“The money flows as a function of the story.” Don Valentine, founder of Sequoia Capital.
Public relations is an effective measure for cultivating and managing brand reputation. It plays a crucial role in engaging various stakeholders, including customers, employees, investors and your community at large.
Before a company progresses with a public relations strategy, it's important to define key messaging (what you want to say), understand the landscape you’re operating in (journalists and publications relevant to your audience) and your pitch (ensuring every pitch is timely, relevant and offers something new to the journalist you’re trying to engage).
The well-known idea in relationship management “lines, not dots” rings true for how public relations should be considered. Building and cultivating a good reputation for your company externally (achieved through a successfully delivered public relations strategy) includes engaging key media with the right message, consistently. Sharing what needs to be shared, not more, and building relationships over time.
Below are a range of considerations to think about before engaging press. Including:
Understanding key journalists and publications
Regardless of whether now is the time to be pitching to media, it’s important to understand the media landscape in which you’re operating. This means following, engaging with and reading what key media outlets are focused on.
Creating a media list to follow key journalists is a crucial first step in successful PR outreach. The process to building a targeted media list is outlined below.
Identify your target audience and relevant media sectors
Before you start compiling your list, determine who your target audience is and which media outlets they consume. This will help you focus your efforts on the most relevant journalists and publications.
Research and identify relevant journalists
Once you've identified your target audience and media sectors, start researching specific journalists who cover topics related to your industry or vertical. Look for those who have written about similar stories or expressed interest in your subject matter. Also consider setting up Google Alerts for key words you would like to track, including your company name and full names of all thought leaders in your organisation, as well as other business leaders your company/individuals aspire to emulate.
Build your media list with details
For each journalist, collect the following details:
Note: email addresses can often be found on publication websites, while phone numbers are harder to find. Gather what you can, then tools like Rocket Reach or other aggregators can be used to find additional details. If you’re still unable to get a journalist’s email address, they’re often active on at least one social media account, and a media release can also be shared with a generic publication email (although this is not ideal).
Defining the ‘tentpole’ moment – build your strategy
When your company has a defined ‘tentpole’ moment, which could include recent funding, global expansion (with large growth numbers) or thought leadership, it’s important to build a PR strategy that ties into the overall messaging and goals of the company. Resources on Campfire that assist with this, include Defining your PR strategy.
Key messaging - what goes into a pitch
Just because you have the right point of contact at a publication, it doesn't mean your story is going to land — and with PR professionals outnumbering reporters (particularly in ANZ), it's harder than ever to break through. Pitching tips include:
Crafting a press (or media) release
A press release, also known as a media release, is an official statement delivered to news media for the purpose of providing new information, creating an official statement, or making an announcement directed for public release. An example of a media release Folklore Ventures has distributed for a ‘Tentpole moment’ can be found here.
Note: there’s benefit to reading Defining your PR strategy along side this explainer, prior to writing your press release. Once the need for a press release has been validated, follow these steps as a starting point:
Managing press opportunities
Once media (an opportunity with a publication/journalist) has been secured, if you’re providing a journalist/publication with access to a key member of your team, it’s important your team member is briefed accordingly. In addition to briefing them prior to the engagement, this often includes:
Follow up and next steps
In line with an ‘Always on’ approach to public relations, it's important to send thank you messages post interviews, come back with any responses that might add to the opportunity and confirm when each opportunity will be published. Maintain a list of press who have engaged with you/your spokesperson and reach out periodically with updates they might be interested in. Building these relationships over time can lead to positive exposure and outcomes for your business.
This resource, and any guidance within it, must not be relied on as legal advice. We recommend that you seek specific advice to deliver an outcome best suited to your situation.
“The money flows as a function of the story.” Don Valentine, founder of Sequoia Capital.
Public relations is an effective measure for cultivating and managing brand reputation. It plays a crucial role in engaging various stakeholders, including customers, employees, investors and your community at large.
Before a company progresses with a public relations strategy, it's important to define key messaging (what you want to say), understand the landscape you’re operating in (journalists and publications relevant to your audience) and your pitch (ensuring every pitch is timely, relevant and offers something new to the journalist you’re trying to engage).
The well-known idea in relationship management “lines, not dots” rings true for how public relations should be considered. Building and cultivating a good reputation for your company externally (achieved through a successfully delivered public relations strategy) includes engaging key media with the right message, consistently. Sharing what needs to be shared, not more, and building relationships over time.
Below are a range of considerations to think about before engaging press. Including:
Understanding key journalists and publications
Regardless of whether now is the time to be pitching to media, it’s important to understand the media landscape in which you’re operating. This means following, engaging with and reading what key media outlets are focused on.
Creating a media list to follow key journalists is a crucial first step in successful PR outreach. The process to building a targeted media list is outlined below.
Identify your target audience and relevant media sectors
Before you start compiling your list, determine who your target audience is and which media outlets they consume. This will help you focus your efforts on the most relevant journalists and publications.
Research and identify relevant journalists
Once you've identified your target audience and media sectors, start researching specific journalists who cover topics related to your industry or vertical. Look for those who have written about similar stories or expressed interest in your subject matter. Also consider setting up Google Alerts for key words you would like to track, including your company name and full names of all thought leaders in your organisation, as well as other business leaders your company/individuals aspire to emulate.
Build your media list with details
For each journalist, collect the following details:
Note: email addresses can often be found on publication websites, while phone numbers are harder to find. Gather what you can, then tools like Rocket Reach or other aggregators can be used to find additional details. If you’re still unable to get a journalist’s email address, they’re often active on at least one social media account, and a media release can also be shared with a generic publication email (although this is not ideal).
Defining the ‘tentpole’ moment – build your strategy
When your company has a defined ‘tentpole’ moment, which could include recent funding, global expansion (with large growth numbers) or thought leadership, it’s important to build a PR strategy that ties into the overall messaging and goals of the company. Resources on Campfire that assist with this, include Defining your PR strategy.
Key messaging - what goes into a pitch
Just because you have the right point of contact at a publication, it doesn't mean your story is going to land — and with PR professionals outnumbering reporters (particularly in ANZ), it's harder than ever to break through. Pitching tips include:
Crafting a press (or media) release
A press release, also known as a media release, is an official statement delivered to news media for the purpose of providing new information, creating an official statement, or making an announcement directed for public release. An example of a media release Folklore Ventures has distributed for a ‘Tentpole moment’ can be found here.
Note: there’s benefit to reading Defining your PR strategy along side this explainer, prior to writing your press release. Once the need for a press release has been validated, follow these steps as a starting point:
Managing press opportunities
Once media (an opportunity with a publication/journalist) has been secured, if you’re providing a journalist/publication with access to a key member of your team, it’s important your team member is briefed accordingly. In addition to briefing them prior to the engagement, this often includes:
Follow up and next steps
In line with an ‘Always on’ approach to public relations, it's important to send thank you messages post interviews, come back with any responses that might add to the opportunity and confirm when each opportunity will be published. Maintain a list of press who have engaged with you/your spokesperson and reach out periodically with updates they might be interested in. Building these relationships over time can lead to positive exposure and outcomes for your business.
This resource, and any guidance within it, must not be relied on as legal advice. We recommend that you seek specific advice to deliver an outcome best suited to your situation.
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