How Do You Effectively Train New Team Members in Media Relations Best Practices?

How Do You Effectively Train New Team Members in Media Relations Best Practices?

When it comes to training new team members on media relations, the insights of CEOs and Founders are invaluable. From the importance of role-reversal for gaining perspective to tailoring messages to your audience, we've compiled seven expert pieces of advice to ensure your team excels in media communications.

• Role-Reversal for Perspective Gaining
• Leverage Digital Media Tools
• Document Media Policies Clearly
• Cultivate Authentic Media Relationships
• Organize a Media Scavenger Hunt
• Prioritize Relationship-Building with Journalists
• Tailor Messages to Your Audience

Role-Reversal for Perspective Gaining

Implement role-reversal exercises where new team members assume the role of journalists, while senior staff pitch stories as PR professionals. This unique exercise encourages participants to understand diverse perspectives, sharpen their communication skills, and anticipate nuanced media responses.

By experiencing both sides of the media interaction, team members gain invaluable insights into effective storytelling, fostering empathy and strategic thinking essential for impactful media relations.

Leverage Digital Media Tools

Integrate digital-media tools and analytics into the training process. Teach new team members how to leverage these tools to track media coverage, measure impact, and refine their strategies. This tech-savvy approach ensures they are equipped to handle the modern media landscape efficiently and effectively.

Document Media Policies Clearly

When training new team members on media relations, it's important to put policies in writing. Workers often misstep when expectations are expressed verbally. Not only are conversations easy to forget, but recommendations expressed in a meeting or interview also tend to feel optional. Putting your media strategy on paper gives it heft and weight, and employees have something to refer back to.

One caveat, though: Keep your language natural. Documented strategies are only followable if workers understand them. So, skip the jargon and speak in concise and clear sentences. Don't be wishy-washy—if there is a topic you'd like workers to avoid, say so.

Cultivate Authentic Media Relationships

Focus on authenticity. Encourage new team members to build genuine relationships with journalists and media contacts. Authentic connections foster trust and pave the way for fruitful media collaborations.

I've found that authenticity isn't just about honesty—it's about genuine engagement with the media. In my experience, the most influential media relations happen when team members listen more than they talk, understand the unique needs of each journalist, and offer valuable insights or stories that resonate with those needs. During my early days navigating media relations, I prioritized meeting journalists face-to-face, learning about their work, and tailoring our pitches to align with their interests. This effort paid off immensely, leading to stronger relationships and more meaningful coverage for our brand. Authenticity transforms media interactions from transactional to relational, laying the foundation for a symbiotic partnership.

Organize a Media Scavenger Hunt

An innovative initiative we've launched involves organizing a media scavenger hunt as part of our onboarding process for new team members. This engaging activity challenges them to scour various media outlets for recent coverage relevant to our industry or competitors.

By analyzing how different outlets frame and prioritize stories, they not only grasp current media trends but also develop a keen understanding of effective media-engagement strategies.

Prioritize Relationship-Building with Journalists

When training new team members on best practices in media relations, it is advisable to focus on relationship-building initially. Relationship building makes all the difference in media relations. Journalists feature businesses they trust and have a rapport with. Teaching your new team members how to build these relationships ensures they can foster good relations with key journalists and stay ahead of other sources seeking to get featured in a story.

Emphasize the need to network proactively with existing journalist connections and target new ones by establishing contact. Additionally, train the new team members on the importance of following up after pitching to improve the chances of getting featured.

Tailor Messages to Your Audience

Always emphasize the importance of understanding the audience and tailoring the message accordingly. Knowing who you're communicating with allows you to craft more compelling and effective media strategies.

Understanding your audience is the cornerstone of successful media relations. During my four decades in this field, I've seen firsthand how a well-tailored message can significantly elevate a company's media presence. When training new team members, I stress the necessity of research—knowing your target audience's demographics, interests, and values enables you to create messages that resonate and engage effectively.

For example, while working with a tech startup, we tailored our media pitches by highlighting cutting-edge innovations aimed specifically at tech enthusiasts, which garnered extensive media coverage. This targeted approach maximized our outreach efforts and built stronger relationships with key media contacts.