Why you need to start treating media relations like you treat your friendships
Relationships are the name of the media relations game. And if you ask a group of public relations practitioners how they’ve found success in the realm of media relations, it’s not likely you’ll get two of the same responses. This is because at its core, there is no exact science to media relations – what works for one might seem archaic to another. But there is one constant among media relations experts: They’ve worked hard cultivate and maintain relationships with reporters.
And while establishing these relationships might sound overwhelming, it can be less difficult than one might think. To accomplish this, start approaching your relationships with reporters like you treat your friendships.
Check-in
Just like a friendship, it’s important to check-in with members of the media. It might seem like a good time to take a victory lap once your client has finished an interview, but there’s still work to be done. This outreach can be as simple as an email asking the reporter if they received everything they needed, and letting your contact know you’re available should they need anything else.
Maybe more importantly, it’s important to check-in at times when you don’t have a story idea to share. Was there a big piece of news that broke where the reporter is located? Did the reporter you work with break the story? Send your contact a note about it. This is a good way to show that you’re not just interested in landing something for a client. Rather, it shows that you’re interested in what they’re working on as a whole.
Remember, reporters are people, they’re not just a means for getting a story published. Just like we check in with our friends we haven’t seen or heard from in a while, do the same with reporters.
Honesty is the best policy
You’ve worked to line up a reporter to attend an event and promised that reporter access to some of the attendees. But at the last second, plans have changed and the people who were promised no longer will be attending. It’s easy to slink back and let the reporter attend, like nothing has changed. However, it’s important to let them know of the changes because one, it’s the right thing to do, and two, it shows that you respect the time and energy of the reporter.
There will be other stories, especially if you treat reporters the right way. Just like it’s never a good idea to lie to your friends, the same is true with a reporter.
At the end of the day, everyone wants to be treated with respect. And once you start treating your relationships with reporters like you treat your friends, you’ll see better results in your media relations’ efforts.
This blog post was originally published in January 2020. It has been updated and republished to keep you up to date.
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