Plan a Media/PR Campaign/Strategy

•  For maximum exposure, work three-six months in advance of your project or event. The media works with schedules, often planning their editorial or broadcast coverage around themes, holidays, seasons, and other cultural events long in the future.

• Begin with a news release early in the campaign explaining your event, always including the dates and a URL to where more information can be found.

• Follow up with additional news releases when there is updated information.

Example: Terranea Resort in Palos Verdes, California

• Project description more than a year away, with artist renderings

• News releases about every month with a new angle to the development

•  Location at prestigious site where Marineland of California once sat

• Green angle with recycled materials used from Marineland

• Local geography with links to marine life, beach access, walking trails.

What is Your Objective? What is the message you want to get out?

• Do you want coverage for an event? You'll need to invite media in advance and provide complimentary access to the events for which you want coverage.

• Are you promoting sales or seeking attendees for an event? Remember that the media is not free advertising—it’s a business. Some media outlets provide free calendar listings for events, but unless your event has something of notable public interest, you may not get editorial or broadcast coverage.

• Are you looking for ongoing coverage or promotion of your company, association, or service? You'll need to forge relationships with the media that are mutually beneficial.

• Remember, the media thrives on producing content and they appreciate exclusive stories, tips, and leads. Present yourself as an expert who is willing to share information that benefits the wider audience, even when it's not specific to your brand.

·         Insider tip: In these days of economic challenges, supporting your local media with advertising can be one way to get noticed. However, you should never expect that just because you bought an ad, that you automatically receive editorial or broadcast coverage.

Who is Your Target Audience?

• Who do you want to reach with media coverage?

• Your target audience may be determined by the objective of your media campaign or strategy and the message you want to get out.

• Research outlets where your target audience gets information. Do a web search based on your target audience. If you represent a professional association, such as the National Institute for Literacy, search for "literacy publications" and you'll get several pages of suggestions. 

Target Your Campaign

• If you've drawn 25 pages of hits from a web search on "literacy publications," you'll need to scan through the hits to weed out those who don't publish news or event notices.

• Review the content they publish to see if there are other stories similar to what you are pitching. Don't waste your time sending media advisories and news releases to those who never print the kind of content you want published.

Cover All the Bases

• Although the print media is going through dramatic changes, there are more opportunities than ever to get media coverage. Research broadcast channels on television, radio, NPR, PBS, trade publications, websites, blogs and online media channels such as YouTube and BlogSpotRadio.

• Don't forget Twitter. Micro-blogging has become one of the fastest and easiest ways to get your message across multiple channels with a single sentence.

• Insider tip: Bloggers can be very clannish and supportive of causes they believe in. One of the most powerful clans of bloggers are “Mommy Bloggers” who write about parenting issues. If you want to promote a conference for child-care providers, or your client is a manufacturer of children’s clothing, connecting with the Mommy Bloggers could get your message in front of millions of readers. Other blogging communities can be equally powerful: Political, Education, Health, Autism, Literature, Sports.

Be Message-Worthy: Find an Unusual Angle

• Editors and journalists are busy people. Don't splatter them with emails or phone calls pitching a story much like one they've recently covered, or with ideas that don't fit their editorial focus.

• Before you pitch, review past issues or broadcasts to see how long ago they featured your type of product or service.

• If your client is having a fundraiser with a local celebrity, the national media is probably not going to be interested in covering your event. If however, that local celebrity is also the grandson of a famous politician who is donating a collection of original letters for an auction, that could be national news.

Website, Website, Website

• Like the real estate mantra, today's media mantra is, "website, website, website." Ensure that anything for which you want coverage lives somewhere in cyberspace.

• Editors and journalists may read your news release and want to learn more. Don't make them pick up the phone to get the info just yet. Have it ready for them and listed as a URL link in the email. If the reporter is interested enough, they will call you for more info.

• Keep your website fresh, update frequently with new and noteworthy material.

Be Grateful

• Send your media contact a thank-you for any coverage received—even when it’s not the big, splashy feature you’d hoped for.

• A thank you goes a long way in strengthening bridges for the future.

Topic presented by Carolyn Burns Bass at International Association of Hispanic Meeting Professionals conference, December 8, 2009, Denver, Colorado.