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PR Leads Publicity Articles
Media Tactics
By Dan Janal
Your Fearless PR Leader
PR Leads
www.prleads.com
Accomplishing the tactics-often called communication-is the third phase
of the public relations process, following research and planning.
During this phase, practitioners attempt to complete well-defined
actions in order to achieve a written plan's objectives. Each tactic
targets a particular public and covey messages that will appeal to the
receiver's values and at the same time promote the sender's objectives.
A wide range of effective tactics can help organizations communicate with their traditional publics, which includes employees, the news media, investors/shareholders, community groups, governments, customers, and vendors. Practitioners generally target the news media as an intervening public. Using various media vehicles, organizations are able to maintain maximum exposure, and carry messages to a greater number of people within their primary public, whether it is local, regional or national. To place a message in the news media, practitioners must use a variety of tactics that can possibly appeal to various editors and producers who decide which stories to report on, and which ones to reject. Below are some of the widely used tactics used to target television, radio, newspaper, magazine, and trade publication media sources:
News Releases:
This can be considered the most common form of public relations writing and the most important document the field. Many published news and feature stories originate from news releases, which are also know as press releases. Ideally, a news release is an objective, straightforward, and unbiased news story written in AP style format and distributed to appropriate news media in order to announce a company's news or to publicize its products and services. Sometimes, a release is the basis of an entire story, other times, an idea in it suggests a related story of affects a story a reporter or editor already has in progress.
Media Kits:
Public relations professionals use media kits to publicize complex stories that have many newsworthy elements. A media kit packages at least one press release along with other supporting documents such as brochures, product samples, fact sheets and backgrounders.
A fact sheet is a well-organized detailed list of information on an organization and its products and services.
Like news releases, backgrounders are usually written as stories, but they are not news stories. They are meant to expand the brief company histories or the biographical information of key people noted in your release.
Media Alerts:
Media advisories are often issued as a reminder to targeted key reporters and editors about events they may wish to cover. Like a fact sheet, a media advisory isn't written as a story, instead it simply lists the necessary information the 6 basic questions: who, what, where, when, why and how.
Pitch Letters:
In certain instances, a pitch letter is a replacement for a news release. A pitch letter is a letter to a journalist or editor that "pitches" a story that may not be important but it is still very interesting. Quite frequently pitch letters are used for softer human-interest stories that could generate favorable publicity for an organization.
Actualities:
Actualities are quotable quotes and can be used as sound bites for radio stations. Actualities are usually placed on cassette tapes and distributed to radio stations accompanying a news release, but it can also be distributed through an organization's website.
Public Service Announcements (PSAs):
Public Service Announcements are free advertisements created by nonprofit organizations to publicize their services. The news media do not charge for PSAs as they do for commercial advertisements.
Letters to the Editor:
A letter to the editor allows a member of your organization to express an opinion on an important issue surrounding your community.
Interviews:
One way to publicize your organization's goals, and its products, services and points of view is to offer a high-ranking knowledgeable official to different news media for interviews. If you are an author, you may want to appear on various morning and afternoon talk shows in order to produce publicity for your new book. Through experience I have realized, before an individual or organization is able to capture the attention of radio and television executives in order to receive interviews, they must first build credibility. Once a newspaper recognizes your organization by writing a feature piece, it should become much easier for your organization to access different media vehicles. For example, I recently created and distributed a press release on how the martial arts may benefit someone with mental and physical disabilities. Before a feature article was published in a local newspaper, television editors showed no interest at all in covering the story. But, once the karate school gained coverage, a producer from UPN 9 News had contacted my client. Moral of this story is to have patience as with any public relations tactic. Some of your ideas in action may result in quick replies, while others may evolve over time causing you to continually evaluate your communications plan before you make your next move.
This article can be reprinted if the following information is printed:
By Daniel Janal, dan@prleads.com, http://www.prleads.com
PR Leads founder Daniel Janal is the author of numerous books, including "Dan Janal’s Guide to Marketing on the Internet.”
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