The document provides a comprehensive guide on media relations, covering essential topics such as how to determine if news is newsworthy, effective communication strategies with journalists, and the importance of online presence for public relations. It emphasizes the need for tailored communication based on target audiences and trends, while also detailing the structure and format of news releases. Additionally, it outlines the significance of utilizing social media and hybrid approaches in modern PR campaigns.

1. Media Relations 101
Catherine Daar
15th March 2011

2. 1 hour to cover ...
✓Is your news newsworthy?
✓Making Headlines
✓Reaching out to the media
✓News Release: Traditional vs Online Social Media
News release
✓How to create a news release (content, format,
subject line)
✓Bloggers
✓Online Newsroom
✓What to include in a media kit
✓Online PR
✓Social Media for PR
✓Q&A
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3. Questions to ask yourself before
launching a PR campaign
✓Who is your target audience
✓How do they consume media (Online? Offline? )
✓Where do they hang out online? Social media,
professional forums, etc..)
✓What paper do they read? What do they watch
on TV? What do they listen on radios?
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4. Is your news newsworthy?
✓Media are here to: Entertain, Educate, Inspire
✓Human interest: Get rich, Get sex,Get healthy
✓Will it help to find: Job, Solution , Success, Opportunity
✓Is it New? Innovative? Moving? Relatable?
✓Are telling a compelling story? Will it get people talking? Why should the reader
care?
✓Why is your news important NOW?
✓ Will they learn something ?
✓Remember! It is not about YOU but about how you can help the COMMUNITY
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5. How to package your news to make
Headlines!
✓Try to make your news timely. Tie it with Events
(conferences, holidays, ...)
✓You should adapt your subject to the news
✓Check the current trends: read the press, follow
reporters on Twitter, sign up for RSS feeds, use Google
Alert,..)
✓Stand out from the crowd! Craft a compelling
message. Use your creative internal resources
create something innovative (tag line, video clip, etc..)
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6. Be a source for the media
✓Offer to be interviewed as an expert (list 5-6 timely and relevant topics
you can discuss) *
✓Provide trends from your industry
✓Ask about the editorial calendar to see if you can offer help
✓Use HARO (http://www.helpareporter.com/)
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Catherine Daar 2011

7. Reaching out to the media
✓Make sure you know what the journalist writes about
✓Check that the same subject was not written about in the last 3-6 month
(http://factiva.com/)
✓Keep in mind the media deadlines
• Magazines work 4-6 months in advance.
• Television works about 4-6 weeks in advance (month in advance for
programs like «Temps Présent, TTC, etc..) «Magazine de société»
• Newspapers 1-3 weeks. Apart from the news
• Radio 1-3 weeks and 2 to 4 month for «society magazines»
• News websites vary from 1 week to several months
• Bloggers 1-3 weeks
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8. How to pitch a reporter
✓Pitch via email. Fax is dead!
✓Send news release and send the media kit and more if asked
✓Via phone be careful..reporter can be on deadline. If you know
the media deadline stay away from the journalist the day before!
✓Email at first and then phone to follow up or even follow up
email in case the 1st got lost
✓Avoid sending a news release over the holiday.
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9. Traditional News release Social Media News release
VS

