PUBLIC RELATION TIPS |
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| Consideration for your local media |
If you would like to get a local newspaper, radio or television reporter excited about covering events in your Rotary Club, the best advice is to do a little thinking about what his or her job entails.
Deadlines Situation: Reporters work under constant deadlines. They also have to deliver stories on deadline. They plan non-breaking news coverage days or weeks in advance, so they can be flexible when breaking news occurs.
Rotary’s Consideration: Be respectful of a reporter’s schedule. Find out when his or her daily deadlines occur and don’t approach the reporter at a stressful time. Get your requests for coverage in with ample planning notice. Don’t expect the reporter to drop everything because you forgot to call in advance. Remember: an oversight on your part does not constitute an emergency on their part!
Pressure to Produce Situation: Yesterday’s news is just that – yesterday’s news. Reporters are constantly under pressure to produce stories that inform and/or entertain, and to create a new and different approach to the same old story when need be.
Rotary’s Consideration: Help reporters find different angles to common stories. If you are asking for coverage of an annual event, provide the reporter with new, different or noteworthy items about this year’s event. Help them come up with their lead or hook for the story (hint: it is NOT that this is the 7th annual…; there has to be something more exciting about your event than that!).
More Stories that Space/Time Situation: Everyone thinks his or her news item is the most important. Unfortunately, someone has to decide which items get coverage, and which do not. That sets up a competition among entities for a reporter’s attention.
Rotary’s Consideration: Don’t ask for coverage on routine items. Make certain you have an event or speaker worthy of covering before you make the initial contact. That way, you won’t have used up your space/time before you really need it.
Ungrateful Recipients Situation: Often reporters go out of their way to help provide coverage for clubs and organizations, and rarely are thanked. Rotary’s Consideration: Say “thanks.” Wow, that was easy! |
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| When to Pitch Stories to Your Local Media |
| Katya Andresen, a former reporter and author of Robin Hood Marketing: Stealing Corporate Savvy to Sell Just Causes, says reporters ask three questions when they evaluate a "pitch":
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- • Why is this news?
- • Who cares?
As a Rotarian approaching a media representative, you should already have asked and answered those questions yourself so you are prepared to answer them when asked.
Why now? Timeliness is probably the biggest single factor in news coverage. A story often will be covered because it is happening or just happened. Even a good story that is out-of-date will probably be left out of the news lineup.
Why is this news? News, by definition, is the unusual. A regular meeting of your Rotary Club is not news, but a special speaker or event may be. The difference is whether the happening is routine or unusual. You will make friends in the media by not wasting their time with routine events, but by always giving them notice when the unusual occurs.
Who cares? Your local newspaper, radio and televisions stations are mass media outlets: their audiences are the masses. While a particular story may be of interest within your local Rotary Club, the media representatives must consider whether the story has broader appeal. The thresholds for broader appeal may be lower in smaller towns than in larger communities. Before you take a story idea to your local reporter, you should consider how many people outside Rotary will be interested in knowing about the story.
If you think others will care, by all means pitch the idea. When in doubt, pitch the story. Just keep in mind that your local media outlets have finite time and space. The gatekeepers at newspapers and broadcast stations keep track of which entities receive coverage and how often. The question of balance falls in making sure you keep Rotary’s name and activities before your community members without over-requesting coverage, so you have good will when your big service projects and other community events come around. |
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| Internal Club Communications – Are You Active or Passive? |
| Rotarians are busy people. That’s why they’re Rotarians. Remember the sage advice: “If you want something done, ask a busy person to do it”? And so it goes with good Rotarians.
Of course, the same qualities that make them good Rotarians may make it difficult to communicate club news effectively to them. Your members are on the go. They absorb their news and information in vastly different ways than members did 20 years ago. Even information disseminated at your weekly meeting may be lost on the Rotarian through the flood of fellowship and networking that takes place between the Rotary meeting and getting back to his or her place of business.
The solution? Be active. If you want your members to have top-of-mind awareness about your club, make sure you are effective in your information dissemination.
The easiest way to be prominent in your member’s information gathering is to utilize technology. Put together an email group, and perhaps even a text-messaging group, to send out club reminders and news updates. Be brief, productive and provocative. Don’t waste your members’ time, but don’t let them forget about Rotary in their busy week, either.
