PR is a specialist field and most companies work with a PR agency to manage their media liaison. Here are some tips on how you can get the most from your agency and get your organisation’s staff prepared for both positive and negative media attention.
Share your marketing objectives with your PR agency. If they’re not clear on your company’s direction, they will be unable to guide your PR planning.
Work out a budget for your PR. And be clear on what you will get for your money. Allow your agency enough hours in the budget for media follow up. This is the sales process that will get your stories in the press.
Develop a media activity plan for the year. Ensure that this ties in with your marketing activity for maximum benefit. Consider the newsworthy stories and how you can present these to the media.
Approve the lists of target media for each press release. Ask your agency to share the target list each time they sent out a press release. Highlight the most important contacts to follow up.
Be able to respond to the media requests quickly. Organise media training for a range of people in your organisation, so you are able to provide an expert to talk to the media at any time. Prepare media kits, so you have materials on hand to present key topics.
Be prepared for crises. Disaster can strike at any time, so make sure your company is prepared. Develop a written document in conjunction with your PR agency and make sure key people are aware of it. As a minimum, the document should include:
· a list of people to contact, with out of hours telephone numbers
· the procedure for releasing a statement
· a range of scenarios with possible responses
Measure your success. Be clear on what your PR agency can produce in terms of reporting and agree on the contents of a monthly or weekly report.
Got a story you want to share with the media? CraftWrite can assist you with writing press releases, articles, case studies or media kits. Contact jill@craftwrite.com.au for a chat about how I can help.
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