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Practicing the fundamentals
of media placement correctly will get you more than
fancy tricks. Let’s face it – we have gone from “Show me
the glitter” to “Show me the money.” It never hurts to
bone up on the basics.
The very first rule anyone
trying to promote a company should follow is Know the
Business. Your spokespeople, agencies, and staff
should know your company and its industry inside out.
Nothing is worse than being unable to accurately answer
a reporter’s follow-up questions.
Next on your list should be
Develop Relationships. Nobody has the time or
inclination to spend hours cold-calling reporters and
editors to pitch a story. It takes time to cultivate
relationships with the media – and you have to prove
yourself more than once to do it. Always be available
for background or confirmations, and be sure to send
important industry information to your media contacts –
even when it may not directly concern your company.
A PR executive also has to
be able to Face Rejection. The ability to get
attention comes from a mixture of aggressive
extroversion, persistence, and sense of purpose. Nobody
starts with a media list of people who want to hear from
them. To develop such a list, you must constantly search
for and develop new contacts.
Finally, you need to Be
Consistent. There should be a theme or common
message in all outgoing communications. This means that
outside agencies must be in touch with company
executives on a regular basis, and that everyone in the
company needs to be on the same page. Conflicting
messages result in zero media placements – after all,
what is the true story, anyway?
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