The connection between individual businesses and the media has blurred over the last decade or so. With technology that has the potential to connect us all directly into each other’s homes as well as social platforms that link the world together, businesses need to be more media savvy than ever.
Business Media Training
Speaking to journalists and media outlets is becoming increasingly common for all businesses and organisations. This may be because you have achieved something interesting or have a new product to show the world, other times it might be that your company is going through a difficult period and the media wants a comment for a story.
Here are some of the benefits of including media training for your business:
- It can set you apart from competitors. Many news outlets have a list of experts they can call in particular industries and sectors when a story breaks. That means you get your business on TV or in the newspaper as a respected expert in your field, something that helps garner trust with existing and potential customers.
- Handling the media when something has happened related to your business is a high-pressure situation. Most big corporate CEOs, for example, will have had some sort of media training before they go in front of the cameras and explain their point of view. You will see them every day on 24-hour news outlets, appearing on programmes like Watchdog or offering advice to people.
- While you may have experience speaking in public, standing before the media can be challenging and unpredictable. You have to remain clear minded and focused. You can’t get flustered and you have to say the right things in very short space of time. Most people go their whole lives without appearing in front of a camera – it’s not an easy thing to pick up and get right first time if you don’t have the training.
- Of course, your media exposure may well be confined to industry publications and organisations. It could be just for a local need. These situations are also pressurised although to a much lesser extent. Being prepared and having the appropriate talking points or responses ready is just as important.
- Media training can also help with other aspects of your business. For example, if you want a team that is great at pitching ideas to potential investors, all the aspects of media training come into play when you’re standing in a boardroom trying to sell your idea. This kind of training has a range of applications that can be used specifically for the media but also in the wider business world.
Talking to the media can be fraught with problems. There are numerous examples where comments made by interviewees have been either misinterpreted or taken out of context. Learning how to handle this kind of interaction means that your business has someone on board who knows what to expect and can prepare accordingly. That doesn’t always mean the person who is the most knowledgeable in your company – talking to the media is often as much about what you don’t say as what you do.
If you’d like to find out more about how media training can benefit your business, contact us today.