Some people really have the talent to express themselves and talk to others in the most amicable way possible. This ability is an absolute necessity for entrepreneurs as public relations are maintained using it. If you are wondering what exactly is public relations or PR, it is what an individual or an organization displays to the common public.
Basically, it includes what is acceptable to come into the open. A good public relation for an individual or a company is mainly dependant on the kind of relationship that is maintained with the media. There is no denying the fact that the media is the primary source of expression. Whatever the media shows, the audience digests.
Therefore, just like the media has the power to portray you in good lights, having a turmoil with them can spell doom for you and your brand.
Since the media is your mediator, your doorway to the expression of yourself to the outer world, it is probably a good idea to maintain a good rapport with them. Fortunately, even though some people have this ability ingrained in them, there are certain tips and tricks that you can follow to get better at dealing with the media.
You may be really good at your work, but if you don’t have the media working in your favor and try to stay in your vacuum, the chances are that your product or brand will never come out in the open, performing to its full potential or may get prematurely tainted.
Here is a list of tips that you, as an entrepreneur, should follow so that there is no bad blood drawn and your media relationship is as sanguine as possible.
Do your Research and Understand
First and foremost, get this point engraved in your head that just as media is going all out to find out and research about you, the best approach that you can adopt is to do thorough research about them as well. This will help you to contact them in the correct manner and present yourself better.
You should also understand which niche of users or customers your brand wants to target. This will give you the liberty of choosing the media source accordingly. You should also do some research about which media outlet appeals to which niche more and then take appropriate steps so that you can hit the iron while it is still not.
Therefore, a thorough knowledge of media is essential to maintain a good relationship with them.
Keep Track of Contacts
Another important aspect of a good media relationship is to have good contacts in the correct circle. It is always better to keep in touch with the mammoths of this respective field. It is very common to find leading entrepreneurs and CEOs of media houses in close contact with one another.
You will benefit by ensuring that the representation of yourself to the outside world has a positive ring to it. They have their selfish interests involved here as well as they will have access to the latest developments of any company before the others.
If you have recently worked with a media house and the collaboration has been a success, keep them in good terms as well, irrespective of whether you will work with them again or not.
You will notice the utility of good contacts soon enough. If you are a company that is mainly involved in get out debt, customers are going to value the opinion of the media while doing their research. Good contacts mean better representation of your company to the public.
Respect their Time
What you need to keep in mind that the media representatives who contact you are professionals as well and have certain bindings and deadlines under which they work. Therefore, you should respect their time as much as you value yours.
It is a fact that most people working in media are freelancers who are paid according to the work they produce. If you waste their time, they lose the opportunity to work in other projects and consequently lose money that could have been made.
Thus, it is completely natural for them to ask you to be punctual and diligent. The other class of workers includes salaried staff who are underpaid and will not think twice before doing a shoddy job. Therefore, keep their schedule and involvement in mind.
Do Interviews with Journalists
Journalists are the sharks of the media houses. They generally are so well informed about everything that sometimes dealing with them can become a little tricky.
However, what you need to consider is that anything coming out of a reputed journalist will have a lot of credibilities attached to it, especially to the common masses.
Therefore, be thoroughly prepared in your approach and be prepared for interviews with journalists, the more reputed, the better.
Be Persistent But Not Annoying
Editors and publishers are humans too. They probably have to go through hundreds of interviews and calls each day. You should be ready to give them the space that they want. Don’t call them frequently. Emails are probably a good way to communicate. Be very specific about what the email addresses so that they know about it at first glance.
If an interview that you had given or an excerpt you had sent didn’t get published yet, no need to be annoyed. Give them gentle reminders while maintaining cordial reminders. No one likes to be pushed consistently. Another professional tip is to be in touch with writers along with editors to get your story published.
Respect People’s Opinion
Don’t be an organization that is absconding and unaccepting of other people’s opinions about a certain matter.
Media representatives are entitled to form their own interpretations of certain situations that they encounter, hear them out, answer any question that they may fire at you along similar lines and treat them with an air of acceptance and respect even if their opinion doesn’t comply with yours.
This will create a good impression, and the media will act accordingly as well.
Be Genuine, Confident and Positive
Last but not least, be a media-friendly corporation. The interaction of your organization with the media occurs at many levels, right from the receptionist to other office staff. If you are the representative of the organization, your image is what is going to matter the most.
Therefore, you need to be genuine in your approach, without having any underlying malice. You should have a positive outlook toward the media and be confident while facing them, whatever be the situation. Your personality will definitely rub on to your company.
Hopefully, this guide will be of some help to you and your organization if you are trying to establish a good working relationship with them. At the end of the day, two things really matter for every business, the kind of work that you do and how you are represented to others.
