Managing Media: Should you train your internal people or outsource your media management?
Large corporations often grapple with whether it’s better to have a team of in-house people trained to talk to media or outsource media management when needed.
There are pros and cons to both approaches. However, I know from experience that you will see additional benefits when you train a team of people within your organisation.
Amber Daines Media Training has a media focus, but at its core, it is about effective communication.
And while we do ensure that your people know how to prepare a media policy and plan, are trained to manage media in a crisis, learn how to develop and communicate in “sound bites,” and take control of a media interview, amongst other things, underpinning all of these strategies is how to communicate much more effectively.
As a by-product of our media training, your people will develop strong, confident communication skills transferable across all business areas.
You will experience a positive difference in how people who have completed our media training lead teams, engage stakeholders, make presentations, conduct interviews with potential hires, increase sales, minimise misunderstandings, miscommunication, and mistakes and deal with conflict resolution.
I’m often fond of saying that my time as a journalist was fun, interesting, and adventurous … but also a great training ground for life.
I learned invaluable communication skills I might not have discovered in another profession. And I’m passionate about sharing these skills, particularly now, as businesses embrace the digital age.
As we do more business online and less face-to-face, communicating effectively is more vital than ever before. Businesses must, whether they like it or not, embrace short video promos, podcasting, a regular social media presence, and an effective website … and back it up with solid customer service to stand out in the global marketplace.
Everything boils down to how you communicate with customers and clients, from when they first start researching you to making the sale and developing a longer-term relationship.
The same goes for your staff, suppliers, and partners, too – excellent communication is at the heart of all successful business transactions.
It makes sense to train your people – you will immediately see a return on the investment.
We offer a range of media training options for corporates, depending on need, budget, and time allocations. You can opt for face-to-face training, although our online media training is becoming increasingly popular because it allows much more flexibility when people’s schedules are busy.
You can choose from the following Corporate Media Training Packages:
Because we tailor the training to your organisation, we can work with actual scenarios the business might face to provide meaningful context to the theory. Doing this gives your team a sense of how things could play out in a crisis or how they might approach media with a new innovative product or service.
Mock interviews, mock press conferences, mock live crosses and even surprise on-the-spot interviews give your team an experience that’s as close as possible to the real thing, so they can feel prepared when the time comes. And we tackle the tough stuff – handling rapid-fire questions, how to answer questions you might not know the answer to, and reframing negatives, all while staying cool, calm, collected, and ‘on message.’ We also make it fun!
The additional benefit of training your people is that you can choose who you want to have ready and prepared to front the media – while the CEO or the Chairman of the Board is typically the apparent choice, consider specialist subject experts too, and department heads who have some seniority and credibility.
Some organisations also train their HR and Marketing people because they are generally the ones who are developing internal and external communication messages for a range of reasons and audiences, and increasing their ability to communicate across a range of different mediums makes good business sense.
The media landscape is changing rapidly – stories can go viral in moments for all the wrong reasons, and it only takes one public mishap to damage your reputation. Be business savvy and get your people ready. Even if you don’t have to face the media imminently, your business will benefit from upskilling your people.
“The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.”
― Dr. Seuss
When I interviewed successful entrepreneurs, CEOs, and small business owners for my two books: “Well Said: How to be heard in Business and Generate Real Influence” and “Well Spun: Big PR and Social Media Ideas for Small Business,” I discovered that one characteristic they had in common, and something they attributed to success is this:
They know they don’t know everything. And that’s why these individuals work to build diverse teams and surround themselves with experts in areas where they don’t have the right skills, knowledge, and expertise.
That’s certainly the mark of a good leader. And while good leaders are confident and capable and typically good communicators, it’s always worthwhile remembering that we can, as individuals, continuously improve.
This is especially true of communicating – not just with our teams but also with our clients, prospective clients, and the wider community.
It is particularly true of communication right now. Digital media has exploded, and the media landscape is changing rapidly. While it’s true that many of the traditional media presentation strategies and skills remain the same, the big difference is two-fold.
Firstly: Speed. Everything in the media space is faster and more immediate than ever.
Secondly: Reach. You can ‘go global’ at the touch of a button.
So, are you prepared?
Whether you want to refresh your knowledge to up-skill for the new landscape or whether you’ve never done media training before, we have the perfect media training course for you.
It is comprehensive and convenient – AND you can train online, including two sessions of face-to-face time with me – at a time that suits you. The flexibility of the sessions means you’ll be able to fit them into your schedule when you have the appropriate time to focus, learn, and get the most out of them.