One suggestion for sending group emails: create a contact group using blind email addresses. That way, your club won’t inadvertently become the leak for an outside person to access your members’ email addresses without their permission. Also, when you want to print information from an email, it is nice not to take up half the page with irrelevant email addresses. And remember that your younger club members are part of the text-message generation. More and more brief reminders are making the rounds as texts on cell phones.If you give this communication method a try, just make sure your members sign up for the service. That way you can be sure their cellular plan allows for unlimited texts without unforeseen costs.
Everyone is competing for your members’ attention; you should be too. |
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| Basic Definitions to Help in Your Rotary Club Visibility Efforts |
It's easy to become confused about the terms “advertising,” “promotion,” “marketing,” “public relations,” “publicity” and “sales.”
The terms are often used interchangeably, although they refer to different – but similar – activities. Carter McNamara, MBA, PhD, with Authenticity Consulting, LLC, has presented some basic definitions for clarification. He has given me permission to adapt them for our Rotary clubs’ purposes.
One Definition of Advertising
Advertising is bringing Rotary to the attention of potential and current members. Advertising is typically done with signs, brochures, radio and television commercials, newspaper display ads, direct mailings or e-mail messages, personal contact, etc.
One Definition of Promotion
Promotion keeps Rotary in the minds of the members and potential members, and helps stimulate demand for membership. Promotion involves ongoing advertising and publicity (mentions in the media). The ongoing activities of advertising, sales and public relations are often considered aspects of promotions.
One Definition of Marketing
Marketing is the wide range of activities involved in making sure that you're continuing to meet the needs of your members and getting value in return. Marketing activities include "inbound marketing," such as market research to find out, for example, what groups of potential members exist, what their needs are, which of those needs your Rotary club can meet, how you should meet them, etc. "Outbound marketing" includes promoting your Rotary club through continued advertising, promotions, public relations and sales.
One Definition of Public Relations
Public relations includes ongoing activities to ensure your Rotary club has a strong public image. Public relations activities include helping your community understand Rotary. Often, public relations activities are conducted through the media – that is, newspapers, television, magazines, etc. As noted above, public relations is often considered as one of the primary activities included in promotions.
One Definition of Publicity
Publicity is mention in the media. Rotary clubs usually have little control over the message in the media – at least, not to the extent they do in purchased advertising. Regarding publicity, reporters and writers decide what will be said.
One Definition of Sales
Sales involves cultivating prospective members, conveying the advantages and benefits of Rotary to potential members, and closing the sale or proposing the prospect for membership.
An Example of the Definitions
The following example may help to make the above five concepts more clear. The story reportedly comes from the Reader's Digest, a quote found in "Promoting Issues and Ideas" by M. Booth and Associates, Inc. "... if the circus is coming to town and you paint a sign saying 'Circus Coming to the Fairground Saturday', that's advertising If you put the sign on the back of an elephant and walk it into town, that's promotion If the elephant walks through the mayor's flower bed, that's publicity. And if you get the mayor to laugh about it, that's public relations. If the town's citizens go the circus, you show them the many entertainment booths, explain how much fun they'll have spending money at the booths, answer their questions and ultimately, they spend a lot at the circus, that's sales.” |
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Thinking through Public Relations |
Public relations is the most complex piece of any marketing strategy. How you present your Rotary Club to your community in good times and in bad will dictate how your members, potential members, supporters and detractors think about your club. In a competitive climate for membership, no club can afford to leave public opinion to chance.
- Public Relations is defined as the managing of outside communication of an organization to create and maintain a positive image. Public relations involves popularizing successes, downplaying failures, announcing changes and many other activities.
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- When your goal is to grow your club, one of the most important things you can do is increase your visibility in your community. You can generate publicity for your Rotary club by alerting the media when you organize special events, honor members, host interesting, influential or unusual speakers, or do lots of other things Rotarians routinely do. Potential members need to see and hear what Rotarians do to make their communities better places to live and work.
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- The core of traditional PR is both the delivery and the creation of the message. This means developing different story angles for different publications or at different times in the development of a Rotary event, matching the message to the medium, and shaping the pitch to sell the story to local reporters. The power of PR is based on relationships with media.