10. SEO Optimized
Social Media
Press release
Hosted by a online press
release service or on your
website
http://multivu.prnewswire.com/mnr/pepsi/40085/
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11. Advantages of Online News release
✓Hosted on your site or on a service like Pitch
Engine (template)
✓Keyword optimized
✓Reach your target audience directly
(consumers, bloggers, investor)
✓Link can be sent by email to journalists
✓Send to all your social media platforms and
easily shared
✓Infos and content can be used in
immediately by journalists
If you use online distribution services
(PRNewswire, PRWeb, etc..)
✓ Sent to online newsroom (Google News,
Yahoo News)
✓ Sent directly to the newsroom editorial
systems
✓ Hosted by distribution site online
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12. When should you send an online news release?
!!Frequency: about one a month every month!!
✓ Launch of new product
✓ New Web site
✓ Comment on industry trends
✓ New customer
✓ Events (conferences, trade show, public
speaking..)
✓ Awards
✓ Funding received
✓ Joint venture
✓ New funding
✓ Hiring new employees
✓ Volunteer work
✓ New partner
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13. How to write a News release
✓PR 101: Who, What, Where, When, Why, and How
✓Short (one page), sweet , Get to the point, accurate and factual. No
Gobbledygook* (cutting edge, innovation service that provide ...)
✓Give them a pitch that you would tell your friends around a beer and don’t
try to impress your parents’ friends
✓The pitch need to hit the journalist on the first sentence
✓Avoid hype or making it sound like an advertisement. Don't use words
like unique, magnificent or wonderful.
✓For immediate release: instruct when you want the news to be
published
✓Customize your pitch with a different angle for different journalists
✓In Context (Ex: «this follows up the xx story you wrote few days ago»)
✓No more than 4 paragraphs
1.What is your pitch (first sentence). Why you are writing?
2.Establish credibility
3.Why your news is of interest for the readers (Use 3 bullet points with data
that supports your thesis)
4.What you are expecting, call to action
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14. Format of the traditional news release
✓The press release needs to be in the body of the email
✓ No pdf, as it is impossible for most editors to use a pdf release without
retyping it
✓Text not HTML (easier to extract copy)
✓No attachments (viruses, one more step), but links to additional material
✓No photos or illustrations
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15. What will make the journalist open your email?
It’s all in the subject line!
✓Identify the news hook in the subject line, time
sensitive
✓Include a mention of proximity
✓Best subject line short and to the point
✓Catchy email headline
Ex: Learn Bill Gate’s marketing strategy
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16. Bloggers Relations
✓77% of Internet users read blogs
✓89% of journalists conduct research on blogs
✓72% of bloggers blog to share their expertise
Same process than a journalist, just a different medium
The only difference is: You provide only a
summary in the body of the email and then link to
the entire news release!
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17. Why your company needs a
Newsroom
✓ 99 % of journalists expect a company to have an online newsroom
✓ More than 77 % of journalists think it's important to be able to access a company's social media networks
from its online newsroom.
✓ 95 % want access to photos, company background, and product information within the online
newsroom.
✓65% want digital assets and 53 % consider video and audio files useful.
Survey by TEKGROUP International
Source: http://searchenginewatch.com/3641907
http://pressroom.toyota.com/pr/tms/default.aspx
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18. Media Kit, Social News release or Newsroom?
What to include
✓Brief intro
✓Company background and facts
✓Bio
✓The current press release
✓Line sheet (when multiple products)
✓Past Reviews and articles
✓Quotes from experts *
✓Article you wrote that the paper can print or radio can read on air *
✓DVD Video Interviews (CEO, or anyone interesting...) *
✓Contact info
✓High resolution photos (300dpi)
✓High-resolution designs/logos (300 dpi) on the documents if electronic kit*
✓Marketing pieces (promo brochure, catalogue flyer,etc..)
✓Cover art
✓Demo reel
✓Product (Reporters cannot accept products that are over 20 Ch.-)*
Reporters don’t really need the actual product. If the reporter think the product is helpful the reporter will ask for it
For TV and radio stations:
✓Short Q&A (interview) with questions the TV or radio can ask (How long it will take to answer the questions Ex: question 1 -27
sec)*
✓Include other media appearances to show TV and radio know you are a good guest and speaker*
✓Endorsement letters from other producers and editors*
If you don’t have a newsroom or a social media press release, save the electronic media kit in pdf format, zip and name «press kit
for ....»
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19. Why is the Web important for your PR efforts
Before Writing an Article Journalists and Editors perform Online Research
January 2010
91% use
65% use social media
89% use blogs
52% use
Source: http://www.gwu.edu/explore/mediaroom/newsreleases/
nationalsurveyfindsmajorityofjournalistsnowdependonsocialmediaforstoryresearch
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20. What are the advantages of the
Social Web in your PR campaigns
✓No intermediary, direct access to your target market
✓Conversation possible with your audience
✓Trustable source 92% of consumer are influenced by
word of mouth
✓Wide reach in short amount of time
✓Viral (possibility to share content easily)
✓Measurable
✓Survey your market in almost real time
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21. Social Media
Never pitch a journalist on social media but initiate a relationship
Be the voice of your industry on Twitter
Break up your press releases into 120 characters and tweet a part every day!
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22. Take aways
1-Know who you want to reach and how they consume
media
2-Is your news newsworthy? Why should the reader care?
3-Innovate: use the multimedia news release!
4-You need a newsroom
5-Use hybrid PR: the best of both world
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23. Questions?/Contact
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c.daar@commnation
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@catherinedaar
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