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Jumping on the bandwagon – how being reactive can help profile your business (part two)

Guest post by: Georgina Dunkley

Article Overview: Last week, I outlined how valuable a resource a newspaper or trade magazine can be for businesses, as piggybacking onto articles and announcements of interest is a great way of securing press coverage and positioning a company or individual as an expert commentator.

Jumping on the bandwagon – how being reactive can help profile your business (part two)

Last week, I outlined how valuable a resource a newspaper or trade magazine can be for businesses, as piggybacking onto articles and announcements of interest is a great way of securing press coverage and positioning a company or individual as an expert commentator. This second instalment explores how to effectively approach, pitch and liaise with the media and the different forms of responses which can be utilised as part of a successful reactive commentary strategy.

Be timely - with any reactive commentary opportunity it is essential that you provide the media with your response within their deadline. So, for a daily newspaper, making contact before lunchtime to agree what you can provide them with and when by, is paramount. For a monthly magazine it is also important that you strike while the iron is hot, but be mindful of its editorial deadline which is normally a couple of weeks before the magazine is available to buy.

Choose a spokesperson - whether drafting a response to an article or providing someone for interview, you need to ensure that the right person is appropriate to the job. They need to be able to speak confidently and accurately about the subject matter and is it essential they understand the basics of covering a press interview. Their availability is also key, so choosing someone who is due to be out of the office after the initial interview may be problematic.

Create your response - there are a number of different ways to respond to a news story; a letter to the editor; a press release about the subject matter; the promise of an interview; a full-length feature or simply a short statement. Whatever you choose, there are some guidelines to adhere to: ensure all grammar is of a good standard and statements are well-constructed, succinct and relevant; do not over-labour a point or make bogus claims which cannot be substantiated with evidence and most importantly, do not give ‘off the record' news or sensitive data.

Follow up - if the title agreed to take your news and ended up printing the story then thank you contact for their time and try to maintain a positive relationship with them by offering news stories and perhaps exclusive content, which you think may be of interest. If the story does not run, then a simple question why, may provide a good insight into the sort of stories of relevance you should be providing them with and in what fashion. There is a fine line between maintaining a relationship and hassling a journalist, however, so refrain from over-calling and emailing them, unless you really have something interesting to discuss with them.

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Article Tags: expert, journalist, media, newspaper, PR, press



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