We’ve worked on a few different PR campaigns that involve a lot of local stakeholders, from award winners who want to share their win with local media to on-the-ground spokespeople in different regions who can share local insights.
If you have a large PR campaign with many local stakeholders, leaning on their local connections can help extend the coverage of your story, and bring some local credibility and relevance to it, but it’s important you make sure they’re well equipped with the tools they need to make their PR efforts successful.
The tools of success
Your local stakeholders know their local area really well – but are they across the detail of your campaign, the key messages and your goals? Have they worked with media before, or could they use a bit of guidance?
A media toolkit can really help here – give your local stakeholders assets they can customise for their local media, and tips on how to pitch and speak to media about the story. A local media toolkit can be made up of:
Template media release – a customisable release that has all the important key messages and info, but with the generic information like name of the local spokesperson/business, what region they’re from, and the name of the award can all be swapped out. This makes it easy for them to tell the story, even if they don’t have much media experience, and helps them stay aligned with your campaign. Plus, they’re busy – if you can do some of the work, they’re more likely to follow through.
Media pitching instructions – a media release is often only as good as who you send it to and how you follow it up. Make sure you give your local reps some tips on how to find their local media contacts (if they don’t have any already) and best practice for sending and following up a story with a journalist.
Interview techniques – often, your local spokespeople don’t have much experience with media interviews, so it’s important you provide them with tips on how to handle interviews, and what to do if any tricky questions come up. It’s also a chance to emphasise with them the key messages of your campaign you want them to get across.
Don’t forget about the importance of utilising your local connections when it comes to your next PR campaign – some of our clients have been able to double their media coverage thanks to the support of a local media toolkit. Feel free to drop us a line if you want to know more! hello@hc.net.au
Alex Williams