Today Amy is talking about media relations at your museum. She gives her best tips and talks about what she has learned after doing media relations in museums for 30 years. 

Other episodes mentioned:

Episode 9: Creating Brand Love for Your Museum

Episode 10: Brand Messaging for Your Museum

Episode 11: Tacey Atkinson on Putting Customers First

Free Resources:

Museum Metrics Tracker Template: https://bit.ly/amysmuseummetrics

Planning Calendar for Museums: https://bit.ly/2024museumcal

People First Framework Guide for Museums: https://bit.ly/4PSguide_lovemymuseum

Check out the website at: www.lovemymuseum.com

Today on the Love my museum podcast, we are talking about media relations.

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And media relations at museums is my jam.

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You are not going to want

to miss this episode.

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Let's get started.

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Hello, and welcome to the

love my museum podcast.

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I am your host, Amy

Kehs, and I love museums.

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I also happen to be a brand

strategist and communications expert.

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I've worked for some of the most

renowned and well love museums on the

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planet and my goal is to ensure that

museums thrive into the next century.

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I'm really passionate about helping

you get visitors through your museum's

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doors and one of the key elements

to doing that is media relations.

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When I'm talking to my clients about

media relations a lot of times we have

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to back up a little bit and talk about

the difference between marketing,

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advertising, and public relations.

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I guarantee that for every communications

professional out there, there are the

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same number of explanations for what

these things are and how they're related.

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This is my take and how I explain

it to people when I'm asked.

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So to me, it all comes down

to who is doing the talking

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and where they are talking.

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When we talk about marketing,

it's your message in your space.

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So you are controlling the space

and you're controlling the message.

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For example, marketing is

your website or a brochure.

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For advertising, it's your

message in someone else's space

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and usually that costs money.

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So you are buying column inches or

buying a Facebook ad or even buying

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a commercial on the super bowl.

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And it is your message.

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No one else is controlling that message.

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But someone else is controlling the space.

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The great part about advertising

is you've paid for it.

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So it's guaranteed.

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The downside to.

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advertising is people can

be a bit skeptical because

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you've purchased the space.

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For public relations.

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It's someone else's message about you.

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In someone else's space.

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And the two best examples

of this are referrals.

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So that could be.

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You know, you run into a friend and

they tell you about a great exhibit

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that they saw at the local museum.

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And how much they loved it.

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How much fun their kids

had going to see it.

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That's public relations.

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That's someone talking

about you in their space.

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Another part of public

relations is media relations.

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So that is a journalist who is

talking about you in their space.

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The important part about public

relations, whether it's the

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referral from your neighbor or the

journalist that's writing about you

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is it's a third party endorsement.

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For the audience that's receiving

the message, which of these is

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going to make the biggest impact.

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You guessed it.

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Public relations.

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There's a great quote that

I love by Richard Branson.

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That says, "A good PR story is infinitely

more effective than a front page ad."

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And that is so true.

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You want those spots on the evening news

or articles in the newspaper or a social

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media influencer giving you a shout out.

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You want those because it's

that third party endorsement.

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So, how do you work on media

relations for your museum?

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Well, I think the most important

thing to remember is that media

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relations is about relationships.

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It is about building those

relationships with the journalists

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that are on your media list.

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If you don't have a media

list, start one today.

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There are three main jobs for

your communications team when

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it comes to your media list.

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The first is to cultivate that list.

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Cultivate a list of reporters and editors

who are interested in your museum.

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They could be interested

based on location or niche.

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Your media list is something that you

are always thinking about and refining.

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It's okay to start small

and build it from there.

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Just start and keep really good notes.

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The goal is not to have the most, the goal

is to have an active and engaged list.

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Lots of times I get the question,

but how do I even start?

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If you don't have a media directory

service, then Google's your best friend.

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You can Google media outlets in your

area, or you can Google a topic and just

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see what journalists articles pop up.

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Don't worry if you can only find a

general email address or a phone number,

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that's still a great place to start.

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The second is nurture.

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So first we're going to cultivate and

now we're going to nurture that list.

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These are relationships and it's

crucial to nurture those relationships.

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Follow them on social media, read

their articles, engage with them by

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commenting or sharing their work.

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Be sure that you have a notes section

on your media list spreadsheet.

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When was the last time you talked to them?

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If it's someone that you haven't met

before, send an introduction email, and

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also think beyond how they can help you.

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Share how you can help them.

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Maybe you can provide an expert for

a story that they are working on.

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What are your curators experts in?

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What special resources do you have that

could be valuable as a research tool?

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Relationships take time.

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That same rule applies to media relations.

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The third thing is to maintain that list.

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You want to stay top of mind.

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One great way to stay top of

mind is to send out a calendar of

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events to your media email list.

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This could be ideally it's once a month,

but it could also be once a quarter.

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If your content is a well thought out

and consistent, they will come to rely

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on your museum as a great resource.

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Remember, they are also

trying to create content.

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And being consistent helps

build this relationship.

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So those are my three main tips

for getting started to build the

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relationships with your media list.

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You want to cultivate that list, nurture

that list and third, you're going

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to maintain that list by sending out

consistent and regular communication

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to the people on your media list.

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When you do get that first email

or phone call asking to do a

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story on your latest exhibit.

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, that request becomes a priority.

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Not only is it a priority

for the person that is.

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Handling your media relations.

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But the rest of your staff needs

to understand the importance

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of making it a priority.

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Journalists are under tight deadlines

and you want to make sure you can

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give them all the resources they need

to help them meet their deadline.

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I guarantee that if you make

their job easier they will

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come back and do another story.

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If you've been listening to the podcast

for awhile, you know, that, that my

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first museum job was as a volunteer.

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When I was in college.

