In public relations, sometimes less is more and sometimes more is more. In this blog post, I’m going to explore why more is more and why you shouldn’t turn down media opportunities even if they stray from your core business. In other words, I believe the more you do from a media standpoint, the better for your business.
Now, I know I’m going to get some pushback for this one, so hear me out.
I’m not saying you should trade quality for quantity. You don’t need to spend all of your time talking to every college or community paper out there. What I am suggesting is that when opportunities present themselves, think before turning them down simply because you don’t see the connection to what you do or offer. The real art in public relations is seeing opportunity where there may not outwardly appear to be one. Here are my top three reasons for keeping an open mind when considering media opportunities:
Relationships matter.
As public relations professionals our success lies largely in our ability to build strong relationships. It goes without saying that meaningful relationships are two-way, providing something positive for each participant. Many reporters have a short list of “go-to” people they know they can rely on for information, quotes, access to people, etc. You want to be on that short list. But, understand that being on that list means you need to think outside the box and maybe even think unselfishly. Your main goal is helping that reporter regardless of what you personally get out of the opportunity. In the end, something will come along that will help you tremendously and it’s all because you did the work up front to provide meaningful information to build that relationship. That’s the two-way part of the relationship.
Strategic thinking will take you far.
If a reporter contacts you about a topic that doesn’t have a whole lot to do with your business, don’t dismiss it. Think through how you can weave your key messages into an interview. You were contacted because of your expertise, knowledge or connections, so use it to your advantage. Use examples from your company, draw on your past experience or suggest one of your clients as another source of information. It’s OK to say to a reporter, “this topic is a little outside my scope of expertise, but I can help provide some context since we do similar work at my company.” Or, “I may not be the best person to answer these questions, but I have a client who has experience with this issue. I’d be happy to reach out to them for you…”
Whether strategically incorporating your messages into an interview or referring a reporter to another expert, the important takeaway is to figure out a way to help a reporter rather than dismiss their inquiry because it isn’t a good fit for you.
Exposure is good.
When potential clients are looking for you or a service your business provides, they will often “Google” you. What they find, may surprise you. Many businesses think their website will be near the top of Google rankings, but that is rarely the case—especially if you haven’t updated the site in awhile. Google “crawls” for the most relevant and updated information first. If the newest update mentioning your company is a blog post by a disgruntled ex-employee, you might want to think about getting some good news out there to push that negative down. Search engine optimization is critically important to ensuring your business is found by those looking for it. Each time you or your business name appears in print, that is a new item for Google and it will most likely rise to the top. So, the more good stuff out there, the less bad stuff will show up. Makes sense, doesn’t it? This is why many companies have turned to blogs on their websites. It’s the single best way to keep your content fresh. Add in news articles and you have a nice mix of high-quality entries to help tell your story.
Media opportunities don’t come along every day, so when they do, it’s best to consider how you can use it to your advantage rather than dismiss it because you aren’t comfortable talking or the topic is outside your scope of expertise. Before you turn something down, consider these three questions first: Will agreeing to do a interview help you build a positive relationship with the reporter? Do you have key messages you can incorporate into an interview that will benefit your company? Will exposure in the media help your business? If you answered “yes” to any of these questions, it’s time to get ready for your media debut!
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Hollie Geitner is vice president, client services for WordWrite Communications. You can find her on Twitter @JustHollieG.
