Uploaded byChristine Townsend MCIPR
Comms by the Coast - Engaging with the media and the public
The document outlines key strategies for effective communication and media engagement, emphasizing the importance of building relationships, formulating a communication strategy, and utilizing various media channels. It highlights the need for accuracy, accountability, and proactive management of public relations, including handling risks and misinformation. Additionally, it underscores that media and the public are increasingly interconnected, requiring organizations to adapt and engage effectively.
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Comms by the Coast - Engaging with the media and the public
- 1. Engaging with themedia and the public #SUCOMMS Christine Townsend @ctownsenduk christine@musterpoint.co.uk www.musterpoint.co.uk @muster_point
- 2. Introduction • Build relationships •Press releases – or whatever you want to call them • Being a trusted source • Citizen journalism • Knowing your laws • Rebuttals, corrections and letters • Having a strong sense of self • What do you represent? • What are you selling and why? • Be consistent and truthful • One place for information • Be ready to comment • Identifying your talking heads – and making sure they are right www.musterpoint.co.uk @muster_point MusterPoint Solutions Ltd 2015 VAT No. 211121878 Company Registration No. 08202411
- 3. Key considerations –the basics • Formulate a communication strategy • Build relationships both internally and externally • Your position in the organisation • Determine resources and resilience • Key audiences • Channels – regular and specific • Policy, guidance and legislation • Risks and threats • External influence – who has a say in what you have to say? www.musterpoint.co.uk @muster_point MusterPoint Solutions Ltd 2015 VAT No. 211121878 Company Registration No. 08202411
- 4. Communication and mediastrategy • Outlines overarching aims and objectives • Defines key messages • Ensures media and social media monitoring • Accounts for policy and legal restrictions • Determines authorisation for information release • Targets audiences • Ensures communication resilience and resourcing • Monitoring on and offline channels • Allows for debriefing – lessons learnt www.musterpoint.co.uk @muster_point MusterPoint Solutions Ltd 2015 VAT No. 211121878 Company Registration No. 08202411
- 5. Who are youraudiences? • Your experience and sector knowledge will help guide communication activity • Work with others to also assess how best to reach your target audience/s • How does the audience normally receive information? • What are the motives of the media? • Internal and external comms – no difference • Critical friends offer invaluable advice www.musterpoint.co.uk @muster_point MusterPoint Solutions Ltd 2015 VAT No. 211121878 Company Registration No. 08202411
- 6. Communication channels – ‘traditional’media www.musterpoint.co.uk @muster_point MusterPoint Solutions Ltd 2015 VAT No. 211121878 Company Registration No. 08202411
- 7. Channels - digital www.musterpoint.co.uk@muster_point MusterPoint Solutions Ltd 2015 VAT No. 211121878 Company Registration No. 08202411
- 8. Channels - citizenjournalism www.musterpoint.co.uk @muster_point MusterPoint Solutions Ltd 2015 VAT No. 211121878 Company Registration No. 08202411
- 9. Social media andthe news • The public rely on social media for their information – and expect it immediately • The public are quite often the first reporters • Media often pick up stories from social media first • The speed at which social media carries a message is unprecedented, but public sector can’t always match that speed • Risks – bad news travels fast • Opportunities – correct rumours, increase awareness, inform large numbers of people fast www.musterpoint.co.uk @muster_point MusterPoint Solutions Ltd 2015 VAT No. 211121878 Company Registration No. 08202411
- 10. Risks and threats •Every organisation needs to assess the risks and threats with media handling • Where are your weaknesses? • Can you account for everything you do? • Are you able to rebut misinformation? • What do you see on the horizon? • Make it your business to know your business inside and out • Mitigate against risk wherever possible www.musterpoint.co.uk @muster_point MusterPoint Solutions Ltd 2015 VAT No. 211121878 Company Registration No. 08202411
- 11. Build relationships • Thinkabout your audiences – not just the media but key influencers, opinion formers and commentators in the digital space • What kind of relationships do you already have • Do they need to be improved or changed? • Is it better than using a PR service or newswire? • Save effort – work with syndicates www.musterpoint.co.uk @muster_point MusterPoint Solutions Ltd 2015 VAT No. 211121878 Company Registration No. 08202411
- 12. Getting it right:facts, facts, facts • Ensure that messages are accurate, consistent, clear and frequent • Dispel rumour quickly and effectively • Correct misinformation • Brief internally frequently • Work collaboratively with other agencies www.musterpoint.co.uk @muster_point MusterPoint Solutions Ltd 2015 VAT No. 211121878 Company Registration No. 08202411
