Do you want to generate more leads for your business?
If so, then you should consider doing a media interview. By articulating your company's story in an engaging way to journalists can reap significant rewards including generating leads, promoting your brand, and establishing you as an industry thought leader.
The media interview helps potential customers discover a business, products or services because it helps build credibility and trust. A media interview promotes the executive as an expert in their field which in turn helps attract new leads from potential customer who may not have heard of your business before.
There is also an opportunity to build relationships with journalists who may write about your industry or sector. By developing these relationships, you can increase the chances that your company will be featured in articles, which can lead to more publicity and exposure.
Here are some tips on how to make the most of a media interview:
- Be prepared. Before the interview, take some time to think about what you want to say and how you want to say it.
- Be engaging. Remember that the goal of the interview is to generate interest in your company and its story. To do this, you need to tell your story engagingly. Practice beforehand so that you can deliver your message in a clear and concise manner.
- Be interesting. Journalists are always looking for stories that their readers will find interesting, so make sure you have something to say that will capture their attention.
- Be yourself. The media want authentic and genuine stories, so don’t put on an act.
Bad interviews can be a disaster for your company by making you look unprepared and unprofessional, and may even damage your relationship with the media.
Practice and preparation prior to the interview will help ensure that you deliver your message in a clear and concise manner.
Avoid these common mistakes during a media interview:
- Rambling. If you ramble, you’ll lose the attention of the journalist and likely end up saying something that’s off message. So when you’re answering questions, make sure you’re focused and to the point.
- Talking too much. It’s important to answer questions thoroughly, but you don’t want to go on for too long. If you do, the interviewer will get impatient and may cut you off. This is critical if giving a live TV or radio interview where time is precious.
- Failing to prepare. This is key. Don't forget to check your email or the news before your interview; there might be an issue relevant to your company / industry.
- Sounding scripted or rehearsed. Avoid reading out information. By all means have information with you for referencing, just don't read it out. If you have rehearsed an answer - maybe relating to a sensitive area - your delivery should be natural.
- Repetition. If you have a few interviews on one day, you may find the same question(s) come up repeatedly. Make sure each time this happens, your answers sound fresh.
Use Facts and Figures to Illustrate Your Story
For broadcast interviews, facts and figures stick. No need go over the top but deliver some to keep the anchor and viewers / listeners engaged. A common ploy is to compare a number with an object people readily identify with.
If you’re doing a print interview, you have a little more leeway in terms of what you can talk about. You should still focus on being interesting, but go into more detail than you would for a broadcast interview. This is your chance to tell your company’s story with highlights and key milestones weaved in; even if the information doesn't appear in the resulting coverage.
Unless you’re a well known celebrity, rock star business executive, or politician, your actual time on TV and radio will be limited to five to ten minutes, meaning answers have to be packed with goodness.
If you’re doing a print interview, the length will depend on the publication and the type of article being written. A longer feature article will give you more opportunity to tell your story, but even for a shorter news piece, you should still aim to be interesting.
Promote Your Company
While you shouldn’t use an interview as a chance to pitch your product or service, there’s nothing wrong with mentioning your company if it’s relevant to the conversation. Just make sure you’re not coming across as salesy or pushy.
End on a High Note
When you’re nearing the end of the interview, always try to leave the journalist with something interesting or memorable. This could be a quote, an anecdote, or even just a piece of advice that you think the audience will find useful.
If you ever get asked by a journalist if you have anything to add, never, ever say no. Use the opportunity to repeat a key message or promote your company one more time.
As a recap, here are a few points to make you the superhero of media interviews:
- Be interesting and engage with your audience
- Use facts and figures to illustrate your story
- End on a high note
By following these tips, you will make the most out of your next media interview and generate some great leads for your business.
If you are interested in media relations or want a discussion about your public relations in Hong Kong or Asia, please contact eight@eightpr.com