Do you know how to take full advantage of media opportunities that come your way? When a reporter calls, you need to stay on your message and use the interview to your advantage.
Staying on message is easier said than done. Have at least three strong talking points teed up for any media interview. Answer these basic questions to help craft your talking points:
What is unique about your products or services?
Why is it important to your audience, not just to you?
How can you solve the readers/listeners/or viewers' problems and meet their specific needs?
Are you qualified to shed light on the interview topic?
Does your expertise match up with the subject?
No matter how short your media interview is, work in at least one of your talking points. If you don’t it is a missed opportunity. You need to nail the first interview to generate future media interviews and bring positive attention to your business.
But what if the media is calling you, not to tap into your expertise or to showcase your products/services--rather because you are in the middle of a crisis? That's when you need professional PR or media training help.
I can think of several small businesses that were badly impacted by negative press coverage because they didn't have a media plan in place. A small investment in media training could have helped them control their communication crisis in today's viral world where time is of the essence.
Many solopreneurs and small business owners think media training is a luxury they cannot afford since they often operate as "one man bands" running their own social media, P.R. and marketing. As a small business owner, myself, I get it. We wear a lot of hats and feel like we must do it all. Through a process of trial and error, I have found that it pays to ask for help and reap the benefits of other people's expertise. I invested in a two-day workshop in social media a couple of years ago and it really helped me hone my social media skills. I knew the basics but there was so much that specialists in social media taught me.
Women Media Pros’ has just introduced media training/crisis communications via Skype and FaceTime Sessions specifically for small businesses and solopreneurs--to fit their smaller budgets and work around their time schedules.