We all know President-Elect Trump’s relationship with the media is, well, um, “complicated.” However, there are things that you can do to spin his techniques and adopt a new approach to your work this year.
1. It’s Not All about You
Unlike Trump who wants to cut the media off, look for ways to engage them more. How? Make it about them. Every time you reach out doesn’t have to be about something you’re pitching. Follow them, read their stories, show that you’re genuinely interested in their work.
Can’t stay on top of all the people you pitch? Set up Google alerts for journalists you’re trying to reach and others you’re in touch with regularly. By showing that you’re interested in what else they’re doing, you can develop a strong connection.
One thing to consider is telling them about a trend you’re noticing in the marketplace. That way they can feature a number of organizations (hopefully including yours), but they’ll get the credit for spotting the trend.
Pro tip: When pitching, do your homework. Read their stories from the past six months to make sure they haven’t already written about the same topic you’re pitching.
2. Throw Your Weight Around
Influencers wield a lot of power, but they can be difficult to reach. One way to stay on top of what they’re doing is to set up push notifications for their Instagram accounts. As soon as they post something, you can be one of the first to comment. You can also choose which outlets and accounts you see first on Facebook, so you’re always getting up-to-the-minute info about the source. Is Twitter your go-to? Get notifications as soon as your favorite handle changes their profile.
3. Learn Something New
To expand your knowledge base and see the world in a different way, learn a new skill. Work on a food account? Take a food photography or food styling class or learn all the foodie hashtags. Trying to beef up your social media acumen? Start following people who are killing it on social like Gary Vaynerchuk or Lilly Singh. Not only does it help you do your job better, but it sparks new ideas and fosters creativity.
4. Follow the Leader
With so many thought leaders out there cranking out so much valuable content, you can be a sponge for the knowledge they’re dropping. And you can have a lot of that info sent right to your inbox. Check out Seth Godin, Creative Mornings, Jeff Bullas, Ted Rubin, the latest in social media and more for smart, insightful and timely tips.
5. Share Something of Substance
It’s the sharing economy, so why not reach out to journalists with other content that’s relevant to them and not about you? Maybe a TED talk about being more playful that made you think of them, a fun tweet, a relevant Mashable article or some tips you learned on LinkedIn. They’ll notice an email that stands out in a sea of a hundred pitches, and you’ll be more top of mind when stories applicable to you come up.
6. Tame Your Trigger-Finger
We’ve all heard about Trump firing off late-night or early morning tweets. It’s a bad habit to develop, and one you will likely regret the next day. So think before you tweet. This school of thought applies to emails as well. Before you click “send,” be sure to double-check the spelling of the person’s name, make sure you’re actually addressing the right person and, of course, always reread your message to check for typos and other errors. It’ll save you a lot of heartache (and face) in the long run.
7. Show the Trolls Who’s Boss…Quickly
Throughout the Presidential election, trolls came out of the woodwork in droves to voice their opinions on a whole host of topics. Why? Because they could do it anonymously or not on social media and suffer little consequence. If your company or the brand(s) you represent get caught in the crossfire or are attacked head on, you need to respond and you need to do it quickly. Need some inspiration? See how Wendy’s gave a troll the smackdown in no time recently. Two words. Mic Drop.
8. Don’t Lie about the Facts
Trump (and other politicians) might fudge the truth, but our numbers never will. With Critical Mention’s real-time media tracking and reporting, there’s no need to check the facts. You can count on us to deliver smart and accurate metrics from television news broadcasts around the globe on the spot.
So, like any good politician, you need to have a good game plan. By implementing small changes now, you’ll make a big splash (and impact) later. Got some tips of your own that gave you a new approach to your work and helped you make your work great again? Tweet us
