How to Use Creativity to Build Strong Media Relationships

 By Chan Desai, Account Strategist — Otter PR 

Public relations is all about forging strong relationships, especially with media contacts. A network of journalists, editors, and media professionals PR professionals can turn to in order to get their clients seen and heard is integral to any successful PR career. 

Building these relationships takes work, but a dose of creativity can open up many doors to opportunity for you as a PR professional and your clients. Here are some tried and true tips for building strong media relationships creatively. 

Keep tabs on your favorites 

If you connect with a journalist, follow what they are talking about. Pay attention to what topics they regularly cover and see if you can add value to their talking points through your clients. Social media platforms have the “follow” feature for a reason, making it easy to keep tabs on the media personalities with whom you’d most like to build relationships. 

Add a personal touch

When reaching out to media professionals, a personal connection almost always renders positive results. Try reaching out to journalists or media contacts to say “I read this article that you wrote and here are my thoughts”. This shows them that you are not simply looking to secure a story from them, rather you truly care about the topics that they cover and you are actively engaged in their content. 

Interact on Twitter (X) 

Twitter (now X) is the proverbial Holy Grail for interactions with people that you do not know personally. This platform allows you to have a conversation without needing to get too formal or tactical. 

Find common interests 

It can be refreshing to interact with those who have interests in common with you. Finding those people with whom you share interests can allow relationships to go beyond professional projects. When you read an article that interests you and connect with the author, taking a personal interest in the person behind the byline can open up lines of communication and further the relationship. 

Share new creative ideas 

If you’re in PR, you often know about trending topics or headline-making news before anyone else, so feel free to share those tidbits! 

Contact the media professionals with whom you have forged relationships to give them the inside scoops. Become a valuable source of information for these media contacts, rather than someone who only reaches out to them when they are desperate for coverage. 

Maintain, maintain, maintain 

It can be easy to forget about journalists or other media contacts once you’ve already worked with them, but maintaining a consistent relationship with them is incredibly important. 

Keep commenting on their posts, add them to your LinkedIn, and share their articles. Relationships require work to grow beyond a one-time collaboration, and continuing to engage with those you have connected with in the industry shows you really care. 

Let your personality shine 

You are a unique individual — as are the hundreds (or thousands) of media professionals that you are trying to forge relationships with. While it’s important to maintain professionalism, that doesn’t mean that you cannot inject a bit of personality into your communications. 

You can be professional without sounding like a robot. Communicating with personality will allow media contacts to remember you, and think of you first when they have an opportunity perfect for your clients.