Media Relations Psychology: Understanding Journalists
Posted on June 10, 2024
Squirrelpr
Media Relations Psychology
Understanding Journalists
Public Relations
Media Relations is the relationship between public relations professionals and media practitioners such as journalists, editors, or influencers with the aim of promoting brand awareness and visibility for a PR professional’s brand or company.
Psychology is the study of mind and behavior of a particular person, in relation to a field or activity.
Significance of Understanding Psychology in PR
A PR professional must understand their target audience before any campaign can be successful. This includes: Demographics (age, preference, location); Psychological factors (how they think, the challenges they face, how they would react to social media campaigns); Understanding the audience’s psychology helps in better satisfying their wants or needs.
Understanding Journalists
Time Sensitivity: Journalists do not have unlimited time. They focus on actual news that matters to their audience. Most journalists do not have the final say; their editors do. Bear in mind that accuracy is paramount to journalists as they do not want to be caught publishing or attempting to publish inaccurate news.
Effective Media Pitching: A PR professional must do the greater part of the work by researching, checking facts, and putting together a thoughtful piece of work worthy of coverage. A media pitch must conform to the laid-down rules of pitching. Understanding that journalists work with deadlines helps PR professionals create valid news articles that reduce journalists' workload.
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Creating Newsworthy Content: Newsworthiness is paramount. Wait until there is something worth telling before contacting a journalist or editor. Understand the kind of news that a journalist works on (beat). Research can help identify this, ensuring news articles are sent to the right person.
Clear and Effective Communication: Most newspaper houses and journalists aim to reach their target audience with clear, easy-to-understand language and writing styles. PR professionals should, therefore, present news articles, advertisements, communication strategies, or campaigns in languages and styles that are easy to understand, rather than burdening a journalist with these tasks.
Conclusion
PR professionals must understand journalists and reporters to effectively reach their target audience through media relations. The job is all about understanding people, and to achieve desired results, PR professionals must seek to understand both their audience and the journalists covering their brand.