10 Tactics for Getting Your Name in the News

You don’t want your first interaction with the media to be when you’re not prepared, or when the coverage may not show you in your best light. If you’ve developed a solid relationship with the media outlets that represent your target audience(s), you’ll be in a much better position to respond to requests that may not show you, or your organization, in the best light. There will be a relationship of trust established that will serve you well.

2)  Know the media that’s likely to target you and the media that you’d like to target.

Be proactive in your dealings with the media. Develop a list of the media where you’d like to receive coverage as well as a list of media that are likely to be interested in you and your products, services and events. Local media outlets are likely to be your best bets. Make sure you know who the local editors are. But, depending on your objectives, you may be interested in reaching out to regional or national media, or to specific trade publications or targeted TV or radio outlets. Your list will depend on your objectives and the audience you wish to reach.

3)  Anticipate issues and be prepared.

If a national report comes out that stresses the value of professional coaching services, and you’re a professional coach, this is a story you can use to help promote your own services. Be prepared and alert to opportunities to tie to both local and national news. Think creatively and look for connections that may not be immediately obvious.

4) Create and focus on key messages.

You should have both general key messages about your business that you use for every interview and specific key messages that you develop for each media interaction. What messages do you want the readers or viewers of your media coverage to take away about you? Those are the points that you should stress. Regardless of the issue you’re responding to, your goal is to attempt to somehow include your key messages in your response. Very often, at the end of the interview, the reporter will say something like: “Do you have anything else to add?” or “Are there any additional points you would like to make?” That’s your opportunity to say: “Yes. I’d just like to emphasize that…”

5) Be a “broken record.”

While you can never anticipate with 100 percent accuracy what questions a reporter is going to ask you, you do know with 100 percent certainty what your key messages are. You should refer to those key messages again and again throughout the interview. Don’t be afraid to be repetitive.

6)  Choose spokespeople that represent you well.

The best person to offer for any media interview is the person with the most knowledge or expertise with the topic being covered. When companies put their public relations staff “out front,” the worst case is that it can look as though the company is “hiding” behind the corporate spokesperson, the best is that the audience is kept one step away from the person with the real story to tell.

7)  Maintain “control.”

Don’t be intimidated by the media. They need you and your cooperation as much as you need their unbiased and professional handling of whatever issue it is that you’re being interviewed about.

So, while you should be aware of media deadlines and attempt to honor them whenever possible, never feel pressured to respond to a media inquiry. Always take the time to make sure that you’ve gathered the background information and facts that you need, that you’ve developed your key messages (the points you want to come out in the resulting story), and that you’ve selected the right spokesperson and briefed him/her adequately.

Take advantage of live interviews.

Most spokespeople dread the live interview, never realizing that the live interview is their best opportunity to ensure that the points they want to make are made – and received by the audience. When doing a live interview, what you say is received verbatim by the television or radio audience and that provides you with total control. Take advantage of that control by maintaining focus on your key messages. If you study seasoned spokespeople, you’ll see that they can respond to just about any reporter’s question by “looping back” to one of their own messages with such statements as: “I don’t have any information about that, but what I can tell you is (insert key message),” or “We haven’t found that to be true, but (key message). BUT – don’t go too far afield – make sure you’re responding to the reporter’s questions and staying on target or you’ll risk being called on for future interviews.

The bottom line here – Learn to love the live interview. It’s every spokesperson’s best media opportunity.

9) Focus on the real audience (the readers, listeners or viewers – not the reporter!).

Make the reporter’s job “easy.” Provide background information and additional materials, especially if your message is complex and you’re concerned about the reporter “getting it right.” The added benefit of providing background information, though, is that reporters are busy people and if you’ve provided good information, that’s well prepared and not too “self-promotional,” it’s likely to be used.

10)  Know when to let a story die a natural death.

When a negative story hits the news, especially when you feel some information has been left out or misstated, it can be very tempting to strike back by writing a letter to the editor or running a paid ad with “your side of the story.” This is rarely a good strategy, though.