If you ever had a time when the local news media contacted your company and you thought they were such a pain to deal with… you may want to re-think that.
This group can be highly beneficial for your company if you are providing valuable information to them in a timely manner. Or, they can be your worst enemy if your company doesn’t respond to them when they want information. Trust me, they don’t like it when this happens because it makes their job more difficult. When you don’t respond to their inquiry, they typically end up writing their article without your valuable input and you better hope it’s accurate.
TIP: If you want to have some editorial control, ask the media to email you their questions. Then respond to them quickly with your emailed responses. This can prevent errors from occurring. It also makes for a happy media contact that just may favor your company the next time good or bad press is on the horizon.
Think about how the media get their information and the importance of it.
Place your company in the middle of that newsgathering process. Once you do that you will be able to leverage their process and make it advantageous for your company because you will be responding to their “immediate” requests more efficiently and accurately. You just made their job easier.
The goal with the media is to establish a relationship that relies on mutual respect, timeliness, honesty and trust. This allows your company to leverage the power of the media to help build your company’s credibility in the market. Once you’ve accomplished this, you can contact them when the time is right for you to generate positive brand-building press that is a critical support tactic for your your sales and marketing efforts.
YourBrandExposed is designed to look at digital with an eye into the future using a creative, innovative marketing perspective. We’re a consultative and tactical resource for companies looking to leverage the power of digital, web, social and content marketing strategies. Contact us if you’re feeling the digital squeeze on how to best market your company.
Scott MacFarland
Linkedin | Huffington Post | Twitter: @scmacfarland
Email: Yourbrandexposed@yahoo.com
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