Media relations is one of the most critical components to any public relations strategy. For B2B companies who are seeking to drive visibility into the market, this is a must. Proactively engaging with key players in the media ensures that a company is always in conversations related to the industries they support. Whether your company is routinely being featured or actively commenting on industry news, having third-party press who are trusted by your target audience helps shape perception.
When it comes to your public perception – a company can either take control of their own narratives or allow others to do that for them. And while some may see owned channels, marketing, or advertising as levers that can be pulled to establish a brand narrative, these same channels are seen as biased by outsiders. Information that has been directly disseminated by a company will be seen as inherently positive towards that company. Most people understand that a company is never going to outright admit weak points, issues or gaps within solutions. They will only showcase the best aspect of their brands. Media relations play a critical role in establishing long-lasting relationships with reporters and publications, but more importantly in driving earned opportunities that ultimately create trust with the public.
Establishing a Media Relations Strategy
Whether a company is a budding startup or publicly traded company, setting the roadmap is going to be important to effectively develop and manage reporter relationships. The starting point is always going to be nuanced depending on the organization. A publicly traded company likely doesn’t have to do much outreach, as their market impact will have journalists reaching out to them for comment. However, their approach might be one of caution and strategic focus because saying the right or wrong thing impacts stock price.
For startups, their company is unproven and unknown – journalists won’t be seeking to speak with them. They will likely need to take a more aggressive approach to media relations. They will need to invest in regular media outreach, trying to meld into topical stories that are relevant to the industry to work their way into stories.
It’s always wise to start with the end in mind when it comes to building a media outreach strategy. Visibility for visibility sake is like popcorn – airfilled and not providing any real substance. To avoid ineffective media outreach that doesn’t positively impact the bottom line, outline your business-goals and then figure out how media relations can further those objectives.
Executing a Media Relations Strategy
Driving business impact should be at the heart of a company’s media strategies. A top down approach is of the utmost importance when you are managing media. It’s important to boil down the media strategy to the most foundational aspects to better understand the process of engaging with reporters/publications, and managing a media opportunity. At the root of media relations there is a mutually beneficial relationship between the reporter and the company. A reporter gets an interesting story that their readers will engage with, helping drive numbers for their publication. And a company secures visibility for their executives/solutions.
In this context it’s important to understand no one on either side is doing each other a favor, and neither should be beholden to the other. It is a value-driven relationship. Naturally this means when a company (especially startups) is conducting outreach, their approach needs to be tailor-made to that publication and reporter. Understanding the following is key:
- There are many reporters in one publication, they cover different topics
- Reporters move around and change topics all the time – stay up to date
- Media list should be updated every two months minimum
- Unique story angles are king: If you are saying the same thing as everyone else, you will be passed over
- “Not now” doesn’t mean it’s a “no” forever, manage media relationships with a view for the long-term
- Treat people kindly and value their time – always
Consistency will always be more impactful than one time spurts of effort when it comes to seeing the benefit of media relations. Understanding where you want to go, the reporters, and your industry will help drive those goals – placing you above competitors. Organizations that capture the narrative and keep control of it can dictate much more influence over their target audience and ultimately over their own future growth. Media relations is a crucial aspect to any company’s communications strategy, overlook it at your own peril. It may be viewed as a nice-to-have, until your competitors are using it to outpace you.
