What are the most important aspects of a solid PR strategy for your business? The million dollar question. Understanding your goals, objectives and audience, followed up with good media relationships, regular content shared across multiple channels, a strong social media presence and community outreach projects are all a good place to start. But have you considered media training?
What about media training?
Media training for your chosen spokespeople should form a vital part of your PR strategy and can help boost your brand in a myriad of ways. In this blog, we’ll explore the reasons why, and provide suggestions on how to implement media training with success!
What is media training?
As the name suggests, media training is all about educating your chosen spokespeople about how to interact with the media. In particular, it gives them the skills to be able to understand the media and their own requirements, respond to any questions confidently and with interesting insight, and communicate the essence of your organisation, in a way that reflects favourably on your brand.
For example, if your business has recently launched a new product or service, you’ll be keen to build a buzz around the launch. If any of your spokespeople are contacted about the product, it’s really important that they represent your company in the best way.
With media training, they will be able to;
– Adopt a tone of voice that’s consistent with your brand
– Use language that is positive, inclusive and respectful
– Identify any opportunities to promote other areas of your business
– Promote your products and service in a genuine and authentic way that resonates with the media’s audience
– Engage with their audience at individual level, using the right response based on the person they’re communicating with
Is media training really necessary?
If you want to protect the image of your brand, and showcase your business in the best light, then absolutely!
Media training isn’t just about avoiding any negative responses from potential spokespeople who may unwittingly say the wrong thing, although it does help those who fear that this might happen. It’s actually a really powerful tool to communicate your unique ethos and image as a brand.
Media training can also form part of your employee advocacy programme; a proven method for building your brand in an organic and cost-free way.
Employee Advocacy
People (both consumers and business folk) buy from brands they trust. So it stands to reason that if you can encourage people to trust your brand, they’ll be more likely to pick you over the competition.
Employee advocacy is one of the most powerful ways to build your brand image. In fact, 76% of individuals surveyed say that they’re more likely to trust content shared by “normal” people than content shared by brands. This was highlighted further in our recent research into the media consumption habits of IT security decision makers, 30% of whom have said that they have been listening to more podcasts during 2020, whilst a quarter plan to consume thought leadership via IoT devices moving forward.
By training your staff on how to engage with the media, and how to promote your brand in a genuine and authentic way, you’ll be more likely to gain trust.
Some more stats about employee advocacy:
– Brand messages reached 561% further when shared by employees vs the same messages shared via official brand social channels (MSLGroup)
– Content shared by employees receives 8x more engagement than content shared by brand channels. (Social Media Today)
– Leads developed through employee social marketing convert 7x more frequently than other leads. (Marketing Advisory Network)
– Earned media (press, word-of-mouth, peer-to-peer referrals) drives 4x the brand lift as paid media. (Bazaar Voice)
If your employees know how to talk about your brand and how to showcase what makes it unique, you’ll benefit from free PR!
Investing in media training as part of your PR strategy is a worthwhile cause and can benefit you across multiple channels like social media, PR events, press conferences, interviews and informal discussions.
How can Origin Comms help?
At Origin Comms, we have unrivalled experience and a natural flair for Marketing and PR. Years of experience working with some of the best partners and associates in the industry has enabled us to widen our pool of expertise.
This encompasses marketing professionals, event organisers, research houses and digital media specialists. We offer a service tailor-made to complement your business strategy.
Our services cover Marketing, PR and Digital Media and we’re able to offer media training to ensure your employees showcase the very best of your brand.
Get in touch with our team today to discuss how you can upskill your organisation in media training, and how Origin Comms can help.