Ten years ago, there were four PR people to every journalist. Today, that ratio is six to one. It’s essential that media relations professionals take a highly strategic, well-researched and personalized approach to building relationships with reporters and packaging the right story with the right elements at the right time.
Our team has years of experience working closely with the media and understands how newsrooms operate. It’s what’s enabled our team to land big stories for our clients everywhere from The Columbus Dispatch to The New York Times, Fast Company to MSNBC. Here’s a taste of how we do it:
We embed ourselves in our clients’ business to get to know their subject matter experts and pinpoint interesting, surprising and distinct stories that we can shop to media that matter. We like to spend time on-site observing day-to-day interactions across the organization and lead intentional “mining for gems” workshops.
Reporters set up their stories with a problem-solution format. They present a challenge or conflict and lead the reader/viewer/listener on a journey to uncovering multiple sides of the story. Knowing this, we craft our media pitches in this format so the reporters we speak with can immediately see how they can shape a story their audience will care about.
We create tailored pitches that reflect the editorial nuance of any given outlet and the preferences and style of individual reporters, editors or producers. We do our homework to understand that context and develop custom pitches for the specific reporters and publications where we want to see our clients’ stories.
Reporters are looking for more than just a snappy quote from an expert. Infographics, video and other dynamic multimedia accompaniments become significant value-adds in storytelling. When PR professionals can package a comprehensive bundle of content, it makes the job of the reporter much easier — and more likely to publish.
Today’s 24/7 news cycle is anything but predictable. That’s why we work consistently to build relationships with reporters on our clients’ behalf so we can stay in front of them as opportunities arise.
In the age of social media and non-stop news, corporate reputations are fragile. Securing earned media is one of the most effective ways to build trust, transparency and credibility. It’s our job to make sure it’s an essential part of our clients’ strategy.