We Have Moved To: The "Be Heard" Blog

We've moved this blog to Be Heard, which you can access at:

http://www.mmipublicrelations.com/blog

Patty and Gloria will no longer be blogging here -- but they are still blogging!

MMI Public Relations has rebranded itself and taken its blog to the next level. Please visit us there, and thank you for your support!

What is Considered "News"?

Photo Source

We steadily send out news releases about our clients every time something newsworthy occurs.







But what do journalists consider newsworthy? Here are some ideas.

• Your company has a new product or service
• Either you, your company or someone in your company has won an award
• You have been elected to a board of directors
• Your company has hired or promoted an employee
• Your company has just signed a major new client
• Your company has relocated or expanded its facilities
• Your company is sponsoring an event for a charity
• Your company has re-launched a new Web site
• Your company has significantly changed or improved a product
• Your company has expanded into a new market
• You are offering a seminar or giving a speech at a conference
• There is a new trend in your industry
• You are the author of a newly-published book

The reason to issue a news release is to get the media to call back and interview you. Even if the media does not interview you, however, a news release can result in a couple of sentences or a short paragraph in various publications, keeping your name in front of your target public.

The media wants to speak to an authority in the field. When a topic on which you have expertise is in the news, e-mail a news release or a pitch with a brief comment and state that you are available for interviews. Over time, the media will begin to associate your name with your profession, industry or field of expertise.

To distribute your news release, create it as a word processing document, then copy and paste it into an e-mail. Do not send it as an e-mail attachment. E-mail the news release to yourself and use the “BCC” (blind carbon copy) function to send it to your media list. This avoids distribution of the e-mail to hundreds of media outlets via the “TO” function, so that the first thing the editor sees is the 100 other e-mail addresses who received your release.

The Press Conference: How To Do It Right

By Gloria

Experts become widely known when they make original contributions to their field through ideas, discoveries, mergers and partnerships, and innovative products and services. A major breakthrough may be worthy of announcing at a press conference.

A press conference is one of the best ways to get the word out when you want to provide the same information to all media at the same time. Other methods include setting up a TV satellite tour or sending a news release over the wire. All news releases distributed by PR Newswire , for instance, are delivered directly to newspapers; national news services, such as The Associated Press, Dow Jones, and Reuters; trade publications; broadcast newsrooms; and thousands of Web sites, databases and online services, such as Yahoo!, MSN.com and AOL.com.

The Embargoed Press Release

An embargoed press release is the traditional tactic used by PR professionals to inform the media of upcoming news, while still keeping the announcement confidential to the public until the exact day and time of the press conference.

Date, Time and Place

Choose your date, time and place as much in advance as is feasible.

• Date: Make sure that your press conference does not compete with other major events in your area.


• Time: Mid-mornings are a preferable time slot for press conferences, as it gives media people plenty of time to meet their deadlines.


• Place: Choose a location accessible to satellite vans and a room large enough for multiple television cameras. The room should have tables, chairs and plenty of electrical outlets. If you hold the press conference on your own premises, determine any media tours, off-limit areas, and photo opportunities ahead of time.

Format

• Your list of invitees may include media professionals, bloggers and VIPs.


• Send each a media alert and follow up with a phone call to determine how many will actually attend.


• Coffee, tea, water and light refreshments are always appreciated.


• The format should follow the generally accepted order of a formal statement followed by question-and-answer.


• Consider having industry leaders or political figures give opening remarks, which signals a higher level of importance to the media and the public.


• After the press conference is over, provide a press release and background material to all attendees, as well as those who could not make it.