There are a lot of common mistakes financial, fintech and professional services business are making when it comes to dealing with the media, writes Kat Mitchell.
Ask an in-house communications professional what one of their biggest challenges is and a common response will be the overly confident but inexperienced spokesperson gone rogue.
By the time senior management get to the place in their career where they are expected to be talking to the media, many will have picked up several misnomers about the Great British Media.
Some of the common myths believed by inexperienced spokespeople I have put through media training include:
Off-the record
There is no such thing as off the record. It is a myth perpetuated by films and novels. You can ask for a conversation to be ‘off the record’ BUT you are trusting the journalist not to use what you said, you do not have a leg to stand on legally if they decide to go ahead anyway (and some will).
Quote approval
Journalists do not have to send you quotes that they are planning to attribute to you for you to approve. It is very rare that any journalist will agree to do this and many will be extremely insulted if you ask them to.
Interviews are puff pieces
There are many glowing interviews out there, but for every praise filled interview there is one with thinly veiled (or not veiled at all) criticisms. An invitation to a profile interview is not an invitation to sit and talk about how wonderful you and your company are. You can expect difficult questions, some of which may be quite personal, so make sure you are prepared.
If I say something and then immediately regret it I can just tell them not to publish that
It doesn’t work like that. Once it is out of your mouth they can quote you on it. Please make sure to think before you speak. If in doubt you can always ask a journalist for a little time to answer a question, or even to come back to them with an answer at a later date. It is better to say nothing than to say something you may regret later. Also bear this in mind if choosing to drink during a lunch or event with a journalist.
Embargoes are enforceable
You can’t just send over a press release with an embargo on there and expect every journalist to abide by it (although most will). If you want an embargo to be enforceable you need to get written confirmation from the journalist in advance.
What is the harm in that?
So you have someone who likes to talk to the press but doesn’t necessary know these are myths, any perhaps hasn’t had any kind of official media training. What harm can they really do?
The answer is a lot!
There are many organisations where rogue spokespeople, whilst having all the right intentions, have done real damage to the brand by speaking to the media without the proper training.
You only need to look at Elon Musk’s press interviews and their direct effect on Tesla’s share price to see a few good examples of rash comments having a direct impact on a business. There are certainly times I am glad I’m not running his press office.
They can cause brand crises with customers and the general public, significant internal company relationship problems (such as announcement of projects ahead of time or without the necessary sensitivities), and irretrievable damage to relationships with journalists who have gone on to criticise the company at every possible opportunity.
So how can I make sure no one at my organisation goes rogue?
Make sure you have a policy in place where no one in the company talks to the media without prior training. The policy needs to include the procedure for dealing with media enquiries, who is the media manager that should be notified about any contact, why this policy is in place, and what any penalties for deliberate non-compliance could be.
This policy needs to be communicated effectively across the whole company, and to all new starters, as anyone can be approached and put their foot in it without realising. Also make sure this policy is communicated to any temporary, shared, or contract service reception staff so they know who to pass any enquiries on to.
Any potential spokespeople that you have identified as being desirable to talk to the media (including senior management and any marketing staff) then need to be put through a comprehensive media training programme.
A good communications consultant can put together a programme targeted at those who have never spoken to the media before and those with previous experience. This programme can either be run by them or by a specialist media trainer, dependent on the communications consultancy you decide to use.
It is also important to remember that even those who have previously had training require regular refresher courses. I recommend clients put their spokespeople through a short refresher session once a year to make sure they remember all the essentials and are up to date with key media.
At Brandon Consulting we regularly put together media training programmes for a range of clients both large and small. These programmes can be surprisingly affordable and can save your brand from a lot of damage.
Get in touch today via our ‘Contact Us’ page if you want to know more.
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