Promoting Your Event
Generating an Audience
- Send invitations to coalition partners and other important guests. Invite as many groups as possible to participate, even if they did not help plan the event. A broad and diverse group of co-sponsors will have more credibility and will attract a much wider audience.
- Invite the public. In addition to reaching your neighbors and co-workers, make an extra effort to market the event to the people you would like to attend. Outreach to coalition partners and your community can help you gain visibility and expand membership.
- Encourage the panelists and moderator to promote the forum. Speakers may have access to mailings, media interviews, and other organizations with which they work. It is often in their best interest to promote an event where they will be featured.
- Advertise your event for free on community calendars and through PSAs. Most local papers and other community publications include a community calendar section that lists upcoming local events. Local radio stations may also promote your event on the air as a public service announcement (PSA).
Working with the Media
Pre-Planning:
- Make a list - Compile a media list. Identify the reporters, editors, and departments in your state’s newspapers and broadcast stations that focus on priority issues and are likely to use your organization’s news. Create an information sheet that includes their phone and fax numbers and, if available, e-mail addresses.
- Designate a media spokesperson. Keep the spokesperson available to the media by placing their name on all news releases and mailings.
Prior to the Event:
- Send a media advisory - Three to five days prior to your event, fax a media advisory to the appropriate reporters on your media list. The advisory should include the “who, what, when, where and why” of the upcoming event. Be sure to include contact information in case reporters have any questions.
- Follow-up - Call reporters the day after you send your advisory. Explain that you are following up on your written materials. If they haven’t seen the materials, offer to fax them again.
- Prepare a news release –The purpose of a news release is to capture a reporter’s interest. Your news release should give full details of the event, including quotes from spokespersons and/or participants. In addition to your story, the release should include an attention-grabbing headline and the name and phone number of a contact person. Try to keep the news release to only one side of one typed page. Distribute a news release to the reporters who come to your event. Afterward, fax or e-mail it to reporters on your media list who did not attend, and follow up with a phone call.
At the Event:
- Prepare a table with a sign-in list and media kits - Sign-in sheets help you identify what reporters have attended your event. Media kits should provide all the vital information a reporter will need to cover your event. Include items such as an event agenda, statements from the speakers, a copy of the news release, and background information on your organization and other event co-sponsors.
- Talk with the media - Help reporters write a complete story by talking with each reporter in attendance. Offer reporters a quick interview before or after the program.
After the Event:
- Follow-up again - Contact reporters who covered the event later that day to see if they need any additional information or quotes to complete their stories. Even if they already have enough information, you may get an opportunity to correct any inaccuracies. Also call reporters who did not attend the event to offer additional information, including the media kit, in case they intend to publish an article on your event.
Tips for Keeping Your Message on Target
Media Advisories:
- Keep it short. Media advisories should be short and concise. Include only the vital details of your event: who, what, when, where, why.
News Releases:
- Grab their attention. Use the title line of your news release to attract attention. Think of the title as the ideal headline you would like to see or hear if the media covers the story.
- Keep it direct. Your news release should read like a news story. Say the most important things first, and use a catchy lead sentence to engage your reader.
- Use catchy quotes. Quotes in news releases should include a sound bite or visual image.
Interviews:
- Plan ahead. When possible, plan ahead for interviews by preparing 3-4 talking points. Identify the message you would most like to convey about the event or issue you will be discussing, and try to stick to it.
- Take time to gather your thoughts. If you receive an unexpected call from a reporter, ask what the topic is and deadline is for the story. If the deadline is not immediate, ask to call them back in ten minutes. Take the time to consider the issue and formulate what you want to say.
- Nothing is ever “off the record” in an interview. Never say anything to a reporter that you would not want to see in print.
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