One of the things you need to do if you’re working for a Lakeland public relations company is to know the journalists who work in the field that your clients are specializing in. For example, one of your clients is manufacturing environmentally-conscious handbags made of vegan leather. Who are the journalists that you should invite to cover your events? First, you need to find the ones who cover the environment beat. Then, you also need reporters who write stories about retail trends. You can also look into lifestyle reporters who could bring customers to your stores.
It isn’t hard to find out who you should be targeting. Journalists have different beats. You will notice that the same person covers the same industry for months. Sometimes, they will get transferred to another beat. Most of the time, they stay in the same beat for years. This helps them build rapport with their sources. They become experts in the industries they are covering that their insights will help you get your message across to your target consumers.
Read Their Stories
What kind of stories are they interested in? This will tell you what catches their attention. Then, you can create an event or write a press release that centers around this topic. How do they attack the stories? What do they criticize? Do they like attending events? Who depends on press releases? Who attends events hosted by these companies? Getting to know the journalists start with what they write about and how they angle their stories. Do they look for political angles in a press release?
Check Out Their Profiles
Journalists have profiles on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter. Follow them. Check their profiles. See where they took up journalism and what their backgrounds are. You might find common ground with them. Maybe you went to the same school or are from the same town. You can easily build a rapport with journalists if you take the time to get to know them and what influenced them.
Invite Them to Events
Finally, don’t forget to invite them to events. There’s nothing more that they hate than learning other journalists were invited to your event while they were not. See to it that everyone feels special and appreciated. When they arrive, personally escort them to their tables and talk to them about the event. If they have questions, willingly provide answers and lead them to resource people.
Good Lakeland public relations include getting to know the journalists that cover news about your business. Once you familiarize yourself with the type of stories they make, you’ll find it easier to position your press releases to attract them.
