Small Businesses Managing Media Effectively

Effective media management can go a long way toward reducing on-the-job headaches. It will take a little time, and practice, but with proper planning you can learn to deal with the media and effectively cultivate good press contacts.

Throughout all of your planning you have to be flexible and learn to “go with the flow.” It’s important to have some kind of a plan. However, things don’t always go as planned and a reporter’s deadline will not always mirror when you are ready, able and available to release information.

Flexibility is one key to success with the press.

It’s also important to remember that there are no permanent friends or enemies in the media. One day, a reporter does a positive story involving your business or organization and the next one could be negative.

Despite what many anti-press pundits would like you to believe, the media is not always out to “get you” or unearth a controversy. The majority of reporters just want to make their deadlines, do their jobs well and go home at the end of the day.

It’s important that you be proactive in your approach to media management. If you own a small or medium sized business or run a non-profit organization you know that things are not going to get done unless you do it yourself. The same can be said for media management. It’s up to you to watch the news, read your local newspapers and listen to the radio. Pay attention to the hot topics of the moment. If an issue arises that possibly impacts your profession or cause then you should consider calling the local news folks and offering your input.

You can use the current news of the day to your advantage, whether that news is good or bad. If there is a string of nasty muggings in your community and you run a karate school, call the local media and offer to provide self-defense tips to the public at some type of community forum. If you read the newspapers and see that the government is considering limiting the tax breaks on big-ticket items and you run a tax preparation firm, consider calling your local media and offering yourself as a resource to tell people about the new laws and how they will impact people.

There are countless ways to proactively participate in news coverage that will produce positive results.

You have the power – through the media – to educate and if you can educate people then you can have some impact on public opinion. In addition to having some impact on public opinion, you can also help inform the public about what your group, organization or company does.

And to think you learned it after reading this blog! It gives me goose bumps!