When a public relations person sees a rock, the response is to plant some flowers around it, put a park bench next to it and in general make it look pretty. The reaction of a reporter is to turn the rock over and see if something crawls out from underneath. But reporters don't have to be headaches for your company. In fact, with an effective PR strategy, you can harness the power of the press to generate good publicity. And if your company is in crisis, you'll need to talk to the press to prevent a backlash, so it's in your best interest to have open relationships established with reporters before disaster strikes. These insightful articles outline how to build this rapport and how to manage the media to your best advantage.
Media Relations 101
Source: NETA Online
Never confuse publicity with advertising. You can't control publicity, and using ploys like fund drives or auctions won't get your company mentioned in the media like it did back in the golden days of PR. This article highlights the do's and don'ts of publicity: how and when to conduct an effective press conference, what to do in a crisis, and how to handle one-on-one interviews with reporters.
Successful Media Relations: Ten Things You Should Know
Source: Steven R. Van Hook
While it's easy to recycle the same old press releases and fact sheets, infusing your media plans with some innovative thinking will produce stronger, more effective results. If you want coverage, you'll need to adopt a journalistic approach and study the different types of newspaper stories — features, news articles, etc. This helpful checklist offers ten tips to make the pitch less painful.
Managing the Media
Source: International Association of Gaming Regulators
Your company can greatly reduce the risk of misinformation, bad press, and confusion if it can stick to a proper media policy. Here's a useful PowerPoint presentation that outlines how to develop a media-relations plan. The author also walks you through the basics of managing a press crisis.
Hire a PR Firm...Before You Need One
Source: SalesVantage.com
What factors should you weigh when considering whether to hire outside PR help? Some questions to ask include: Are you getting the PR you deserve? Is your in-house PR office overworked? Is your competition getting more than their fair share of media coverage? If hiring a PR firm is right for your company, you still need to evaluate which one can best pitch your company's story to the media. Here's a rundown on what you should assess before you start hunting for PR assistance.
Ten Crisis Communications Principles That Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Rita Taught Us
Source: DPK Public Relations
During Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, federal and state officials made many basic PR mistakes, like failing to anticipate the difficulty of communicating during a hurricane. Here's a list of principles to follow to help your company avoid the gaffes that occurred during these natural disasters.
