Quick and Easy Strategies to Get Media Attention · Quick and Easy Strategies to Get Media...

Quick and Easy Strategies

to Get Media Attention

Carmen Bray Director of Communications Western Pennsylvania Conservancy

Kristen Wishon Communications Specialist Western Pennsylvania Conservancy

Quick and Easy Strategies to Get Media Attention

Our Goal

Provide media strategies and tactics

you can quickly implement to help

your land trust or conservation

organization

Obtain and increase media

coverage

Increase brand awareness

Gain trust with journalists and

reporters


Media relations is defined as the interactions

with editors, reporters and journalists to

communicate a newsworthy idea, message,

story or information through various media

outlets.

Media relations also pertains to how you

communicate with online news sites,

bloggers, podcasters, etc. Collectively, this

group is referred to as media influencers.

What Is Media Relations?


Newspapers

Radio

Social Media

Television

Magazines

Video & Podcasts

Internet, Blogs, Online News Sites

24-Hour

News Cycle

Today’s Journalists

Growing need to

deliver the most

immediate and

compelling news

Increased

competition for

audience


Has too much to do and not enough time to do it

Receives hundreds of pitches daily

Faces tight, inflexible deadlines

Looks for stories that interest, inform and entertain

their readership, followers, listeners or viewers

Shares stories on various platforms



Preview news opportunities through a three-tiered lens:

Breaking Emergencies, accidents, fires or press conferences

Time Sensitive Approaching deadlines, anniversaries, events, volunteer opportunities, call-to-actions, construction or seasonal-related information

Feature Story or “Evergreen” Profiles, features, good-news stories or information that doesn’t have a hard timeline and can be considered news at any time



Need interesting story ideas to do

their jobs

Seek easy to understand and

accessible information

Use press releases, pitches, social

media, expert connections,

websites, think tanks, reports,

trends, public meetings, breaking

news, etc.

They need: YOU

Today’s Journalists and Influencers


How do you get their attention?


1. Have media materials and elevator speech always ready

2. Find and build relationships with local media influencers

3. Make your media pitches and materials newsworthy:

relevant, relatable and readable

4. Use your members and volunteers as storytellers

5. Make it easy for influencers to find your information online

6. Evaluate efforts and follow up

Quick and Easy Strategies

to Get Media Attention


#1

Have media materials and elevator

speech always ready


Newsletters

Magazines

Fact sheets

Brochures

Examples of media-ready materials

Website / blog

Social media content

Annual reports

Videos

• Influencers want to learn about your organization: Your

news, mission, outcomes, needs, etc.

• No matter if the information is one month or six months

old, influencers like to learn about stories and ideas

that they can follow up on.


Media Materials: Elevator Speech

Do you have one?

If so, how often do you use it?

It’s a good first answer to a

media influencer’s question:

“Tell me about your

organization?”


Elevator Speech Examples

10-second version

The Western Pennsylvania Conservancy improves our region’s quality of

life by conserving land and water, planting gardens and green spaces in 20

counties, and preserving Frank Lloyd Wright’s Fallingwater. Learn more at

WaterLandLife.org.


Elevator Speech Examples

30-second version

At the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy, all of our work enhances the

quality of life in our region. We’re the state’s first conservancy, and we

have protected more than 255,000 acres. WPC helped to establish 10

state parks, including Ohiopyle, Laurel Ridge, McConnells Mill, Moraine,

Oil Creek and Erie Bluffs, and we continue to conserve exceptional places

to provide our region with clean waters and healthy forests, wildlife and

natural areas.

We own and operate Fallingwater, the famous Frank Lloyd Wright house in

Fayette County. And you’ve probably seen our community gardens and

green spaces – they beautify 132 communities in 20 counties. We’re a

member-supported nonprofit organization with many volunteer

opportunities. Learn more about us at WaterLandLife.org or

Fallingwater.org.


Media Materials: Elevator Speech

Activity #1

Elevator Speech

What is your organization’s elevator speech?

