Despite the growing demand for social media and messengers as the main news channels, the media remain the most authoritative and important sources of information. Experts from WARTO Communications Agency shared their tips for effective cooperation with journalists.
Tip 1 – Cooperate with the media in a comprehensive manner
Communications through the media help solve a variety of business problems: from informing wide audiences about the company’s history, values and team to responding quickly to crisis situations and building a positive image. Depending on the task, there is a wide range of tools that can be used in this cooperation.
In particular, WARTO’s team implements a press office for clients not only prepares and distributes press releases, but also prepares expert blogs and columns by key newsmakers, processes and initiates journalistic inquiries, prepares expert comments from company representatives, works with social media, and constantly monitors the information field. It is this comprehensive approach that allows us to fill the media space with information about the client’s brand in an efficient and expert manner.
Tip 2 – Choose relevant media for cooperation
There are more than 6,000 media outlets in Ukraine. Some national publications cover 98% of all traffic – they have a positive image and trust of the audience. But how do you identify the right ones to solve specific brand problems?
To begin with, it is worth reviewing the coverage, engagement, and thematic content of the selected media. You should not focus exclusively on national publications, although they do have large coverage and readership figures. The experience of the WARTO team shows that regional media can compete with them if the company’s objectives are related to a clearly defined local audience segment. It is also important to take into account the thematic division into general and industry-specific publications.
The next step is communication. Contact the editors or journalists of the selected media outlets to assess the relevance and appropriateness of the topic for the media and to start getting to know them. Prepare yourself for the fact that this work will take a lot of time.
Tip 3 – Keep in touch with journalists
To develop a brand’s media relations, it is crucial to maintain regular communication with the media and teams of journalists. The media can become a reliable partner for a company, but for this, as in any relationship, it is important to keep in touch all the time, not just when the company needs to post a release or news.
What can be done: Track personnel changes in newsrooms and use them as points of communication with journalists. Congratulate media workers on professional and national holidays. Maintain communication on social media. Of course, all of this requires a lot of specialist time, and sometimes, if the company is large and has an extensive brand system, a whole separate department dedicated exclusively to working with journalists. For example, the media manager of WARTO agency spends 25-30 hours a week on communication with the media.
At the same time, when a brand seeks help from communication specialists, the agency’s team takes responsibility for media relations. The agency has a large number of contacts with journalists, maintains constant communication with them, has a credit of trust, and regularly monitors the information space for changes and requests. This helps to speed up and facilitate the work to effectively achieve the results defined together with the client brand.
Tip 4 – Prepare high-quality materials for publication
Three “pillars” of good material for the media:
1. A clear, relevant topic.
You should not neglect preliminary monitoring of the selected media – perhaps the topic chosen within the company has already been covered by this publication and needs to be replaced.
2. Competent text without errors.
Even though the material will be reviewed by an editorial or literary editor before publication, the text must be written competently and interestingly. Otherwise, it may result in a refusal to publish.
3. The goal is to share information and bring value, not just to advertise a brand.
Of course, working with the media is part of promoting a brand and its products. However, this does not mean that you can send an advertising text to an editorial office and expect it to help solve your media relations problems. Even if the editorial office publishes such material, empty advertising texts are not interesting to readers, they simply will not be opened. And the time and resources invested in the preparation and publication will be wasted.
Tip 5 – Paid cooperation with the media is necessary
In the context of our current military situation, as well as with the intensification of business communications over the past 2-3 months, getting free media coverage has become a challenge. Even the topics of humanitarian aid or volunteer support do not always guarantee that the media will use this material on a non-commercial basis. Established contacts with journalists, an exclusive topic, and expert and authoritative speakers will play a key role.
However, non-commercial cooperation is a movement along the information flow, which is formed by responding to the current requests of readers and journalists. If a brand wants to broadcast its messages in the media field, which is essential for building a manageable image, paid publications will help set its public communication direction effectively and efficiently.
According to WARTO’s experience, the best combination is constant work in the format of a press service and regular paid image and advertising information campaigns.”
At the beginning of the war, companies reduced investments in marketing and PR due to more pressing needs (for example, relocation of production and employees) and general uncertainty about the future. But now companies need to actively communicate and develop various areas. A successful information wave alone will not be enough to restore communication and regain consumer attention. Communication will only be effective if it is systematic, thoughtful and clear.
Victoria Garkusha, project manager of the WARTO communications agency, told more about effective work with the media in a lecture for the Creative Practice Marathon.