- 13. Accountability • Who doyou answer to? • Proving your value as a team is vital • Ensure evidence based results • Keep records, notes and information • Get a good enquiry logging system • Being a good media team doesn’t mean you have to blow the budget! www.musterpoint.co.uk @muster_point MusterPoint Solutions Ltd 2015 VAT No. 211121878 Company Registration No. 08202411
- 14. Press releases • Maximisesocial sharing • Provide as much information in the boilerplate as possible to limit further enquiries • Offer to sell it in exclusively – but fairly • Make it available online – not only in plain text but also as a PDF and ensure it’s easy to view on all devices – particularly Blackberry! • Check the contact on the release will actually be available • Signpost to one source of information www.musterpoint.co.uk @muster_point MusterPoint Solutions Ltd 2015 VAT No. 211121878 Company Registration No. 08202411
- 15. Press conference vsmedia briefing • Often reactive with little time to prepare • Choose your talking head wisely • Have a dedicated resource monitoring social media in addition to live broadcast • Keep records of all attendees • Know your media law with regards to photography • Consider location issues • There is no such thing as ‘off the record’ • Never say ‘no comment’ • Ensure pre-pared material is available in hard copy and also online • Do not offer exclusives in front of other journalists • Be clear about the rules of engagement prior to and throughout • Offer to take further discussion outside of briefing www.musterpoint.co.uk @muster_point MusterPoint Solutions Ltd 2015 VAT No. 211121878 Company Registration No. 08202411
- 16. Using digital channels •Ensure people understand exactly what digital means internally • Adapt your policies and training • Be clear – not everyone understands what damage can be done • Embrace – get the simple rules right and you can convert doubters to be spokespeople • Create a triage system • Scan, monitor and be alert to shift in attitudes – don’t rely on sentiment • Social is human – not an algorithm www.musterpoint.co.uk @muster_point MusterPoint Solutions Ltd 2015 VAT No. 211121878 Company Registration No. 08202411
- 17. Finally • The mediaand the public are now one and the same • Broadcast is no longer acceptable • Talk, listen, engage, learn www.musterpoint.co.uk @muster_point MusterPoint Solutions Ltd 2015 VAT No. 211121878 Company Registration No. 08202411
- 18. Christine Townsend @ctownsenduk christine@musterpoint.co.uk www.musterpoint.co.uk @muster_point www.musterpoint.co.uk @muster_pointMusterPoint Solutions Ltd 2015 VAT No. 211121878 Company Registration No. 08202411
Editor's Notes
- #7 What would you consider to be ‘traditional’ media? Don’t ever forget local media. If it’s in the nationals, you’ve done something really right – or really wrong. Radio is still very powerful – rolling news gives no time to respond – I’ve often found out about incidents from the news rather than my own command team Nationals are usually easier to deal with than locals – do not dismiss any. You don’t know where they will end up, you don’t know who will end up moving to different roles
- #8 I don’t need to outline the fact that social media has had a significant impact on the way we do business in the UK. We are past the point of ‘we need to be using social media’ and are now thinking ‘how can we improve and use social media better’ to save time, resources and money It’s possibly the most dramatic shift in the way we communicate with the public and has influenced legislation, policy and operational direction both on a local and national level.
- #9 Hyperlocal communiies
- #12 Before doing anything, look at the relationships you have with the media.
- #14 Before doing anything, look at the relationships you have with the media.
- #15 Tips for Creating a Press Release that Maximizes Social Sharing The modern press release can get you in front of the right audiences with the messages they care about, and your performance can be measured. Enhance client brand presence in social media with a press release strategy that mixes company news and alerts about their compelling new content on an ongoing basis – and helps you to better prove the value of your social media strategy.
- #16 Tips for Creating a Press Release that Maximizes Social Sharing The modern press release can get you in front of the right audiences with the messages they care about, and your performance can be measured. Enhance client brand presence in social media with a press release strategy that mixes company news and alerts about their compelling new content on an ongoing basis – and helps you to better prove the value of your social media strategy.
- #17 Ensure people understand exactly what digital means internally The hardest people to work with when it came to moving into digital were comms people – the easiest were those who previously were excluded fro the comms office!