Using Media Relationships is a great way to Build Your Digital Brand. If you have journalist support, it will make every new product or service launch more successful.
Building media relationships is almost as important as building strategic partners. They both have added benefits to your business and are mutually beneficial. Meaning, the journalist has much-needed content to publish and the business garners more consumer awareness.
What’s the Secret to Building Media Relationships?
The secret to successfully building media relationships is to create a target shortlist of media contacts and then focus on how you can help them.
The best way to make genuine connections with the media and other industry influencers is to come from a place of service. Ask yourself, “How can I help this person?”
Here’s What To Do When Pitching The Media
Use HARO to connect with journalists.
HARO emails reporter queries related to your industry straight to your inbox so you don’t miss out on potential PR opportunities. If you’re based outside the US, SourceBottle is another great option.
Connect with journalists on LinkedIn.
Search for the media outlet in which the journalists works. This is a great way to get their contact information if you can’t find it elsewhere. If you notice the journalist is a first degree connection with someone you know, have him or her make an introduction.
SEE ALSO: 3 Most Neglected Tactics on LinkedIn
Create a list for media contacts on Twitter.
Make it a habit of tweeting and retweeting journalist with whom you wish to develop a relationship. Don’t be creepy and go overboard with your communication. You want to establish a positive relationship and not be viewed as an online stalker.
Share articles on social media.
Sharing articles frequently can get you on the radar of some journalists. Since social media is a great medium for content amplification, many journalists turn to social media to discover how their articles are performing with consumers. Journalists not only look at likes and shares but also review comments as well.
SEE ALSO: 5 Time Saving Digital Branding Tools
Comment on online articles.
Writers like to engage in conversations surrounding their articles. Spark an interesting conversation with the journalist as it could be the first sign of building a positive relationship.
Join their community.
“Like” media outlets on Facebook. Become an active member of their community and pay special attention to popular conversations and questions asked.
Here’s What NOT To Do When Pitching The Media
Annoying a top editor or A-list blogger is counterproductive and should be avoided at all costs. To ensure you’re not blacklisted, banned, blocked, or reported by journalists, be weary of these top common mistakes.
Here’s a list of common mistakes you don’t want to make:
- Pitch a media outlet you haven’t researched with irrelevant story ideas.
- Send your pitch to multiple competing media outlets at the same time.
- Send a pitch with spelling and grammatical errors – they’re an instant credibility killer!
- Make your pitch all about you, instead of how you can serve and add value to their audience.
- Be difficult to contact or take a long time to respond – journalists have deadlines they can’t move.
- Show up unprepared for interviews –journalists need clear, thoughtful quotes for their stories.
- Send low res images when a media outlet specifically requests high res images or vice versa.
- Complain that your pitch wasn’t picked up or be anything less than polite.
In Conclusion
The best way to foster stronger media relationships is to Ask yourself, “How can I help this person?”. Similar to when you target customers, you want to understand their needs and convey how you’re able to alleviate their challenges. In this case, how your story will provide great content for the journalist or how you are a bonafide source of information.
What strategies or tools have you used to successfully build media relationships? I’d love to hear what worked for you in the comments.
