In PR, the old “smile and dial” approach — going down a media call-sheet, interrupting busy journalists with things that weren’t related to their everyday stories at all — has been replaced with new tactics like inbound and real-time media relations, which are much more effective in the 24/7 nature of today’s media environment. Inbound media relations is much like inbound marketing. It’s the strategy of relying on useful information your target audiences will want instead of using interruption-based tactics like telemarketing.

Try creating a blog in which you can publicize your own news when you want to — allowing you to build an audience without having to use the media as a middleman.

There are several things to do that make it easier to keep track of such an enterprise:

• Think of a list of stories and write them yourself — be the journalist and answer the five W’s (who, what, when, where, and why) to build a solid foundation.
• Research what keywords you’ll use and find a balance between what you want to write about and what your audience will want to hear from you.
• Build your audience by writing often, measuring reactions, and studying what works — this will even help get journalists to you.

If you prefer a different method for publicity, real-time media relations is more exciting but more strenuous, requiring a real-time connection to everything happening in media so that you can put your stories and people into the news cycle. Tips for this technique include finding the top news sources in your industry, and the top topics you’re able to talk about by looking for news events which create openings for your comments. Keep a contacts list for media outlets and try to prepare media responses in advance. This lets you prepare for multiple opportunities in which your spokespeople can make comments and enables you to adapt to unexpected occurrences.

Utilizing these strategies is the best way for you to gain significant publicity for yourself and your clients on the level you really want. Read the full PR Daily article, “The Two Emerging Media-Relations Skills Every PR Pro Needs,” by Jeremy Porter.

If you’re in healthcare, insurance, technology or other professional services industries, and need help with a PR, marketing or social media campaign, contact Scott Public Relations.

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