How to Build Media Relations in Government Marketing

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How to Build Media Relations in

Government Marketing

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Table of Contents

I. All About Media Relations

II. Industry Best Practices

III. Thought Leadership Programs

IV. High-impact PR Ideas

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All About Media Relations

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Benefits of Good Media Relations

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• Introduces, builds, manages and sustains an

image.

• Creates consistent messaging.

• Strengthens you as a thought leader.

• Increases visibility, awareness and brand equity.

• Opens the door to long-term, valuable press

relationships.

• Demonstrates value as a trusted resource.

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Benefits of Good Media Relations

• Educates reporters on the breadth and scope of

your services.

• Makes it easier to cover your company.

• Minimizes potential bad press.

• Supports employee recruitment.

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Know the Publication

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• Who is the audience? What are the

demographics? What do the reporters like to

cover? What do they avoid?

• Do they accept submitted articles? Is online

content different from print content? Can you

submit content via their website?

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Know the Reporters

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• What topics do they cover? Do they have a social

media presence? Do they speak publicly? What kind

of stories do they write: informative or “gotcha”?

• Find common ground, whether it’s hometowns, alma

maters, or activities and hobbies. Look on Facebook,

read their blogs, and follow them on Twitter.

• Track editorial calendars.

• Introduce yourself via email and LinkedIn.

• Use social media to engage them.

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Nurture Your Relationships

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• Attend panel discussions where reporters are

speaking.

• Post their stories on LinkedIn Groups or on

Twitter.

• Schedule face-to-face meetings.

• Offer yourself as a resource.

• Understand their definition of news.

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Protect Your Relationships

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• Understand their communication preferences.

• Ensure pitches are in their wheelhouse at all

times.

• Mirror their emails. If they’re short, keep yours

short. If they show personality, show your

personality.

• Choose follow-ups wisely; they do read your

emails.

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Protect Your Relationships

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• Do what you say you’re going to do; deliver what

you say you’re going to deliver.

• Don’t guess: if you don’t know the answer, find

someone who does.

• Have a balanced conversation. It can’t be all

about you and your organization.

• Be thick skinned. Don’t take things personally.


What Do Reporters Need?

• Story ideas, not company pitches

• Information of interest to their readers

• Historical approaches to topics, milestones

• Honest opinions

• Facts and figures, trends, research

• Open lines of communication and fast response

• Organization background

• Customer case studies

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How Do Reporters Get Story Ideas?

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• Wire services

• News releases and pitches from PR relationships

• Websites (government, industry, media)

• Social media outlets (Twitter, LinkedIn, blogs)

• Conversations with industry thought leaders or analysts

• Market research

• Industry events, trade shows and conferences

• Other press and e-newsletter

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Industry Best Practices

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Effective writing

• Write to your audience.

• Tone and level of technicality must be

appropriate to them.

• Lead with benefits; don’t bury them.

• Keep your writing succinct.

• Subject lines and leads should be easy to

scan.

• Avoid big blocks of texts.



Effective writing, continued

• Include statistics to illustrate facts.

• Organize salient points; use number/bullets.

• Avoid acronyms and industry jargon.



News Releases • News releases should announce hard news.

• Tuesday is usually the best day

• Post softer announcements on website.

• News releases should be web optimized for SEO.

• Place main keyword in headline, first sentence and

copy

• Place secondary keyword once or twice

• Determine which news releases require follow up.

• Post news releases and other materials internally so

others in your organization can share with their

communities.



News Releases, continued

• Five ways to give your release more legs for hard

news:

1. Post on appropriate LinkedIn Groups.

Tweet about it.

2. Publish on website.

3. Invest in Google AdWords, or Sponsorship

campaigns.

4. Blog about it.

5. Ask social allies to promote it.



Pitches

• Make them relevant to the audience

• Push the “first and only” angles when possible

• Introduce new thought leaders and execs

• Be sure the topic hasn’t been covered recently

• Reference a prior, published article re: the same

topic if the pitch brings something new to the

conversation



Pitches, continued

• Use preferred medium e.g, e-mail, Twitter, etc.

