Let’s admit it: there’s a certain thrill we receive when we get a positive reply to a pitch, or a reporter drops an email in response to our latest press release. No lie; I have double fist-pumped the air a time or two.
It can kind of feel like hitting the lottery. “Yes, that idea worked,” we might say out loud, followed by a hearty, “Woop woop!” “Huzzah!” or your exultant interjection of choice.
And while it’s exciting to get a media hit, if I walk away from that experience and don’t follow up, I’ve missed out on a very important media relationship development opportunity. Let me explain.
My former boss, Mark Weinstein at Cedarville University, did a phenomenal job serving the media. He would anticipate their interests and send them story ideas he knew fit their beat. And he was responsive to their last-minute requests. Even if Mark could not fill a media inquiry, the journalist knew that he had gone the extra couple of miles to find a high-caliber and respected expert.
Mark had many high-five moments getting important stories about the university on local, regional, and national media. But for Mark, it went beyond the fact that he had a media hit. In fact, he often talked about various reporters not as colleagues or business associates, but as friends. Some of the journalists he regularly interacted with were among his best friends.
Which raises a good question for us as PR professionals: Are we moving from a transactional business-only relationship with at least some of the media to genuine friendliness?
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