In the online media training, we cover a range of topics, including:
We also delve into some technical practicalities which will help ensure that you invest in the right equipment to set you up for success, enabling you to do media interviews from your office, home, or wherever you are. The media won’t wait – so you need to be available – and nothing kills your media opportunity faster than technical failures.
If technology does fail, we’ll give you some tips for making the most of the situation – with a short text statement, for example. I believe that my extensive years working in media makes our training different – I can give you the benefit of first-hand experience.
With the news cycle working so quickly, many advantages exist for companies looking to build their brand and connect with a broader audience. Some days are still slow news days, even when there are deadlines to meet, and these offer fantastic opportunities if you have a story ready to go!
The disadvantage of the fast news cycle is that you can get caught if the news affects your industry or your business, and you are not adequately prepared when the journalist comes knocking at your door.
We’ll help you prepare for a crisis, or a surprise phone call, sell your story and maximise any media opportunity.
Many people believe that getting “in the news” comes down to sheer “good luck” and “timing.” This is not true. Journalists will always be interested in stories that are interesting, unusual, and relevant …. And if journalists can be sure, they can rely on a confident spokesperson with good information.
We know that you’ll get great value from our online media training – we’ll give you plenty of practice scenarios that you can walk away from the sessions armed with all the tools you need, as well as an excellent understanding of what’s required from you when you’re in the spotlight. We’ll also help you put together essential strategy documents to have a plan at your fingertips for when the time comes.
What’s more, everything you learn will benefit how you present your company when you generate your own social media posts, resulting in more exposure and engagement.
You can read more here. Or contact us with any questions or to make time for your media training.
In the meantime, don’t forget to follow us on Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn.
Every day we see large corporations making headlines for all sorts of crises. And sure, they have large-in-house communications teams, media savvy CEOs, and big budgets to pull in all the resources they need no matter the time of day or night, which is why they tend to get the stories on and off the front pages without too much drama or reputational damage.
But the truth is that smaller businesses are vulnerable to crises too.
Are you prepared if you’re faced with some emergency that needs you to front up to the media?
I meet a lot of small business owners and entrepreneurs. Inevitably on the journey of business growth, there comes the point where media training is a must. If not to make your in-house promo videos look more slick and professional … but also because when you start to gain brand awareness and media attention, you must manage your media attention well.
In a crisis, it’s imperative.
You might think that is not going to happen to you. Still, I have to warn you that the odds of you having actually to face the media at some point are higher than ever before, simply because these days, thanks to social media, multiple media platforms are available to anyone, at any time, 24/7 with a smartphone and an opinion to share.
We offer a range of different workshops, but one I often recommend to companies with smaller budgets is our crisis media training. Why? Because it’s comprehensive, the strategies and skills you and your team will learn to apply are applicable not only in a crisis but they will also serve you well in all areas of your external communications at any time.
Crisis media training is not just about ‘fronting’ the media – it’s much more.
It is about ensuring you know how to answer questions and how to ‘lockdown’ the narrative so you can take control, protect the type of information you want to share, and mitigate the risk to your business reputation.
In a crisis, you need to strike a balance between being seen as competent and caring. Your organisational spokesperson/spokespeople need to come across as ‘in control’ and authoritative but also compassionate. This takes confidence and experience, and we aim to help you develop both in our crisis media training.
Our media training is designed specifically for:
The best time to do crisis media training is now – well before a crisis arises. Businesses need to be prepared for the unexpected, mainly because the media won’t wait for you to get your act together when you’re in the middle of a disaster.
What’s more – if you don’t respond immediately, you can do even more damage to your reputation. Audiences can be unrelenting when they want answers they don’t think they’re getting. There is a great need to be open and take the lead and control the story.
Our crisis media training will also allow you to develop a media crisis management plan should you ever need it. This is an excellent exercise because it will make you think about the potential risks and threats you might face and how to work effectively as a team in a real crisis. This includes such core competencies as practical, hands-on issues management and crisis control, the best possible ways to prepare – what to think about – and reputation management – displaying grace and confidence under pressure.
The training simulates real scenarios and uses role-playing to give you real experience, not just the theory. The significant difference between what we can offer is my expertise as a journalist. I know how the media works. Importantly, you’ll walk away with a clear understanding of how the media works in a crisis. During my time as a television journalist, I saw companies that do crisis management well, and some that have done this very poorly. I can help you to develop the skills to minimise the impact of any potentially ‘bad’ news and protect your reputation.
