Since I didn’t have the virtually appropriate space to
finish what I was saying in Part I, here’s Part II with more ways to stay on
offense in PR.
- Build
meaningful relationships. It works just like a business network works. If
your relationships with the media traditional and new are shallow or non
existent, you’re in for a world of hurt when a crisis hits. And you’ll struggle
to be on offense because they’ll have no idea who you are or what your
objective is. The more authentic and transparent you can be with the media, the
better your relationship will be. Sounds a lot like marriage and friendship,
doesn’t it?
- Never
decline to comment without a good reason. Sometimes the media just calls
you to talk about something random but touchy to you. It’s easy to just say no
comment or let me get back to you … wink, wink … But it’s also very damaging to
your reputation and your ability to be on offense. If you have to give no
comment (and I know that sometimes you really do for legal or confidentiality
reasons), make sure you explain why. Just leaving it at no comment is a
damaging move.
- Leave the salesperson hat at home. One of the biggest mistakes you can make when building a friendship or going on a date is to constantly sell yourself. Everything is about you and how great you are. The same concept applies to the media. Hint: They really aren’t interested in how great your company is. They’re trying to write or cover a story about the subject they called you about. They rarely want to talk about your product or service. Of course, you can work those in with a solid strategic messaging platform, but you have to know when it’s time to be you rather than the CEO, COO or CMO of your company.
I’m sure there are a lot of other best practices to share on
this subject. If you’re a PR pro or just a good networker in general, feel free
to leave some of your thoughts in the comments below.
But if you need help in playing offense in PR, you should
contact Jakel Communications, a Denver PR agency.
No comments:
Post a Comment