• Scan expert source services (HARO, ProfNet,

etc)

• Follow up appropriately

• Inject your ideas into breaking news stories

(e.g., Newsjacking)

• Scan the headlines. Where can your

story become their story?



Media advisories

• Be judicious on issuing media advisories.

• Events, news conferences

• Follow up with additional, complementary information

(e.g. parking instructions, new speakers, etc.).



Bylined Articles/ Contributed Content

• What makes a good topic?

• Trends, issues, best practices, how-to, opinions,

non-promotional

• Make sure to follow writer’s guidelines; give editor a

heads up immediately if you’d like to deviate.

• Let editor know if you need extra time; it’s usually

okay.



Social Media Relations

• Pitch reporters using Twitter (a twitter pitch is called a

“twitch”), LinkedIn, etc.

• Tweet/retweet reporters’ articles.

• Promote content or news via social media. Post

relevant news or articles on Facebook or on

appropriate LinkedIn Groups, e.g. US Military

Veterans Network.

• Comment on their articles and blogs – but only with

substantive comments



Website Newsroom

• Make your newsroom accessible from your

homepage.

• Organize news releases by year.

• List PR contacts by name on every page.

• Provide executive bios, history, product and services

information for download.

• Offer RSS feed subscription or other method to

subscribe to updates.

• Refresh it often.

• Include press coverage.


Best Practices


Best Practices

Website Newsroom

• Make newsroom accessible from homepage.

• Organize news releases by year.

• List PR contacts by name.

• Provide executive bios, history, product and services

information for download.

• Offer RSS feed subscription or other method to

subscribe to updates.

• Refresh often.

• Include press coverage.


Thought Leadership Programs


What Is Thought Leadership?

• One element of a successful PR program that

differentiates your organization.

• A thought leader is:

• A recognized leader in the field.

• A credible third-party expert that can address issues and trends.

• A person reporters trust.

• Thought leadership tools include:

• White papers and eBooks

• Customer case studies

• Speaking engagements

• Press interviews, quotes

• Bylined articles and contributed content

• Awards

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Benefits

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A thought leadership program is beneficial

internally:

• Helps PR teams learn more about your experts.

• Develops a process to help capture information for PR

and marketing activities.

• Encourages reluctant thought leaders to participate.

• Boosts morale and organization pride by sharing content

for internal communications.


Planning

• Determine which topics, issues or trends

your organization wants to own in the

press.

• Find the appropriate public-facing subject

matter experts.

• Distribute an introductory email that

outlines the program and thought leader’s

role.


Discovery

• Review editorial calendars for targeted publications

and determine which publications accept bylined

articles or op-ed pieces.

• Develop questions for your subject matter experts.

• Share questions with the subject matter expert prior

to interview and practice.

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The Interview

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• Get subject matter expert excited and confortable

about the interview.

• Share goals, media targets and background on the

publication.

• Record the interview to allow for a more fluid

conversation.

• Present bylined article abstract to subject matter

experts for approval.


Celebrate! Continue Momentum

• Publicize successes internally with other thought

leaders and executives.

• Promote successes externally via website and

social media.

• Create thought leader matrix to share with

management.


Article Placement

• Pitch article abstract to media and get placement

agreement.

• Obtain specifications for article or blog.

• Develop content for team approval.

• Submit to media, on time.


High Impact PR Ideas


1. Launch “Research for Ink” Program

• Conduct surveys and polls on issues or trends.

• Issue news release on results.

• Share results via social media and emails.

• Include results in relevant bylined articles.

• Hold an event to announce results.

2. Industry Awards

• Create industry award calendar, select nominations for your

company and your clients and submit copy.

• Invent your own awards program.

High Impact PR Ideas


(W) 301-588-2900

(C) 301-717-9529

[email protected]

@boscobuzz

FedBizBeat

Thank You!

Joyce Bosc

mailto:[email protected]

How to Build Media Relations in Government Marketing

Marketing

Transcript of How to Build Media Relations in Government Marketing