Improve Your Firm’s Media Relations and Get Better Press Presentation to SMPS February 7, 2010 Karen Nussle

General Rules of the Road in PR Have a plan and define success (plan the work, work the plan) Know your story It’s all about the list Relationships, relationships, relationships Remember: It’s about them, not about you

Have a Plan and Define Success What is your goal? What does success look like? Devise your plan to achieve success – this must include both substance and technique Plan the work, work the plan

Know your story Know what you want to accomplish before each pitch or interview Give them your elevator speech – it always applies Always know the 3 points you want to make in any interview Anticipate the headline Anticipate your quote

It’s all about the list We could spend an entire session just talking about THE LIST The quality and integrity of your contacts, your list, is hugely important to success in media relations

It’s all about the list Your list represents data -- information Data/Information = Power Information correctly managed and utilized achieves success

It’s all about the list What constitutes your list? –What information do you have or want –How do you prioritize the list (best media contacts, potential contacts, connectors, etc.) –How do you segment the list for communications purposes?

It’s all about the list Consider your list. –Who’s on your list? –Who maintains the integrity of the list? –How do you add names to the list? –How often to you communicate with the list? –What do you communicate?

It’s all about the list –How do you develop the largest possible list of potential new members? –How do you add to that list regularly (daily, weekly, monthly) –What criteria decides when someone goes on the list or comes off of the list –What do you do with the list? Communicate? How often? With what message? –How do you make the sale?

It’s all about the list Define your current list –who you have, who should you have; be specific and quantifiable How can you grow your list? –Be creative! Use technology? What do you need to do every day to achieve this growth? How often do you need to communicate with your list? Who should communicate and in what format? What messaging will be most effective to achieve results? What other organizational support do you need? –Content? CEO level communication?

Relationships, relationships, …. These are people. They have a job to do. Get to know them and what they need. Think from their perspective. Know their readership! Help them!

It’s about them, not about you Don’t waste their time Meet their deadline Make news or respond to news (give them a good quote) Give quality information Connect them to other experts or sources See the other rules…

General Rules of the Road in PR Have a plan and define success (plan the work, work the plan) Know your story It’s all about the list Relationships, relationships, relationships Remember: It’s about them, not about you