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Writer's pictureTara McCarthy

How Media Training Can Help Businesses Boost Their Brand

Updated: Sep 17, 2021




Brands are hard to avoid in the digital age. Whether you are reading about them in an online newspaper, or scrolling past them on social media, brands are more visible now than they were decades ago due to the surge of consumption in digital platforms.


It is important to remember that a brand is an umbrella term that can cover a lot of things. A brand can be a company or a business, but it could also be a person. What is crucial to understand is that a brand seen in the public eye is reliant on its reputation as explained in the previous blog.


One of the common goals that businesses and celebrities both have is to appear desirable to the general public to boost their popularity. This is important as popularity can be linked to increasing profits or establishing partnerships that may be beneficial for a brand. Ultimately, these are business goals, and each company or public figure can have a unique goal in mind to position their brand accordingly.


Knowing the power that reputation can have towards a brand, businesses are very thoughtful when it comes to promoting their brand. They try to analyze every aspect of how a communications campaigns can affect a brand’s standing with the general public. The role of earned media coverage is a significant contributing factor. For this reason, many brands and celebrities have a designated public relations or communications team that assists them in navigating the media.


Even a single misstep can be catastrophic for brands as explained in a previous blog, which is why many companies conduct research to understand the trends and behaviours of audiences. A study by SproutSocial found that 64 per cent of consumers want brands to connect with them, which is why it may seem evident that a lot of brands have expanded their reach to digital platforms to appear more “connected” with their audiences.


However, understanding how to position a brand in a positive and advantageous way is important in achieving the desired business goals. lic relations expert Working with a public relations expert is the way to be strategic and develop a program designed to deliver on specific objectives.


BOOSTING A BRAND WITH MEDIA TRAINING


Although paid media is a good tool for building awareness, it lacks credibility because it is a commercial message coming from the brand itself. Third party endorsements, achieved through earned media are always more credible than self promotion.


With media training, businesses can better understand how to positively position themselves in the media and discuss their initiatives proactively to help achieve objectives.

Consider the lessons below that media training can provide to businesses and public figures.


1) Being Authentic, not Opportunistic


Although the general public may not have a comprehensive understanding of how public relations works, they may still be able to tell when something in the media sounds way too good to be true. The vast majority of consumers value authenticity when it comes to the brands that they support as explained in an article by Forbes.


However, consumers may be put off when a brand tries to come off as being opportunistic in a given scenario. Take the example of German fashion house Hugo Boss which faced immense backlash in China in March after other Western brands vowed to not use Xinjiang cotton due to labour concerns as reported by Reuters. Hugo Boss decided to release a statement in the Chinese social media platform Weibo which assured its consumers that it will not follow the steps of other brands who will not use the cotton, but the post eventually got deleted due to backlash from social media users who saw the brand as trying to capitalize off of its Chinese audiences.


Brands have to be conscious with the messages that they release, and with media training, apublic relations expert can provide tips on when to chime in on a certain situation. Sometimes, it’s best to practice silence or to find other events that may be worth weighing in on.


2) Building Relationships with Journalists


Media coverage is earned when you are able to capture the attention of journalists publishing their stories in major news outlets.. Even if you have the contact information of a journalist, the chances of your pitch being adopted are slim. They receive thousands of pitches every day and in order to capture their attention your idea needs to be timely, relevant and new. PR professionals are experts in this domain. They spend their careers nurturing relationships and understanding how to feed into the news cycle in a way that helps journalists get their jobs done accurately.

Media pitching can be very complex, and not all companies have the internal capabilities to successfully pitch to a journalist. With media training, a public relations expert can help develop a newsworthy narrative around your initiative and provide you with messaging and an approach that will have greater appeal to journalists.


Understanding the preferences of journalists is important in building a relationship with the media. By doing this, a brand can be more successful in achieving earned media, and they over time, could even reduce the reliance on paid media to get exposure and build public awareness. .


3) Understanding a Brand’s Audience


Every brand has a target audience that it caters to. Understanding your audience, and how your brand brings value to it, is important for successful marketing. Successful brands seek out like minded partners and affiliations to maintain consistency across all touchpoints. The idea is to be consistent with your brand and what your audience has come to expect from it.

Conducting an audience analysis is a crucial step in identifying the behaviour of a given audience. Media training can help companies and brands better understand how to best communicate with their target audience. Audiences vary wildly in terms of lifestyle, psychographics and values. Understanding how to speak their language helps you break through, positively. ..


The purpose of understanding a brand’s audience is to also create more value delivers the best return on investment. . If a brand is considering a partnership with a company that does not align with their target audience’s values and lifestyle, it is unlikely to support your objectives and goals.


ABOUT BULLETPROOF


Bulletproof is a communications agency that provides media training services and effective communications strategies to help individuals and organizations achieve their objectives. Our team consists of strategists, trainers, and journalists who understand the media, and the importance of public relations and communications to achieve desired goals.


Bulletproof media training is led by Tara McCarthy who has over 20 years of experience in building reputations and is an expert in strategic communications, public relations, and media training. The Bulletproof team of veteran strategists and trainers can teach you or your corporate teams effective strategies to promote your brand more effectively


Bulletproof is an agency specializing in media training in English and French. Free consultations are available by filling out the contact form at www.bebulletproof.co.


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