As our president Susan Elmore forecasted at the beginning of the year, providing context in your communications is more important than ever. Discerning audiences want to know why your news matters to them and how your mission intersects with their values.
Articulating the ‘why’ creates an opportunity for audience buy-in. When working with media, communicators must provide context. Reporters, just like their audiences, want to know why your story matters, and why now. By offering this context, reporters can more easily and accurately produce three-dimensional stories that both share timely information and appeal to the sensibilities of their readers, viewers, or listeners.
As you outline your media relations campaign, consider the following:
Who is the audience for this piece of news?
Identifying your target audience is the first step in telling your story. Is it your organization’s end user? Your company’s industry peers? Influential civil or political decision makers?
What is the media outlet and/or who is the reporter to get in front of that audience?
Where is the most impactful place for your story to land to reach the audience identified above? It may not always be the outlet with the largest circulation, but rather the one with the niche audience you are trying to appeal to or serve.
How does the story you are pitching relate to the broader interests of that audience or the current cultural zeitgeist?
Consider what your audience is already talking about right now. What matters to them, and how does your news impact or influence those issues? How is your story relevant to trending topics?
What evidence can you offer to support, substantiate, and humanize your news? Is it a testimonial, impact narrative, hard or qualitative data, or survey responses?
Telling a reporter that your news is worth reporting on isn’t enough to convince them so. Articulate its relevance and provide supporting evidence to bolster the likelihood of a reporter taking interest in your story. Humanize your news by connecting the reporter with someone willing to share their story about how your initiative impacts them, and by extension, the audience tuning in. Provide reputable third-party data to underscore the legitimacy or urgency of your news.
When developing messaging, communicators must also consider organizational context. That is, how does the story you’re telling today support your organization’s mission or prepare the way for future news from your organization? How does the messaging in your pitch, talking points, and press materials underscore the larger narrative you have been charged to tell?
Do you need an outside perspective?
Partnering with a communications consultant who understands the media landscape and the broader context for your industry can help you position your ‘why’ and the ‘why now’ to enhance the success of your media relations campaign. Every day, Elmore helps organizations share their news with rich context to reporters and their audiences.
Contact us today to learn how we can do the same for you.
