As a public information officer (PIO), you know how crucial it is to do relationship building and effectively communicate with the media and the public about your agency’s news, updates, or achievements. The challenge is to capture the attention and interest of journalists and influencers, who are often bombarded with pitches and press releases daily. This blog post will share strategies and tips for developing and maintaining positive relationships with journalists and influencers based on our research and experience.
One factor for building relationships with journalists and influencers is understanding what they care about and what they need. As we teach at JGPR Academy, in classes like our Media Relations Master Class for Public Safety, journalists and influencers may have different preferences, expectations, and goals depending on their niche, audience, and platform. Before you pitch, do your research and find out as much as you can about them, such as their previous work, interests, style, and values. This helps tailor your pitch to their needs and interests. You can use tools like Pressfarm to access a PR database with over 1 million journalists and media outlets and filter them by niche, location, and keywords.
Relationship development with journalists and influencers occurs when you provide value and help. Examples include sending your own stories and sharing other relevant and valuable information, such as story tips, helpful introductions, statistics, sources, graphics, and links. For example, you can send them a list of stories you plan to pitch in advance, which can help them anticipate what’s coming and intend ahead. By doing so, you can position yourself as a valuable and reliable source of information and build trust and credibility with them.
Public Sharing helps boost relationships, so use social media platforms like X (Twitter), Facebook, and LinkedIn to share their articles, tag them, and comment on them. You can also use hashtags, mentions, and emojis to make your posts more engaging and interactive. Doing so can create a positive feedback loop and encourage them to share your stories.
Journalists like when you provide them with sound bites, b-roll, and multimedia elements for broadcast and online media. These elements can enhance your stories and make them more appealing and shareable for the media and the audience. Sound bites are short and quotable statements that capture the essence of your stories and can be used by reporters or anchors. B-roll is supplemental footage that shows your stories’ context or impact and can be used by producers or editors. Multimedia elements are photos, videos, audio, and infographics that can make your stories more visual and interactive.
A sure-fire way to strengthen your relationships with journalists and influencers is to be responsive, respectful, and transparent. This means being available and accessible to the media and responding to their queries, requests, and feedback promptly and professionally. Doing so can establish a reputation of integrity and reliability and earn their respect and trust.
In conclusion, having positive relationships with journalists and influencers can help you communicate effectively with the media and the public and achieve your PR goals. However, building and maintaining these relationships requires time, effort, and strategy. We hope you found this blog post helpful and informative. If you have any questions or feedback, please contact us. Thank you for reading and happy writing!
Further reading: Public Relations A Professional Approach by John Guilfoil