Mainstream Media Relation Strategies
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Transcript of Mainstream Media Relation Strategies
Breakthrough Skills for the Modern Day Artist A career seminar by Impulse Artist Series &
Spacetaker
by K.C. Scharnberg
• Marketing and promotion is a necessity of life.
• It’s a frame of mind • Media relations – the way to free
editorial coverage (valued at 3x more than an advertisement)
• Timing – current; in relation to something that’s happened recently
• Significance/Impact – the number of people affected; who, what, how affected
• Proximity – the closer the story to home, the more newsworthy
• Prominence – well-known things, people or organizations get covered because they are well-known
• Human Interest – stories that appeal to emotion
• Press release, Calendar release, Media alert
• Pitch • Media List • Photos • Website • Tenacity
• Calendar release - basic who, what, where, when, why, how much & for more info
• Press release - more details about the event, about you and your background
• Media alert - an alert for media only typically used to alert them of a unique coverage opportunity
• 1-2 pages maximum (400-500 words)
• “For Immediate Release”
• Date
• Media contact name, email & primary phone
• Title that encompasses what the release is about in one line (must stand out, catch reader’s attention)
• Strong lead paragraph that states the who, what, why, when, where & how – gets to the crux of the release in a short, to-the-point opening paragraph; contains the hook (the reason this event is important, interesting or unique, etc)
• Where to find more (web address, blog, social media links)
• Boilerplate info
• ### or -30- at the end
• Important to read what the arts & feature writers are writing about
• Craft a unique pitch for each different media outlet or writer
• You need a list of media contacts that make sense for your field of work
• Update regularly – Look on media outlet website or call
• Keep up with social media messaging of media outlets and writers
• Have 6-8 high resolution photos available to send at a moment’s notice – 300 dpi (print resolution) – Variety – horizontal, vertical, action,
portrait, serious, fun, etc. – Include photo credit – Include caption
• 2.5 to 3 months out – Distribute calendar release; Set up Google Alerts
• 4 to 6 weeks out – Distribute press release & begin pitching to your targets
• 2 to 3 weeks out – Post event to online event calendars; Send personal invitation to select media to attend
• 1 week out – final follow ups to online writers, include photos
• 1 to 2 days out – Distribute media alert to TV news desks and daily and weekly print photo desks
• Follow up, follow up, follow up!
Common Mistakes to Avoid • Poor timing - not starting early enough, missing deadlines
• Spamming - only write and send a release when you have a newsworthy story to tell
• Not Bcc-ing
• Sending your press release as a pdf attachment; paste release in body of email; include URL to image download
• Not being available or answering a reporter immediately
• Not following up
• Working in a vacuum
• Being successful in media relations means building relationships with reporters and editors over time. It’s not a sprint, it’s a marathon.
• Don’t only email them when you have something you want them to cover. If they do cover you, send a thank you.
• Make sure you always deliver on what you’ve said you can or will do.
• Finally, supplement any media relations campaign with other promotion efforts (social media campaign, your own blog posts, team up with other people or organizations that can promote you/your event, print & distribute flyers/posters, etc)
• http://www.prsa.org • www.deirdrebreakenridge.com • The Definitive Guide to Social Media Releases
www.briansolis.com/2008/02/definitive-guide-to-social-media • Putting the Public back in Public Relations – by Brian Solis
@briansolis & Deirdre Breakenridge @dbreakenridge
– Spacetaker - www.spacetaker.org/culture_guide – Eventful - http://www.eventful.com – GHCVB - http://www.visithoustontexas.com/events-list – Chron.com - http://www.chron.com/entertainment/calendar/submission.html – Houston Community Newspapers -
http://www.hcnonline.com/calendar/submit/ – Houston Press - http://www.houstonpress.com/feedback/SubmitAnEvent – KHOU.com -
http://www.khou.com/community/calendar/event-submission-form – Houston Going - http://www.houston.going.com – Houston Backpage - http://houston.backpage.com/Events/ – Upcoming - www.upcoming.org – Yelp Houston - http://www.yelp.com/houston – KUHF - http://www.kuhf.org – Artshound - http://www.artshound.com – Do713 - http://www.do713.com – CultureMap - [email protected]