PR Prescription for Healthy Media Relations

Are you frustrated in your dealings with media? Are you becoming ill because you cannot achieve positive media coverage or a single media placement? If you responded YES, then the “PR Doctor” is recommending a thorough “check-up” of your media relations skills and is writing a prescription to help you achieve healthy and successful media relations.

Let's do a media relations check-up to determine how you are communicating with the media and the state of health of your media relations.

1. Do you know the media reporters and the publication you are dealing with?
2. Do you know when to contact the media and how the media wants to be contacted?
3. Have you introduced yourself appropriately and worked on establishing a positive professional relationship with the media?
4. Have you prepared and practiced your “pitch” to the media before you call?
5. Do you show respect for media deadlines?
6. Are you being creative in your “pitches” to the media?
7. Do you follow-up consistently with the media?
8. Do you have a media strategy?
9. Are you available for contacts from the media?
10. Do you make promises to the media that you cannot keep?

Now, let's look at a prescription to address any of the check-up items that received a negative response and to help you improve the health of your media relations.

1. Know the media, the publication and the audience that you are dealing with in your public relation efforts.
2. Always ask if a reporter is on deadline when you call. And find out the best time and the best was to communicate with the media (e.g. FAX, email, etc.).
3. Introduce yourself properly and build trusting relationships with the media now
4. Develop a good story that is compelling and prepare and practice your “pitch” before calling the media.
5. Always learn and respect media deadlines.
6. Use some innovative thinking to produce more effective results. Try different “hooks” for your story.
7. Be very positive and persistent in your follow-up contacts with the media.
8. Develop a different media strategy for each of your stories.
9. Make yourself available for contacts from the media about your story.
10. Always be honest and truthful and keep yor promises with the media

This article was written by Glenn Ebersole, founder and CEO of J.G. Ebersole Associates. It originally appeared on www.evancarmichael.com.