First, understand what constitutes news to the media. News consists of unusual events, happenings with important people or celebrities, and anything that is a first, or a beginning of a trend. The media also snap up human-interest stories. Here are some guidelines for using the media effectively to get a message out.
Consolidate the Message Into One or Two Sentences
Today’s audiences want to know the details quickly. If it looks or sounds interesting, then they will read, watch, or listen further. Therefore, the goal of effective media relations is to send a succinct key message that will intrigue the audience. This is best done in a single sentence, or at most, two.
Think of book blurbs on the back of a book jacket. Most of them are one or two sentences long. If one of the blurbs catches a reader’s interest, it might lead to a book sale.
Video trailers for books are short and to the point. In a few words and musical bars, viewers get a sense of what the book is about, and whether or not they will buy it. A movie trailer typically condenses flashes of the best or most exciting scenes from the movie to entice audiences to pay a few dollars to watch it.
Adding an emotional aspect to details such as who, what, why, when, where, and how of the publicity blurb helps hook the audience. In the same way, a key message should be powerful, give an emotional hit, and get the point across.
Offer to Give Interviews and Blog Tours
Online interviews stay online for as long as the sponsoring website keeps the page available. This could mean years of publicity. An online blog tour could likewise remain on the web for months or years. Positive, thoughtful answers to questions make the best and most interesting interviews.
Prepare for an interview by planning answers to the questions that will most likely be asked. Find out what types of articles the media professional has published to get an idea of how to prepare. Always put a positive spin on negative questions, and answer in a way that will give the public a good impression.
Remember the key message for the goal of the media representation, writing it down in notes, if necessary. Always return to the key message to keep the audience focused. It takes several repetitions of a message before an audience will remember it.
Use Social Media to Send a Message
With all the social media tools available, it is easier than ever to connect to an intended audience. Again, when using social media, a succinct, powerful key message is important. Practice the message and maintain visibility through the social networking environment.
When to Hire a Professional Media Relations Team
A media relations team can ramp up an advertising campaign in ways that may not be cost effective or time effective for an individual. A media campaign should be done professionally, tastefully, and efficiently. A public relations team has expertise and knowledge of what works best, so hiring one can be a wise investment for the person with little experience in the field.
In conclusion, many people and small businesses today do their own advertising campaigns and publicity tours. Understanding what is considered news and tailoring a media message to be interesting are the two first steps to getting a successful media campaign started. There are many ways to do this, from homegrown advertising to professionally rendered messages. There is no once correct way to do this, but understanding how the media works will increase the chances of success.
Suzanne Pitner - Suzanne Pitner is a teacher and published writer. A member of RWA and YARWA, she writes fiction as Suzanne Lilly.
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