Q&A with media relations expert, Callie Neatherlin

1. How has your approach to media relations adapted as news organizations continue to downsize and reporters are more swamped than they’ve ever been?
   1. The shifts in the industry have affected long-term relationships built over the last couple of decades; however, building media relationships is still key. It’s important to maintain existing connections or prioritize introductions to new journalists to get the right information in front of the right journalists.
   2. Researching and identifying the right contact isn’t as easy as it seems.
   3. Another element to a successful media relations strategy is a  tightly-focused ingest strategy. Every week, we spend time combing through the news to  identify the news outlets covering  trends and topics of interest related to our target industries.
   4. For clients, these outlets may also inspire new pitch ideas or opportunities for new thought leaders to participate in media efforts.
   5. All of these efforts contribute to creating the right pitch and capturing positive media attention for your client.
2. What are the hallmarks and characteristics of a really good pitch that adds value to your media relations program?
   1. To increase effectiveness and improve chances of media coverage, your pitch needs to be:
      1. Relevant. The pitch should be tailored to fit the interests of the specific journalist and highly relevant to the media outlet’s audience, editorial focus and current news trends.
      2. Compelling and newsworthy. Journalists are always seeking stories that will captivate their audience and differentiate their coverage. A pitch should offer something new, timely or unique. This could be a fresh angle on a trending topic, a timely tie-in to a current event or exclusive access to compelling information or experts. Show how your story has human interest or societal impact to evoke emotion and resonate with journalists and their audiences.
      3. Personalization. Personalizing your pitch shows that you value their expertise and are genuinely interested in collaborating with them. Address the journalist by name and demonstrate that you’ve done your research by referencing their previous work or recent articles.
      4. Be authentic. To build trust and credibility with journalists over time, be honest and transparent in pitch development.
      5. Timeliness. Timing can significantly impact the success of a pitch; Pitching a story well in advance of any relevant events or publication deadlines is a big difference-maker. Showing respect for journalists’ time constraints increases your chances of getting a favorable response.
3. How should brands balance their news mix? Press release strategy, thought leadership, etc.
   1. For a complete and successful media strategy campaign, a client/brand needs to incorporate various methods of communications, marketing and media relations to work together. These can include bylines for thought leaders, content development, internal communications, press releases, news ingests, proactive media outreach and more—all of these work together to create a solid campaign that elevates reach with the client’s target audience.
   2. It’s important to balance these methods so brands can create a news mix that keeps their audience informed and engaged  while remaining aligned with the brand’s identity and objectives.
4. What role should a customer play in media relations?
   1. Having a client be involved in their media relations strategy is essential for achieving a successful outcome.
      1. Clients need to clearly communicate their objectives, goals and key messages to ensure that all PR efforts align with the client’s overall communication and marketing strategy.
      2. We need clients to provide resources and information, including facts, data, quotes, case studies, visuals and other materials that can support our efforts to generate media coverage.

At Red Fan, we consider ourselves an extension of our clients’ teams— to generate success, we work together, create candid conversations and build transparency to ensure that the client’s highest-level goals and objectives are met and exceeded with every campaign.