Tips for becoming journalists' favorite resource
Having expertise in a topic or research can make you an appealing resource for journalists and the media, but if you’re interested in becoming a trusted and valuable resource, here are a few ideas from a recent Garrett PR post to help you become the media darling reporters are looking for.
- Nail down your #1 target audience—Tempting as it may be to aim for the biggest national media outlets, we encourage everyone to try to identify their most important audience. While it can be tempting to think “well, everyone needs to know about this”, try to pare down to the smallest audience you can. Perhaps your target audience can be found in a niche trade publication. Maybe they listen to a local podcast. Start small!
- Connect with local media—Building off of our first tip, we encourage people interested in becoming a go-to media resource to start by reaching out to lesser-known or local or regional publications. If you can become a valuable resource to local media, you never know where you’ll go—plus you’ll gain a lot of good interview experience along the way.
- Make yourself easy to reach—Share your contact information on social media. Make sure it’s a current email address (or phone number, if you wish) that you monitor frequently. Or perhaps, once you work with a journalist, invite them to reach out directly with future requests.
- Prioritize fast response times—Availability is sometimes the best ability. Most TV deadlines are day-of, so being available for quick requests makes you a valuable resource for journalists. Waiting a few days to respond doesn’t work, so even being able to say you are not available in short order is helpful so they can reach out to someone else.
- Be responsive to follow-up questions—If a reporter asks for more information or follow up documents, we suggest you get back to them as soon as possible. If you need time to put together the information they’re requesting, let them know.
Provide visuals—While we all know TV reporters are looking for footage, most print stories also need imagery. If you can provide high-quality images to accompany a story, or perhaps even offer up a chance to see your work on site or in the field, you’ll have an even better shot at being prominently featured.
Even if images are not requested, it can be helpful to send a few options along with captions, so that reporters don’t need to ask for a caption if they are interested.
For more information, to schedule a media training, or to connect with the University Marketing Communications PR Team, contact [email protected].