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Manage your P’s and Q’s

There can be huge benefits from good media coverage, yet many business people are not good enough at getting their messages across to the audiences they wish to reach.

A fledgling travel company started by a couple from their kitchen table, let The Guardian newspaper know about their tailored walking holidays to scenic places around Europe. Their story appeared in Saturday’s travel section and by Monday morning they had received 2,000 enquiries from interested readers. It launched their company on a path to success.

Telling the TRUTH

This is a true story. And it contains some lessons many businesses could learn from. 

T – Firstly, their story was topical for the readers of The Guardian when it appeared.

R  – It was also relevant to those readers.

U – At the time, their offering was unusual in the travel market, which was why the travel editor decided to cover it in the scarce space available in the travel section.

T  – Many stories that appear in the media are bad news stories, they talk about “trouble.” But this story was the opposite, a good news offering.

H ­Human or humour – this story, together with pictures of people enjoying themselves on the hoof, made it readable and full of human interest.

The TRUTH mnemonic is a useful one to remember when trying to get your story out there. This is the agenda of media outlets. It’s what they look for in a story idea. So think carefully about what you want to say and to whom. Also, keep it as simple as possible with just, say, three main messages. That way editors can easily decide whether it’s right for their readers and their readers in turn, will get what the story is about.

No jargon

And a word on language, by the way. Avoid jargon at all costs. There are likely to be far more people in the world who do not understand the jargon of your business and the market you operate in, than those who do. Again, keep it simple. A “mobile communications device” is a “phone” to most people. As Lucy Kellaway, once pointed out in the Financial Times, the “hair management system” introduced by Speedo was actually a bathing cap.

The trouble with journalists however, is that they don’t always ask the right questions. And the right questions as far as your business goes, are the ones that allow you to deliver your messages. So what to do when interviewed?

ABCDE

There’s another useful mnemonic we can use for this. First of all:

AAnswer, or at least initially acknowledge the question and, if you can’t answer it, explain why. Then…

B – Bridge to what you want to say. “I can’t say what the outcome of Brexit’s going to be but I can say that our widgets will still be the best that money can buy.” Next…

C – Communicate. “Our widgets are made from the highest quality materials and will last you a lifetime.” And while doing that…

DDangle an interesting piece of information that is bound to draw from the interviewer the question you’d like to answer, “Not only that, but our widgets are excellent value for money.” The next question will surely be, “So how much do your widgets cost then?” which enables you to give an…

EExample. “Well I’m glad you asked me that, because we’ve got our mark II widgets on special at the moment. We’re doing a six-pack for just four pounds fifty, and you can use them for all kinds of tasks around the house”

Simple as ABC really. However, there is one vitally important word that underpins a successful media campaign or appearance: preparation.

Have you thought about what you want to say to whom and when? And, indeed, why and how you’re going to say it? Don’t just wing it.

Finally, remember Gerald Ratner’s speech that sunk his jewellery chain. Here’s how not to tell the world about your business. The videos are still on YouTube, 28 years later.

Richard Willsher is a finance journalist, and media trains business people with Electric Airwaves.

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