List five words that you want to convey to the public

about your organization.


Media Materials: Press Release

Is the Press Releases still a useful PR tactic? YES.

“Spray and Pray” strategy does not work anymore: News stories

don’t always originate by a press release

Used by many industries regularly (e.g.: financial, manufacturing)

Provides credibility to the source and information

Gives story context

Indicates activity and momentum

Provides a timeline of your organization’s history

Used in targeted media pitches


#2

Find and build relationships with

local media influencers


Finding and Building Relationships

Find influencers covering conservation

in your community and region to build your media list

Connect with local editors via news websites or traditional newspapers

Conduct research of media outlets via Google

Use paid platforms: (e.g.: Cision, Meltwater, AgilityPR, Pressfarm, PR Newswire, etc.)

Find news outlets that reach your target audience, prioritize

Search by medium and readership or audience size (e.g.: online, print, TV,

radio, etc.)

Search by traditional beats: Conservation, Environmental, Nature, Outdoor,

Agriculture, Local/County Government, Recreation

Find the local/regional Associated Press reporter



Find influencers covering conservation

in your community and region



Start building relationships with reporters

Introduce yourself via email, include information about a past story or

post.

Set up a time for coffee and see what type of stories interest them.

Follow an influencer on social media, and retweet or comment on

stories.

Make yourself or staff available as media experts.

Follow up with influencers you are trying to cultivate about once or

twice a month.

Influencers need to see you and your organization as

credible, knowledgeable and resourceful



Activity #2

Media Wish List

Who do you want covering your organization’s work?


#3

Make Your Media Pitch and

Materials Newsworthy: Relevant, Relatable and Readable


Media Pitches and Newsworthiness

Media Pitch: A story idea you want to share with an influencer for a potential news story. Do research on the media influencer you want to cover your organization. For example, don't pitch the sports editor with your great land protection story!

The six questions of a good story: Who, What, When, Where, Why and How

The three “Rs” of newsworthiness: Relevant, Relatable and Readable



Start pitching news story ideas with reporters

Pitch compelling story ideas to journalists: Journalism is about storytelling and telling compelling stories that attract

interest and readers.

Offer reporters the problem/solution tactic:

Your conservation work is solving or will soon solve an important

conservation or environmental problem.

Join local writers or media association organizations:

They provide a good way to network and bounce story ideas off of

others.



Elements of an effective news pitch

1. Offer newsworthy story ideas with a human-interest factor.

2. Write clear, concise pitches via email, with attention grabbing

subject lines. (No phone calls!)

3. Remove jargon or scientific terms from pitches.

4. Offer ways to help promote the story on social media channels and

other communications.

5. Localize your story – news happening on the state or national level.

6. Use visual elements to tell the story (e.g.: photos, videos and other

supporting information).

7. Use call-to-actions for the influencers’ audiences ( e.g.: volunteer, learn,

hike, donate, apply, post, buy, etc.).



The General Land Trust announced today a donation of an agricultural conservation easement on agrarian land in Clancy, Pa. owned by Joe Smith.

The property, now saved through perpetuity, is also prolific with native species and wildlife habitats, and hosts vernal pools and important ecosystems.

Good pitch or bad pitch?



Joe Smith has lived in the small farming town of Clancy, Pa. since he was 10 years old. For decades, he worked on his family farm and sold tomatoes and peppers at local community markets.

Good pitch or bad pitch?

Today, he took the first step to make sure his grandkids could also grow up with a similar farming ethic on his land that includes wetlands and native wildlife. Joe donated his farm to the General Land Trust so that it’s protected forever.



Readability Score: An algorithm that shares what level of education

someone will need to be to easily understand information.

Check scores through many online resources and in Microsoft Word.



Make pitches or stories easy to understand and feel

effortless to read

Simple sentence structure

Use easy words your readers can understand

Define complex and science-based

Use one idea per sentence

Use active sentences

Lose the conservation jargon to improve readability!



Activity #3

Media Pitch Form

Can you write an effective pitch based off of one of these photos?


