Krzysztof Olszewski, spokesman for mBank, talks about the key stages in creating valuable messages.
Where to start?
Let’s start with press materials. Quite often list of cyprus cell phone numbers journalists have reservations about them, sometimes criticizing their excessively marketing nature, lack of key information or negligence in language. However, this does not mean that the media do not use materials prepared by public relations experts. This is confirmed by the report interest the media “Construction and distribution of press information”, prepared in cooperation with the Polish Press Agency and the Institute for the Development of the Information Society. As part of this study, journalists from over a hundred editorial offices in Poland were asked how they work with PR specialists and what they think about their work.
The report shows that journalists are often inspired by press releases. Almost 80 percent of respondents confirmed that using them makes their work much easier. At the same time, over a third of respondents stated that the vast majority of messages are spam. Conclusion? The work of PR specialists is valuable to the media as long as it goes hand in hand with quality.
Therefore, when creating materials for the media, it is important to remember that they should have media value, i.e. convey information, data, and comments that are attractive primarily from the point of view of the media, not the company . A PR specialist should help in adapting the message to the needs of journalists.
Is quality material a guarantee of journalistic interest? Of course not. As Michał Wąsowski explains in an article by Business Insider Polska The biggest sins of Polish PR that cause companies to
lose the chance to promote:
“Mainstream media rarely publish entire press releases just like that. From a business perspective, it would be advertising, and advertising is paid for – so even the best-written press release has no chance of being published 1:1.”
Nevertheless, it is possible to encounter the practice of journalists using press releases in their entirety, as confirmed by the previously mentioned report on the construction and distribution of press releases. This can happen, for example, when the information is important from the point of view of the market, politics, etc.
It is also worth knowing that journalists often evaluate messages through the prism of the company, which means that the larger and more interest the media important the company is from a market perspective, the greater the likelihood that the information it conveys will be noticed.
3 steps to creating messages that will interest the media
#1. Concept Development
First , you need to determine what is to be communicated – that is, what will be the value of the press release . It should be something that no one knows about yet. In the case of companies, this may be information about significant business changes digital advertising for the food service sector new products, important modifications to the offer, but also interesting data on sales or consumer behavior and preferences.
Secondly , it should be determined when to deliver it, i.e. to determine the moment of communication . The media informs on an ongoing basis – they are not interested in delayed information. The timing of communication with journalists should be coordinated with communication to other groups of recipients, e.g. investors, clients or employees. Otherwise, editorial offices may choose a faster source of information and not wait for the message from the press office.
Third , you need to determine which media might be interested in the message . This makes it easier to prepare the content. It is worth thinking outside the box. For example, the recipients of communication from the automotive industry will of course be media specializing in this topic. However, this does not mean that in selected cases this group cannot be expanded to include other editorial offices. For example? An interview with a manager or a company expert about the transformation of the industry towards electric cars could also be attractive to media that do not follow the automotive market on a daily basis.
#2. Preparation of materials
What to remember when creating press releases?
- Write correctly using the rules of correct Polish.
- Avoid industry-specific terms (e.g. pond or reservoir; train or multiple unit?).
- If you decide to use a quote, it should be valuable and convey a specific message.
- Respect the recipient’s time – be concise.
- Don’t overdo branding – having the company or product name in every paragraph is not the best idea.
- Make sure the message format is editable (TXT, DOC).
- Do not copy previous information – neither journalists nor Google search engine algorithms like it.
Note! A press release is guatemala lists not a sponsored article or a compliment for a company. The text should be valuable from the point of view of a journalist .
It is worth remembering that press materials are not only texts, but also other multimedia, such as video or audio. When preparing such material, it is worth remembering the rules that work for texts – limit excessive branding, watch industry vocabulary, take care of specifics.
Below we present examples of good and bad practices in creating messages. It is worth noting that valuable ideas are usually based on specific and current information.
#3. Media Contact
As Michał Wąsowski emphasizes in Business Insider Polska:
“A good PR person is one who knows who, when and on what matter to contact. And even when he asks if “the information has reached you”, he adds one sentence: “because I read your article about ZYX and I thought it might interest you”. It is always worth referring to a personal acquaintance, even if it was a short introduction at a conference.”
What else should you remember?
- You need to know not only what the chosen journalist specializes in, but also what topics he has dealt with in his work so far.
- You need to be prepared for additional questions – this means that you need to not only actively respond to questions and phone calls from journalists, but above all, understand what the message is about.
- Important! The journalist is not obligated to use or publish the submitted message!
What should you remember after publishing your material?
- A journalist’s article about your company is not yours, which means that the PR specialist has no right to dictate titles or change fragments, but can of course make comments if something is not in line with reality, e.g. the facts do not match.
- A journalist has the right to use the message or its fragment, but may omit certain threads or change something in them, of course, as long as this does not undermine the essence of the message and does not mislead the recipients.
Finally, it is worth remembering that PR is not just about media relations. The competences of PR specialists are much broader. This is confirmed by the study What do companies expect from PR agencies today? by Walk PR. It shows that an important complement to the tasks of a PR specialist are also skills in content creation, influencer marketing, social media, crisis communication and communication with employees. Among the competences of the future is also ESG consulting.