|
Working with the Media
If you want significant coverage for Nurses Week, you will need
to work with the media. You will be seeking publicity, not advertising.
Advertising costs money, publicity is FREE. In order to do
this effectively, you must make your plans in advance and notify
the media. Here are some steps to getting the publicity you want:
- Select a Media Relations Liaison from your Nurses Week Committee.
This person will keep abreast of scheduled activities and notify
the media when appropriate. A person with experience in media
relations is preferred, but any willing member can learn.
- Develop your ideas/activities and distribute to the media. It
may be a wise strategy to develop a fact sheet that so that every
one has the same information. For Nurses Week, these facts can
be used as supporting information in stories about nurses. Find
human interest stories about nurses and highlight them. Use printed
material to be consistent.
- Highlight institutions that have done positive things to support
nurses, such as maintaining nurse/patient ratios even in difficult
times.
- Be prepared to discuss key and current issues. You can contact
FNA for talking points or refer to FNA priorities for the current
year. Have stories of your nursing accomplishments ready to share.
Promote FNA membership by talking about member benefits and services.
Have a meeting to discuss media communication so that your team
is speaking from the same page.
- Create your own media list and send out press releases. Click
here for a sample press
release.
- Call the media well in advance. Do not expect coverage if you
wait until the last minute.
- Invite a local government official to participate in your event.
This may attract media coverage more readily. For example, have
the mayor or a local legislator speak at your dinner or reception.
- Alert your members and monitor your coverage to make sure it
is accurate and
promotes nursing in a positive light. Write thank you letters
to your media contacts,
if appropriate.
- Think like a journalist. The ideas you "pitch" to
the media need to be unique, timely,
interesting, unexpected, heart warming, inspirational, and/or
sensational,
or any combination of the above.
|
