In public relations you can’t stray from accepted and ethical practices.  If you do, you will lose the respect of reporters and editors, incite the ire of your boss and possibly lose your job. 

What are the some of the things to think about before reaching out to the media? 

Details

Check the spelling in the copy that you send to reporters.  Be sure to know a reporter’s beat before you pitch to him/her. Make sure you know what certain terms and acronyms mean, so that you and those in your company who are spokespeople can talk about them intelligently when asked.

Transparency

As a private business owner, you are not obligated to speak to the media about anything.  Still, if you reach out to the media to share good news, you also need to be accessible and transparent when the news is bad.  Depending on what the bad news is, if you’ve made a mistake and someone took your business to task via social media, contact that person and fix the issue offline.  If there was media coverage about it, state that there was an issue and your company has taken measures to correct it. 

If something bigger than a social media complaint occurred, like a fire or accident, you need to provide factual information. Of course, in situations like this you need to seek legal counsel before you make a statement. Still, once you get the okay from your attorneys, you need to let the media know what happened and within the guidelines set by your attorneys and the local or state government, indicate what you are going to do to make things better. 

Choose the right spokesperson

Granted, not everyone is the best public speaker, yet if someone is going to be the face of your company, he or she must be:

• Articulate and well-spoken
• Well-versed in the company and the issue at hand
• Amenable to instruction
• Accessible to the media
• Able to stick to the agreed statement without straying from it

Notice there was no mention of being the best speaker.  There are times when being an expert public speaker can be a hindrance.  For example, the CEO of a corporation is usually someone who is known to be articulate.  In 2010, Tony Hayward who was the CEO of BP at the time, made this statement to the press after an oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.  “There’s no one who wants this over more than I do.” So far, so good.  Then comes this: “I’d like my life back.”  Not so good. 

Make sure your spokesperson is both articulate and humble enough to stick to the accepted script. You don’t want someone who thinks he or she can do better than the accepted statements or thinks expressing a personal opinion is okay because it “keeps it real”.  As shown by Hayward’s comment, you can end up sounding very insensitive.

When the news is good, it is easy to follow the accepted PR procedures. Still the accepted procedures aren’t just for good news, they can help you manage your messaging when the news is bad.  While you can’t always improve a bad situation with PR, you can help mitigate the damages and salvage your company’s reputation with all of its constituents.

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