Media Pitches: Activity #3

#1 #2 #3


#4

Use your members and volunteers

as storytellers


Members and Volunteers as Storytellers

Identify members, supporters or volunteers who can share

their experiences about your work.

Connect your storytellers to media influencers – let them

help you share your story.

Ask your storyteller to submit photos and video of them in

action – enjoying a hike at a preserve, volunteering to plant a

tree, etc.

Add a face to your land closing or stewardship

project, whenever possible!


#5

Make it easy for media influencers

to find your information online


Connecting to Influencers Online

Websites

When influencers research topics, they often

turn to Google or other search engines.

Optimize your website to help influencers

find your website and online information.

Use a modern content management

system, like WordPress, for your website.



Search engine

optimization

(SEO): a

combination of

strategies that will

help with

identifying

keywords and

readability.

Use plugins to help

- like YoastSEO.



Social Media

Americans are changing

their relationship with

Facebook.

Still, there are 2.2 billion

monthly active users on

Facebook and 68 million

active users in the U.S. on

Twitter.

• Cambridge Analytica scandal

• Recent Facebook data breech



Influencers are

using social

media platforms

regularly.

In a recent study,

80% of journalists

said they regularly

use social

networking sites to

stay on top of

recent news

developments.


Connecting to Influencers Online Social Media

Influencers follow your posts!

Balance creativity with accurate and informative information

Link to your web content or other reliable sources

Post engaging photos and videos.

Follow media influencers and interact with them by retweeting,

liking and sharing content.

Use hashtags related to a topic or media outlet, and it MAY

appear in the media influencers’ newsfeed.


Connecting to Influencers Online Social Media

Get staff to help populate social media content.

Change social media posts frequently. Influencers like to see

what’s changing and the different types of work your organization

performs.

Ask your field staff to provide photos and video of current activity

in the field.

Obtain information and quickly post, share it. Timeliness is

important.


#6

Evaluate efforts and follow up


Evaluate and Follow up

Is it all worth it and working?

You see an increase in media placements, especially for key stories

around important issues.

Influencers call you first without pitching to them – for more

information or to bounce an idea off of you.

Your organization is seen as a leader in watershed or land

conservation within your region.

• Evaluate if you need to cultivate new or additional influencers

on different topics.

• Keep to directory of your media placements for future

reference and to continue building relationships with the

influencers.



Once you get an article placed, follow up!

Follow up to comment on the effectiveness of the article and say

thanks.

Share the article on social media.

Share the article with members, board members, supporters and

project funders.

Let the reporter know you’re sharing their work – which in a way

helps to build their followers and audience.



Free Resources to help Maximize your Media Relations Use college students for internships: Local colleges and universities

that have journalism or communications departments will have

students interested in building their portfolios.

Help build your media list

Help create social media content

Redo or boost your website with an upgraded CMS

Help optimize your website with SEO strategies or Google

Ads (formerly Google AdWords)

Write stories to populate your website, that includes interviews with

members, volunteers or partners related to ongoing projects.


What did we learn today?

You already have media-ready materials and publications!

We crafted five words you can add into your elevator speech.

We provided information on ways to build your media list and reach

out to local journalists and other media influencers.

Your information to influencers needs to be newsworthy: relevant,

relatable and readable.

By optimizing your website and using social media, you increase

your chances for influencers to follow your work and write stories.


What did we learn today?

Use your members, volunteers, partners and staff as storytellers. Let

some of your biggest advocates share your mission and work.

Getting media attention takes time. Follow up with reporters even if

you don’t get a news story placed to obtain feedback.

Don’t give up reaching out to different media influencers!

Remember: No news is NOT always good news

– especially when it comes to media relations!

Thank You!

Questions?

Carmen Bray Director of Communications Western Pennsylvania Conservancy

Kristen Wishon Communications Specialist Western Pennsylvania Conservancy

Quick and Easy Strategies to Get Media Attention · Quick and Easy Strategies to Get Media...

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