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- One of Rotary’s strong points is relationships. We need to use our skills of fellowship and extend them beyond our clubs to reporters, editors and writers who cover our communities. An added benefit: our contacts with media members may result in new Rotarians as well!
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- Each club should assign Public Relations responsibilities to one member. A successful PR person must be a good communicator – in print, in person and on the phone. This Rotarian will cultivate and maintain contacts with reporters and media representatives in your community. They keep open the lines of communication between your club and your local newspaper, radio stations, TV stations and cable companies.
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How to Write a Media Release |
Keep your message brief and easy to understand!
Most media professionals prefer that the KISS (Keep it Simply Simple) Principle be followed in the media releases they receive so they can get right to the heart of the news matter.
Assign priorities among the points you’re making and rank them in the text.
In general, the most important ideas and sales points go at the top of the message. This tip follows the “Inverted Pyramid” model of news writing, and it assures that the critical items will not be overlooked for lack of time/space/interest level.
Try to be compelling. Don’t be afraid to convince. That does not mean shouting, getting “cutesy” or resorting to hype, but simply exhibiting persuasion guided by the passion of any Rotarian for the work of his or her Rotary club.
Maintain a clear identity. The Rotary logo is instantly identifiable. If your club has letterhead incorporating the logo, make certain your media release is submitted on that letterhead. If not, download a Rotary logo from the District 5520 website (under the “Downloads” section) and create your own media release letterhead.
Incorporate professional standards in your media release. --Make sure your release is typed and double-spaced. --Make sure it contains contact names and numbers (including cell phone numbers when appropriate) for the club members who can provide more information on the material in the release. --Make sure it contains the date of release, and a “use by” date if the information is timely (for example, “Use by Feb, 13, 2008” for a Valentine’s Day event). --Make sure you use a headline that briefly explains the purpose of the release. --Make sure your first paragraph contains the “who/what/where/when” of the event or news; the “why” may be in the first or second paragraph. --Make sure your thoughts are compressed.
The longer the release, the better the chance no one will read to the end!
Never underestimate the value of a media release. Releases are far too important to be limited to narrow uses. They can be the basis of a news story or they can provoke interest in broader news coverage. They are a fundamental tool of a Rotary Club in marketing its information. They also are a great help to your local media outlets. |
| How to get publicity for your Rotary Club |
Where to begin?
First, make sure you have news, an event, a finding or an announcement worthy of publicity. While we may think everything that occurs in connection with our Rotary Club is fascinating, non-Rotarians may not see things the same way.
Your local newspaper/radio/television editors and reporters will quickly grow weary of a club trying to garner an unrealistic share of publicity. On the other hand, your local newspaper/radio/television editors and reporters are always looking for a good story with hometown appeal.
Save up your requests for coverage until you have something truly newsworthy to share.
Do I have to write the story myself? Not usually. Often, media outlets simply need a “heads up” about an event or announcement and will gladly assign a reporter to the story. In a perfect world, a simple phone call or visit is all that’s needed to pitch your story idea.
Of course, no media outlet operates in a perfect world. Often your local newspaper/radio/television companies are short-staffed and over-burdened. That’s where any help your Rotarians can offer may increase your chances of media coverage.
At the very least, a designated spokesperson should be identified to the reporter so he/she has a go-to person when additional information is needed.
A one-sheet listing the who/what/where/when/why/how of the news event can be helpful in aiding the reporter with his/her story as well. And there may be times when a generated media release is the only way to help get your story reported.
What’s a media release? A media release has been defined as a pseudo-news story, written in third person, which seeks to demonstrate to an editor or reporter the newsworthiness of a particular person, event, service or product. It is basically a news story written by an interested party as if they were a disinterested reporter.
Few media outlets will use a media release exactly as submitted. That’s good news if the thought of seeing something you wrote for Rotary appearing verbatim in your local paper, or hearing your Rotary news read word-for-word on the radio, is intimidating.
A media release is often used as a skeleton or starting point for a reporter to tackle a story. Sometimes it takes that initial work being done for them to encourage a media outlet to pick up your story. |
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