Building strategic relationships with the people important to the success of your business is critical.
These relationships can lead to new business, improved customer or client engagement, and an improved reputation and profile.
Here are our tips on some key ways you can build relationships with journalists, other professionals in your industry and your customers or clients to achieve business success.
Building relationships with journalists
In order to gain the media coverage your business desires it is important to develop and maintain a good professional relationship with journalists. There are several steps you can take to build and maintain these contacts.
Do your research
Researching and following a journalist’s work is always a good starting point when trying to build relationships with them. Read their articles, view their broadcasts or listen to their radio programs to get a sense of what they report on.
Social media is an excellent tool to use when starting to build a relationship with media outlets and journalists. Many journalists are on social media and use this channel to share their work and comment on issues of interest.
Start by following key journalists in your industry on channels such as Twitter, Facebook and Google+. Commenting or liking a journalist’s post is a great way to start a conversation with them. Ensure that your comments are relevant and add value to the post.
Following media outlets on their social media channels is another great way to keep up to date on the latest news, as well as gain an understanding of the types of stories they cover.
Identify and reach out to key journalists
Developing a relationship with at least one journalist at each major news outlet in your local area is an excellent start. Getting to know the reporters at your local paper or the producer at the local TV news desk are excellent ways to ensure consistent media coverage for your business.
Making contact with junior journalists is an excellent idea as they may be more willing to commit to writing a story you’ve pitched to them as they are often trying to prove themselves at the early stage of their career. Striking up a relationship with a seasoned journalist is also beneficial due to their extensive network and influence.
Give journalists what they need
It is important to try and go the extra mile for the journalist you are working with. If a journalist has questions, find out the answers as soon as you can and relay that information back. Find out what the journalist wants and how best you can provide it to them.
Ensure that you are straightforward and realistic when communicating with journalists in order to maintain an honest relationship.
Respond to their enquiries in a timely manner. By showing that you are easily contactable and are willing to help them with an issue you can start to build a relationship with them. Be accessible via email, phone and social media and respond promptly as required.
Building relationships with your industry
It is important to build relationships with those who work within your field. Building professional relationships with others in your industry can help attract prospective clients through referrals and partnerships.
Attend networking events
Attending networking events is an excellent way to make new connections, strike up friendships and meet like-minded people in various stages of their career.
By communicating and engaging with these people you can gain practical advice and inspiration to achieve your own goals.
When attending these networking events, it is important to listen to what others around you have to say. Take the time to find out about other people in your field and from there start to build a relationship.
The key to good networking is to go alone. Don’t take someone with you for support as you will inevitably spend your time talking to them rather than meeting new people.
Connect via LinkedIn
LinkedIn is an excellent social media platform that can help you stay connected with business contacts.
Adding contacts, for instance after each networking function, is a non-intrusive way of staying in touch. You are also able to look at your network’s connections to see if there is anyone that you would be keen to connect with.
Shifting your relationship online is an easy way to keep in touch, let each other know what projects you are working on, any upcoming job opportunities and share content that may be of interest to both of you.
Building relationships with your customers or clients
Making the effort to maintain and nurture relationships with customers or clients is critical. One of the best ways to do this is through social media where you can have a direct line to your customers or clients.
Connect via social media
Social media for businesses should be focused on building relationships with genuine customers or clients and driving engagement with your brand, and your products or services, as well as build your reputation.
It is likely that your current and prospective customers or clients are active on social media channels. Start creating a two-way dialogue with them by asking questions, answering other users’ questions and responding to mentions and comments.
Being an active participant in online conversations will not only help you build your online profile, but will strengthen the relationships between you and your online community.
Uploading good quality, timely content is an excellent way to start building a relationship that will benefit both you as a business and your customers.
Building relationships with journalists, those involved in your industry and your clients or customers relies on a two-way dialogue. You must ensure that you respond to all questions and queries in a timely manner, spend time nurturing the relationship and always do your best to meet expectations. Having strong professional relationships will help your business succeed, especially in an increasingly competitive business environment.
Sydney Public Relations Agency, CP Communications provides specialist media, traditional and online PR strategies that get amazing results. Contact us today. For more great tips visit our website www.cpcommunications.com.au.
