacquelyn Lynn is the author of Online Shopper's Survival Guide (Entrepreneur Press, August 2006) and co-author of Make Big Profits on eBay: Start Your Own Million $ Business (with Charlene Davis, Entrepreneur Press, 2005) and the author of ten titles in Entrepreneur's Start-Up Guide Series. For more information, visit http://www.jacquelynlynn.com.
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