No media placement yet? No, you’re not a failure; you’re just having a bad day, week, or month.
There’s an understandable amount of pressure on PR pros when it comes to securing media placements. Clients, bosses, and even colleagues expect PR professionals to deliver media coverage at the drop of a hat. News flash: it’s not that easy.
Public relations practitioners rely on multiple factors to secure quality media placements, one of which is media relations. Many people looking in from the outside tend to forget the “relations” part of that duo. Imagine this: how would you feel if, every time you logged into your email, there was always that one “associate” trying to sell you a product or service? They start off politely, but within the first line, they’re already talking about how amazing their offering is and how much value it could add to your life. Annoying, right?
Now, imagine how editors, journalists, and producers feel when, every time they check their inbox, your press release about yet another product launch is sitting right at the top, promising to transform the industry, just like the last one.
The superpower we possess as PR pros is our ability to create narratives through the art of storytelling. However, not every story is media-worthy; and that’s absolutely fine. You have multiple owned media channels at your disposal that you can use to share your story. Your audience includes those who visit your website, engage with your social media platforms, and make up your internal network (shareholders and employees). These are all key stakeholders who are genuinely interested in what you have to say.
They are the ones you need to build, maintain, and sustain a relationship with. They have the potential to be your biggest advocates or your harshest critics; so you need to be in tune with what they expect from you.
Do this by being open and consistent in your communication. Share your new hires with them. Share your product or service launches. Ask for their opinions on issues related to your organisation; trust me, they’ll let you know.
By the time you approach your media contacts, you will have crafted a narrative that includes the voices and perspectives of your core audience. This means your new product launch will be both newsworthy and human-led. It gives your media contact a reason to care, because real people already do.
It’s pretty simple, but not easy at all. That’s why people look at us as if we’re magicians.
You’ve got this. Keep going. You’re doing so much better than you think.