It’s easy to think of public relations as making the most of your news or “creating” stories that the press and media will like. If you can quickly respond and provide a useful feedback, the latest news is a great opportunity to improve your profile. Here are some useful tips to help you make the most of the latest news.
Keep up with the news – being aware of press news and media is important for the stories being discussed. It’s unlikely that a week will pass without a story that you can contribute to. This means that you are aware of news and stories as they appear and evolve throughout the day. It’s easy to see stories that can attract attention in a few days.
Act quickly – most importantly – to recognize the story and act according to it. The sooner you contact a journalist interested in comments or useful material, the more fruitful your efforts will pay off. The world of print and media is changing rapidly, and so are you. It is also necessary to take into account the time frame on which journalists are working. The 24-hour news channels now leave much more room for expert commentary on the story. They have time to fill up and they will be grateful if you help them. Also, keep in mind that many of the stories that appear in Sunday newspapers are stories of the week that are more detailed with additional comments – this gives you a great opportunity.
Help move the story forward – make sure your contribution provides useful information, allows you to see the story from a different perspective, helps the story move forward, etc. the public wants to be informed, and your job is to help achieve that goal. There’s no point in approaching a reporter to write a business story and telling him that you’re a business coach – you have to be very specific in what you can bring to the story.
Make sure you’re available – if you want to improve your profile based on other people’s news, take your time. It can be disturbing because it is not expected. Before contacting a reporter, know that you have time to continue. If you succeed, it can mean a trip to the studio, conducting an interview, etc. and all this takes time and effort. Before the interview, you can also use the help of a media coach to prepare. It’s a great idea if you haven’t worked hard with the press and the media.
Build a relationship. Addressing reporters on the basis of the latest news is also a great opportunity for you to establish relationships with reporters who cover your area of interest. Find out what stories they’re interested in and if you can help them with other stories. And if you do a good job, it will give you the opportunity to enroll in their ‘black book’ contacts for future stories – that’s what you really need to achieve.
Become an expert – there are two ways to create comments and interviews at the end of news articles. One way is to contact journalists. The other is to contact you. In an ideal world, you should probably do both. There are databases, such as Expert Sources, where you can list your data for a paid subscription. Journalists use it to find experts who can comment on the articles they are working on.
Responding to other news is a great way to create your profile and promote yourself to key audiences. It’s also an important way to build your profile while reducing your costs. If you can earn a reputation as someone who provides helpful, insightful comments, you’ll quickly find journalists who come back to you again and again.