Gaining exposure through the media continues to be a great way for organizations to reach and influence various audiences. And, of course, today the “media” has vastly expanded to include not only traditional media (print and broadcast), but blogs and other online venues. Successful media exposure requires both proactive and reactive efforts. Whether you’re just developing a media plan, or have already been interacting with the media, here are some key steps and tactics to ensure the best results from your efforts:

1. Identify your overall goals and objectives. What are you hoping to achieve through your media efforts? If you’re a healthcare organization, chances are you hope to establish positive impressions of your organization and, perhaps, position it well against competitors. You may be hoping to raise awareness for a new service offering, or combat negative perceptions of your customer service or community outreach. Whether broad or very focused, it’s important to clarify what it is you’re hoping to achieve.
2. Clarify the audiences you are hoping to influence. While some may think of media coverage as “free” exposure, the truth is that your time also represents a cost to your organization. And, importantly, your time is finite. If you’re spending time pursuing coverage in venues that don’t really reflect your core audiences, you’re wasting your time. Think carefully about who you wish to influence. It may be the general public or it may be a business audience (that makes decisions about insurance options that drive consumers to your organization) or it may be referring physicians who, ultimately, direct patients to your organization.
3. Identify the media outlets that reach your target audiences most effectively. That may not always mean the most obvious. Sometimes a smaller audience of key influencers is more valuable than a broad audience that doesn’t contain a significant percentage of your desired market. You may have more than one list depending on your goals/objectives. For each list you will want to prioritize the media outlets, identify key contacts for each and start taking steps to build relationships with these contacts.
4. Identify key, general, messages that you wish to embed in all of your communications. What are the most important points that you wish people to take away from all of your communications? These are foundational messages that you will work to embed in all of your media exposure.