Reach a larger audience by building relationships in your community.
Even though the term may seem outdated, public relations plays an important and relevant role in developing mutually beneficial relationships with members of your community. Utilizing social media allows your program to regularly interact with journalists, media outlets, and other influencers in your area.
Step 1: Lay the groundwork.
Know who’s who: Curate lists of journalists who are relevant to your organization. Compile basic contact and beat information for each person. Update this list every four to six months.
Develop a media response plan: Decide what sort of response your organization will provide to media inquiries. A few key questions to consider:
- In what amount of time will you respond to media inquiries?
- Who should requests be filtered through? Who is available to support interviews with journalists? Are staff allowed to talk to media directly, or should they involve the communications team?
- If you’re a public organization, who will handle an open records request?
Send regular communications: Consider sending a regular email (for example, once a month) to key media contacts with story ideas and organizational updates. This will help you to begin building relationships and establishing yourself as a reliable source.
Step 2: Craft your pitch.
Consider newsworthiness: Your pitch should have value to a general audience and match standard news values. Get to know your local media outlets so you’ll be able to understand what kind of stories fit with their goals. If you don’t have a strong angle, don’t send the pitch. Regularly sending weak pitches will train reporters to ignore or delete your emails.
Look for opportunities to add value: Consider how your organization or staff can serve as thought leaders. Keep an eye out for opportunities to provide “expert commentary.”
Send all the types of content you have: Include any blog posts, photos, or videos you’ve created when you send a pitch. News outlets are hungry for content and may repurpose your materials. When possible, provide access to original data for reporters to analyze.
Create social proof before sending a pitch: Social media has democratized editorial gatekeeping. These days it’s users, rather than editors, who determine what content is important. Social media buzz is a signal to traditional media that something is newsworthy.
Step 3: Pitch the story.
Make it easy to read: Put the main pitch in the body of your email – don’t assume that a busy editor will take the time to click into an attached press release.
Send early: Stories are assigned early in the week and early in the day. Send your pitches during these times.
Think like a reporter: Solve problems that a reporter might encounter before they arise. For example, if you’re trying to pitch a TV reporter, have a date and time set up for them to visit and film, and secure photo permissions in advance.
Step 4: Prepare for the Interview.
Select the right people for interviews: Vet people — especially if they’re program participants — before they do an interview with media on your organization’s behalf.
Prepare three key messages: No matter what question the reporter asks, draw the answer from your three key messages. This strategy is especially useful in interviews with a negative slant, but can be helpful for staying on track during any interview.
For example, we use the following talking points when helping LENA Grow partners during their recruitment process.
- What is LENA Grow?
LENA Grow is an evidence-based professional development program designed specifically for early childhood educators. This program helps educators increase quality interactions with every child in their care. - How does LENA Grow work?
Each LENA Day, children wear a LENA device to help measure the back-and-forth interactions in the classroom. - Why should I participate in LENA Grow?
LENA Grow improves the overall quality in your center without adding additional burdens on teachers. The program provides individual data and insights for each student in a classroom. By increasing language development, LENA Grow improves a child's social-emotional skills and responsive relationships.
Practice, practice, practice: Coach everyone who will be talking with a reporter. Encourage:
- Repeating the question in the answer, especially for video interviews.
- Paraphrasing one of the three key messages in every answer.
- Acknowledging when unsure of the answer to a question.
Step 5: Follow up.
Be prompt: Send any missing information (like data or photos) or anything you referenced (like an article or website link) to the reporter via email immediately after they leave.
Provide corrections if needed: Don’t ask to see the story before it’s published, but do send corrections if you notice something incorrect in the final version.
Step 6: Form relationships.
Connect directly: Try to meet local reporters in person. When you have positive or negative feedback to share, pick up the phone or set up a face-to-face meeting.
Be a high-quality source: It’s okay to pitch stories that aren’t about your organization. Share the love with your partners. Not only will the coverage benefit everyone in the long run, but you’ll earn a reputation as a reliable source who can provide information on the community.
Focus on being positive: Turn negative coverage into an opportunity to form relationships. Be polite and professional, and you’ll earn an opportunity to pitch a positive story later.
Engage digitally: Follow reporters on Twitter and LinkedIn. Engage with their stories, and let them know when you particularly enjoy a story.