What are the best practices for building positive relationships with media through employee communication?

1 Align your messages

One of the most important aspects of media relations is consistency. You want to ensure that your messages are aligned with your vision, mission, values, and goals, and that they reflect your brand identity and voice. You also want to make sure that your messages are coherent and coordinated across all your communication channels, both internal and external. This will help you avoid confusion, contradiction, and misrepresentation, and create a clear and unified impression of your organization.

2 Educate your employees

Your employees are your ambassadors, and they can influence how the media perceive and portray your organization. Therefore, you need to educate them on your media strategy, policies, and guidelines, and provide them with the necessary tools and resources to communicate effectively with the media. You can also train them on how to handle media inquiries, requests, and interviews, and how to deal with sensitive or controversial issues. By empowering your employees with knowledge and skills, you can enhance their confidence and competence in media relations.

4 Monitor your media coverage

To measure the effectiveness of your employee communication for media relations, you need to monitor your media coverage regularly. You can use various tools and methods to track and analyze how your organization is mentioned, featured, and reviewed in different media outlets and platforms. You can also collect and evaluate the feedback and opinions of your media contacts and audiences. By monitoring your media coverage, you can assess your strengths and weaknesses, identify gaps and opportunities, and adjust your strategies and tactics accordingly.

5 Recognize your employees

Finally, you need to recognize your employees for their efforts and achievements in media relations. You can acknowledge and appreciate their contributions, suggestions, and feedback, and reward them with incentives, recognition, and praise. You can also celebrate and share their successes and best practices with the rest of your organization and your media contacts. By recognizing your employees, you can motivate them to continue and improve their performance, and foster a culture of media excellence and collaboration.

6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?