Let me be brutally honest. I am sure you have a specific media outlet in mind when you think about the media. You may understand how wage and generic the term “media” is. No matter how you define it, and it does not matter if you have a specific media outlet, celebrity or journalist in mind. This is certain - they have no interest or capacity to read your mind.
Back in the days when I worked in the media, the internet was not widely available, and the number of media outlets was limited. Media attention back then had a very different meaning. It included professional, ethical, editorial and political lenses and decisions. Nowadays, a “girl next door” has the potential to develop a media outlet, and many of them are using that privilege. I am now keeping the spirit of brutal honesty asking this. If you complain about the lack of media attention, and if girls-next-doors can establish their media outlets, why couldn't you do it as well?
Cognizant that this sounds easier than it is, this suggestion reminds me of my first culinary attempts. Trying to prepare perfect donuts, I called my mom for help. “It’s easy; simply mix the ingredients from the recipe and enjoy! I hope you are also preparing something serious to eat, and not just that hokum.” - she is always happy to help. Needless to say, every time I simply mix the ingredients, I get a different result. Needless to say, she helped me to understand why clarity in communication is so crucial to get the message across. Every word she used could have had a different meaning for both of us. When she says “ingredients”, for her it means the exact quantities of specific elements. For me it meant something complex and definitely different from her combination. When she says “easy”, for me it definitely means “easy to muddle up”. Finally and luckily I gave up trying to make perfect donuts, but at least I perfected my own recipes.
Similar logic works with the media. When a press release from a non-profit writes “important”, or “urgent”, for the editor it comes to a pile of dozens important and urgent announcements. If the sender does not have its own contents, channels and resources, it gets less and less likely that a mutual understanding will be achieved. A logical question from an honest editor will be “why would you expect our media outlet or journalist to write about your ‘urgent and important’ issue, if you are not writing about it?”. A guarantee for failure to gain “media attention” will be the sender's attempt to justify the importance and urgency using arrogance, jargon, technical terms and acronyms.
An alternative story with a happy ending will surprise the media editor. She will learn from her cousin that an important project of a non-profit organization managed to support dozens of families in their neighborhood. She will call the organization representatives to prepare for an exclusive interview. On the web page and social media of that organization she will find stories, visuals, and facts to prepare a good show. Months before, the organization worked diligently to update their web page and social media channels. All participants in the project proudly shared photos and updates about their contributions. The organization made sure that all supporters, participants and beneficiaries understand the purpose, vision and mission of the initiative.
Was it quick and easy? Maybe not, but it was definitely worth the effort. Will the donor be ready to support the organization again? Will the people be inspired to take part in the next initiative of the same organization? Take a guess.
The media attention was a logical outcome of the invested energy. The media attention of a human rights activist Ana Kotur - Erkic is just one example how to start with the "own media" for a cause many other non-profits struggle to get media attention.
Can anyone do it? Probably.
First step is to set the intention and to clarify the purpose and vision of the initiative. That will ease communication and increase chances to inspire more supporters and partners.
Depending on the existing capacities, make sure that communication is considered an important part of the initiative. Do not wait to finish everything to start talking about your work.
Make sure to document your intention, goals, principles and key messages. That way it will be easier for all participants to stay on track
Regularly remind everyone involved to share their experiences from the project with their friends, families and neighbors. Make it easy, with templates, suggestions and recognition.
Plan communication experts, interns, volunteers in your team and, prior to that, do not forget resources for production and distribution of contents.
Join the celebration of significant days relevant for your cause, establish and support partnerships
Make your work and your team visible consistently on your own channels
Finally, make sure the media can easily access the information about your project and organization in case of interest for your initiative.
In the end, do not expect everyone to care about your organization, your project or your results. Even if people in the media or celebrities care about your cause and want to support you, they may have other priorities at the moment when you request their attention. Establishing partnerships with the media and building trust takes time and mutual understanding. Don’t expect others to read your mind. Just like perfect donuts, everyone can come up with their own recipe. If you want to promote yours, don't rely on mind-reading.
My EASY recipe is based on the digital content strategy. Anyway I am always interested to hear good alternatives.
Comments