The training will also help you to understand other important aspects of clear communication, including:
So are you ready? There’s no time like the present. Let’s talk about tailoring a workshop for your core team.
Ok, I’m just going to be straight with you: In today’s digital business world, you need media training. Full Stop.
Here’s why.
Andy Warhol once famously said that we’d all experience 15 minutes of fame one day. And as it turns out, his prediction was pretty spot on. None of us, I don’t think, realised that we’d end up with a video camera in our back pocket.
This technological advancement in the past decade has changed the world, from ordinary people capturing news stories ‘as they happen’ to proud parents being able to film their kids winning races or awards or taking their first toddler steps … and sharing them wherever they want.
For businesses, the option of accessible, cheap-to-produce video has changed how we market ourselves. Those not using video will be left behind. And here’s why.
In a nutshell, digital statistics around social views, website traffic, and online advertising show that video is fast becoming the ‘King’ of all content creation.
Research tells us that people don’t read anymore. If they do, they might read a headline and 500 words. Pictures remain powerful forms of communication, but the growing trend is video which enables both sound and images.
And here’s where media training comes in.
Firstly, it helps you look polished and come across as confident and credible (people won’t do business with shabby or dodgy-looking companies – there are way too many scams already!). So, we’ll teach you the subtle tricks around what to wear, lighting, colours, and how to avoid ‘reading glasses glare and reflection’ – all of which will make you look better on camera.
Our media training will help you warm up’ to the camera, too – it’s not as easy as it seems, even for digital natives! We might feel comfortable in person, particularly regarding things we’re passionate about, but that natural comfort level doesn’t always translate to the video arena!
Ok, sure, you’re probably aware of those benefits, but what you might not know is that one of the most significant things you’ll learn from our media training is how to distill your message – to say what you mean and mean what you say while coming across as genuine.
For a long time, traditional TV, radio, and print media have relied on “sound bites” – if you’re not familiar with the term, these are “good” quotes – things you might say that can be used to hang a story around.
‘Sound bites’ underpin success in the digital age, too – and whether you have 30 seconds to say something or ten minutes, it takes skill and practice to hone the message – to get to the point and keep an audience engaged enough to take the next step — interact with your business. This skill cannot be underrated and has a component of sales, but there’s much more to it than that – it’s about building rapport, which is not easy to do on paper, via sound, or via video unless you know how….
The great thing about using video in your social media and other online marketing is that you can use it in a billion (and one!) creative ways – to tell a story, to unveil a new product line, to showcase different aspects of your product or service, to display your credentials with small snippets of advice, to advise of essential changes in your industry – the list is endless!
Let’s say, for example, you’re an accounting firm, and you want to advise your clients that the Australian Tax Office has introduced a new regulation around Family Trusts …. Do you know how to capture attention with your message?
Or, let’s say you’ve been selling a product online and just found out (via customer feedback) that the goods are faulty. The entire shipment is defective. Do you know how to handle a crisis?
Would you know how to use both scenarios to build a loyal following?
Of course, it is not all about video (although these days, that’s a huge component). Media training will help you understand how all forms of media work and help you grasp a basic understanding of how you might use these forms of media together in a cohesive strategy.
The other great thing about our media training is that while it is built around the principles of what will work successfully with the media – it will also help you to adapt your message to each platform, whether it is in a social media post, a TV interview, a blog or a podcast.
Plus, as a by-product of completing the training, you’ll become much more confident in front of any audience, whether it’s making the birthday toast, addressing your team on an important occasion, selling your services, promoting your brand, or championing a cause, or managing a crisis.
When I think of someone comfortable with the media, Simon Sinek comes to mind. Whether he’s being interviewed or providing short, snappy inspirational posts, he’s confident – he is quietly passionate about his subject, but it shines through because he is personable, he’s developed his brand – relaxed, gentle, wise … and he has a HUGE following.
Tony Robbins is also very confident with the media – but with a very different style from Simon Sinek. Both work and you know why? Because they’re genuine. Each is always, without fault, true to their personalities, delivery, style, and content.
At Amber Daines, our media training is different – because we don’t want to teach you to be “someone confident talking to the media,” we want to help you find your unique voice. Because that’s where your power is. Like Simon Sinek, like Tony Robbins – we want you to be YOU.
We’ll help you embrace your strengths and identify any weaknesses you want to improve.
Most of all, we’ll help you to be authentically you in every setting – meetings, sales pitches, media interviews, and social posts.
So, contact us. Media training is not as expensive as you think – AND – it’s a sensible investment, especially in the digital age.
