Media relations has always been the cornerstone of an effective PR campaign. But are we losing sight of this traditional form of tactic? Furthermore, are we jeopardising our relationship with the media by failing to explain what ‘news’ is? A recent campaign by Resonates for IBC SOLAR UK looks at these issues.

It was the first exhibition I had been to for a few years. It also happened to be one of the largest. Ecobuild took place over three days in March at ExCel London, the international exhibition and convention centre spread over 100 acres in the heart of London’s Royal Docks.

As I was herded on and off the DLR travelling towards ExCel with thousands of other visitors, I could tell this was certainly going to be a busy few days.

Ecobuild is described as the UK’s largest construction event of any kind and the world’s biggest event for sustainable design, construction and the built environment. The size of the guide map illustrating the location of each stand would certainly support this claim.

The event allows companies of all sizes to showcase their latest eco-friendly products to both the trade industry and consumers. With more than 1,500 exhibitors, practical demonstrations, talks and a comprehensive seminar programme, three days just didn’t seem long enough to fit everything in.

Solar activity

One part of the North Hall appeared to be attracting a considerable amount of attention. There was perhaps more solar activity here than predictions made about the solar storm earlier in March. Ecobuild’s Solar hub was dedicated to the UK’s solar industry. This part of the exhibition offered practical guidance for installers, presentations and advice for consumers wishing to reduce carbon emissions and mitigate rising energy costs. It also provided the opportunity for leading solar PV firms to demonstrate innovative developments and new solar technology.

For some time there has been doubt over the future of the UK’s solar industry, following recent adjustments to the Government’s incentive scheme. IBC SOLAR UK was just one of many companies demonstrating how solar PV still offers attractive rates of return via the UK FiTs (Feed-in Tariff) and how the company’s 30-year experience in the industry is helping installers weather the solar storm.

Sociable media

One of the best ways of communicating company information to installers, customers and the general public is exhibiting at trade shows. If, however, you’re trying to reach a wider audience then a media relations campaign can prove highly effective.

Journalists also attend a number of trade shows and events held throughout the year in their relentless quest for news and industry comment for blogs, news websites and trade publications. This presents an ideal opportunity for clients (and PR professionals) to meet the media under one roof.

Journalists are very busy people and notoriously hard-pressed for time.  To give you an indication of this, we contacted a few. Editor Emma Hughes at Solar Power Portal – a leading UK renewable energy resource for all things solar and FiT related – receives around 500 press releases a month, Claire Griffiths, editor of Roofing Today will receive an average of 1200 per month while John Leyden, security writer for The Register, may receive up to 100 news releases a day. These figures don’t take into account other news sources such as blog posts, Twitter feeds, LinkedIn and numerous other social media sites.

But journalists aren’t competitive about the number of news stories they receive each day – far from it. Up to half of these emails may get deleted. Often described as irrelevant or poorly written, many news items receive short shrift from journalists. Some may say it’s not the size of your inbox that counts but the quality of what’s in it.

Claire Griffiths at Roofing Today explained, “You’d be surprised (or perhaps not!) at how many releases I receive which could be made relevant but are obviously angled to other media…it is helpful if the sender knows whether they are submitting a promotional press release or a news release submitted for inclusion in our industry news pages. A little research goes a long way.”

Clearly, there’s a lot of competition to get noticed by the media. Once you’re on their radar and have started to build a reputation as a trustworthy source of accurate, relevant and interesting news, then the process of generating positive news coverage becomes slightly less challenging.

There’s no doubt that social media has changed the way we deliver news and even how it is written. Keywords and phrases enable search engines to identify companies that are active in the social media space. Keyword-rich news releases allow search engines to optimise and rank companies. However, with a shift in focus towards digital PR, we shouldn’t forget the importance of actually meeting journalists face-to-face. Putting your face to an anonymous news release or email pitch may, over time, help develop a professional relationship with the media. While there’s no guarantee this will result in column inches of positive press coverage, it does say a lot about you and your company. It demonstrates your understanding and willingness to work with the media and realise the value editorial coverage has to offer.

In just one week, Resonates managed to secure several media interviews for IBC SOLAR UK with some of the solar industry’s leading publications. These included, Solar Power Portal, Roofing Today, Electrical Contracting News (ECN), Roofing, Cladding & Insulation (rci), Energy in Buildings & Industry (EiBi) and Build It.

PR tactics have evolved. Social media, search and optimisation are no longer buzzwords but well-established tactics in the marketing communications toolkit. However, let’s not forget the importance of building positive relationships with journalists through targeted media relations campaigns.

A simple start would be to identify four or five key journalists or bloggers in your industry, introduce yourself and your company and highlight some of the issues you feel confident discussing. Follow these contacts up with timely, relevant and well-written news stories and you’re on your way to establishing a useful list of media contacts. With this in mind, perhaps we should be thinking about becoming more sociable than social?