How To Build and Maintain Relationships With Key Media Contacts

Let’s face it, building and maintaining relationships with key media contacts is crucial to the success of your brand.

It can be overwhelming and intimidating, especially for smaller brands and startups, but don’t worry – we have your back!

Establishing and maintaining relationships with media contacts is like any other relationship. Trust, loyalty, compatibility and cooperation are all necessary.

Over the years, media contacts have become the dictating force of social trends and patterns. They have the ability to use their platforms and tools to communicate what’s in and what’s out. Using this to your brand’s advantage is key as this could make or break it…

Read on for some of our teams’ best tips and tricks to help you build and maintain relationships with key media contacts:

Do Your Research

Before reaching out to any media contacts, researching the person is a must! Make sure you know which publications and media outlets your target audience reads, and find out who the key journalists and editors are in those outlets. Why waste your time or theirs if you are pitching to the wrong person?

Use platforms such as Google News, LinkedIn, Instagram, Twitter and even TikTok to see what stories and content they are creating. This will provide you with a good indication of what they are interested in writing or posting about. This will give you a better understanding of who they are, what they write about, and how you can make a connection with them.

Make A Personal Connection

When reaching out to media contacts, make sure to personalize your email or pitch. Mention something you admire about their work or how it relates to your brand. A personal touch can go a long way in establishing a relationship.

Although almost every aspect of marketing your brand is online these days, it’s always nice to know there is a friendly face behind the screen. A hot tip that we have here at Flaunter, is making the effort to catch up – organise a zoom meeting, or a call on the phone to discuss the details of your brand’s pitch and progress. But don’t take it personally if the answer is no… Media are very busy people, like all of us, really. But, these meetings and catch-ups will help develop a stronger, deeper relationship long-term as you get to know one another on a more personal level.

Be Timely and Relevant

When sending a pitch or reaching out to media contacts, make sure it’s timely and relevant to their current work. Don’t send them an email about your new product when they’re in the middle of covering a major event.

Offer Unique and Compelling Content

It’s a competitive media landscape, especially in the fashion world. So, when you’re offering information to a media contact, make sure it’s unique and compelling. A unique angle or exclusive information can set your brand apart from others. Creating something different, fresh and insightful may just push your brand past the finish line.

Follow Up and Follow Through

Following up is key to building and maintaining relationships with media contacts. If you promised them something*, make sure you follow through. And don’t be afraid to follow up after a few weeks if you haven’t heard back. A gentle reminder can go a long way in keeping your brand top of mind.

*If that something is a higher res image, RRP, or more product info, make sure you have all that in your Flaunter profile. That way, a media contact can simply download your image ready to publish immediately as they have everything they need and don’t even require a follow up!

Show Your Gratitude

When media cover your brand, make sure you show your gratitude. Send them a thank you note, or a small token of appreciation. This will help keep the relationship strong and foster future opportunities.

Get social

If a journalist is taking the time to brainstorm, write and share content about your brand, make sure you use it wisely. Create more buzz for your brand by sharing the story with your own audience, customers and the people who support you. Re-share, tag and mention the journalist who publishes a story about your brand to boost the readership and views, and also show your media contact that you can help them get more recognition too.

Building and maintaining relationships with key media contacts can be a lot of work, but it’s worth it! By following these tips, you’ll be well on your way to securing coverage for your brand and establishing long-lasting relationships with media contacts.