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A PR and Media Relations activity capable of leading to the achievement of relevant (and ongoing) results must necessarily be based on the development and constant training of various skills, ranging from strategic capabilities to the skills concerning writing, going through deep knowledge of the media landscape, caring about accounting dynamics, and even insight, planning, and workflow management.

Nothing can be left to chance, because those in the role of PR Specialist and PR Manager find themselves representing the voice of a brand or personal brand, and every little activity must be implemented with a sense of responsibility, extreme care and delicacy.

In this ecosystem, in addition to the more technical aspects, we can identify 5 useful actions to improve certain areas of PR and Media Relations activity to increase the strategic and operational level, thereby increasing the chances of achieving excellent results (articles, in-depth reports, interviews, TV and radio reports).

Focus on elaborating useful questions to construct increasingly in-depth press releases and media alerts, going to explore angles that are never superficial.

To develop this activity it may be useful to listen to-or read- interviews with a special focus on the (curious, original) questions that are asked of the interviewee. We are not referring only to interviews handled by journalists, but we can also consider conversations that arise between two professionals working in another field. The suggestion is to Take note of questions that try to go outside the usual circuit. 

For example, Tim Ferriss, in one of the latest interviews published in his podcast, he did not just ask his interlocutor "Tell us about a failure," but asked "What was your favorite failure?". 

Use of third-party data as assist.

In this case, sources such as Statista and Axios become valuable environments in order to take cues with a view to presenting the context being discussed.

Let us show you a concrete example in this regard: here is an attack of a press release written for a company we followed as an agency during 2020. It reported precisely on research reported by Axios.

Sending this statement to targeted journalists led to the publication of several articles, including this piece in Today: https://www.today.it/innovazione/tech/coronavirus-oggetti-utili-innovativi-covid-detector-lunii-delo.html

Get used to analyzing the cut of articles, in depth.

On the one hand, it becomes increasingly crucial to study the language and structure of articles, to "get used to" a writing style capable of approaching the dynamics of journalism. On the other hand, in parallel, it is vital to analyze the heart of the content, the "whys," the flow of the pieces, in order to understand, for example, what points are being made but not explored in depth.

In fact, this mechanism could make it possible to identify areas that are still "virgin" in terms of content and therefore potentially more attractive to journalists.

Such an approach can be especially useful in the case of highly media inflated topics. Still in the same critical spirit, one can analyze the foreign media, comparing them with those in the country where he is concentrating PR activity, to embrace a similar line (if deemed effective).

For example, if one of the topics that is receiving extensive media coverage is related to ChatGPT, reading foreign media articles regarding the same topic can become instrumental in developing new communication cuts for the company we are following.

On April 23, the New York Times reported an interesting article, which may offer some new and different insights (for dealing with the issue) than the usual paths taken.

Identify and take note of the most interesting PR actions, taking care to trace them back-if possible-to the original press release.

For example, in 2019 Patagonia issued a press release regarding a documentary it had made ("Artifishal") and the company places all press notes in an area of its website. In this case, the structure and content can be analyzed.

https://www.patagoniaworks.com/press/2019/4/18/patagonia-releases-a-documentary-about-the-high-cost-of-fish-hatcheries-fish-farms-and-human-ignorance

Moving away from examples of "global" scope, it is in any case possible to conduct the same research for smaller, lesser-known brands through careful media analysis. 

(There are also media outlets that pick up on press releases without changing the text, and this gives us insight into the PR and Media Relations strategy of other, perhaps competing, entities.)

Finally, a very simple tip (but as trivial as it may seem, it is a useful action that is often underestimated):

Getting used to using new words

Keep a notepad handy, to write down (read, reread and study) the most interesting expressions and words found in articles, books, guides, to explain concepts (especially complex ones).

Book "PR and Media Relations for Small and Medium Enterprises"

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