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I loved every minute and I took

my volunteer job very seriously.

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I was, I was always on time.

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I never missed a day.

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The staff and the office were

amazing mentors, especially my boss.

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They were kind and

inclusive and lots of fun.

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Their enthusiasm was just contagious.

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And I, I wanted to be a great

co-worker because of it.

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After I had been there for a little

while, my boss asked if I wanted

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a project to complete on my own.

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Of course I jumped at the chance.

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The project that he gave me.

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I took and I did everything.

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He had taught me.

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I put together a press kit.

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I made a media list.

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I spent hours putting together

press kits and mailing them.

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This was like 1994.

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Uh, mailing them to the journalist

that I wanted to invite to the event.

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I faxed my media advisory.

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I made.

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Follow up calls.

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I left the office on my last volunteer

day, before the event with this

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really nervous feeling, whether all

of my work was going to pay off.

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Was anyone going to come?

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And that was a feeling that I would

have many more times in my life.

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And it's one.

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That all PR professionals

are familiar with.

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I mean, I still get that feeling every

morning or the evening before an event.

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I got to the museum.

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On the day of the event.

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And every one in my office

was running around like crazy.

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And they filled me in on

what had been happening.

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The last 24 hours while

I was on campus in class.

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The phones have been ringing off the hook.

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And we were expecting a huge turnout

of journalists for this little event.

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The museum's education department

had been busy all morning doing live

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interviews because of my outreach.

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Our education director

was on the today show.

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Other education staff were giving

demonstrations on local morning shows.

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CNN had called the Washington

post associated press.

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In just a couple of hours, the

museum would be welcoming a

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giant turnout for the event.

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And sure enough, we had local

national and international coverage

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this day for my little event.

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I mean, it was amazing.

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It was the 1994 version of going viral.

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And I remember at the end of the event,

hopping into the elevator with my

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boss to head upstairs for our office.

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And he was grinning and I'd like to think

that he was a little bit proud of me.

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And I remember saying like, oh

my gosh, that was so much fun.

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And that was so easy.

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I can do this.

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I can do PR.

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And I was so excited

and so proud of myself.

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And my boss giggled of, of

course he knew what I didn't.

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It was a slow news week.

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I had done the hard work, but you never

know with media relations, it totally

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could have gone in the other direction.

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And since then I have had it

go in the other direction.

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And a lot of times.

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It also was successful because.

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My office had already established

these relationships with the media.

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That day was a huge turning point

for me, even now, when people

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ask me about my career in PR.

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It is scenes and feelings from that

day that like flash before my eyes.

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At that point, I was just six

months into my volunteer job.

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I could tell that.

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The museum was going to be a place

where I was going to be able to learn.

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And grow.

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And.

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i continued to volunteer at

the museum for another year.

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Then two months before I graduated,

they offered me a job and I

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transitioned from volunteer to employee.

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Since then I have opened a lot of exhibits

and invited media to a lot of events.

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I know that it can go either way.

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You can have a little event

and have a great turnout.

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You can have a big event and no one come.

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Because media relations.

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Is that third-party endorsement.

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If you want to guarantee,

then you should buy an ad.

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There are so many other factors.

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Yes.

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You need the experience and the expertise

in need of really good media list.

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You need to put in the time and

effort to build those relationships.

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But also sometimes.

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It just doesn't work out.

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I had a huge event open the

day that Michael Jackson died.

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Nobody was covering anything

except for his death that day.

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That was not a reflection on my

work, even though at the time.

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Some of my coworkers thought it

was, I had no control over that.

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So, yeah, media relations is hard

because sometimes you can put in

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all the work and outside forces

can make things not go your way.

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Media relations is also the third

ingredient to what I call brand love.

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Which we've talked about a

little bit on this podcast.

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Brand love is when your audience

loves your museum so much that

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they tell others about you when

you're not even in the room.

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They know your messaging, they

know what you do and who you are.

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They visited your museum.

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And they've had such a great experience

that when they come again, They bring a

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friend, maybe they even decide to purchase

a membership or buy something in the shop.

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They are invested.

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They have seen consistent

and positive media coverage.

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That validates how they feel about you.

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And you've gotten them on board to

share your messaging with others.

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Brand love is earned.

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And it is slow growing.

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But the benefits are much more effective

than any other public relations strategy.

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And so we've been talking about.

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The three parts to brand love, which

is really an external communication

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strategy for your museum.

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And those three parts, our

brand messaging, visitor

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experience and media relations.

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So now that we have talked about

all three parts on the podcast, now

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I'm going to sum it all up for you.

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I will link the other two episodes

in the show notes so they can

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go back and listen to those.

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In more detail.

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Let's say you have your

ideal visitor out there.

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A potential customer.

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The first thing that will

happen is your brand identity.

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So the visual assets of your

brand will catch their eye.

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That happens on a subconscious level,

which is why your brand identity,

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the visual assets have to be more

about them than they are about you,

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because you're trying to attract them.

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The next thing that happens

after they're attracted.

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, to the visual assets is there are

going to look and see what you say.

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So you want to have that clear,

consistent, confident messaging.

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Remember, it takes people seven

times to see and act on a message.

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So having that consistent message

and making sure that it's clear means

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that your audience is going to see it

several times before they'll act on it.

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That might mean coming to

visit you for the first time.

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And if you deliver that message with

confidence, that means that they will

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trust what you're saying as well.

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You want that know like, and trust factor.

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So that they decide to

come visit your museum.

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The next thing that happens, hopefully

is the walk through your doors.

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Knowing what the visitor experience is

from beginning to end is so important.

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A lot of times I have my clients put

themselves in the shoes of a person who

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has never been to the museum before.

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Is it easy to find

directions on the website?

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Can they plan their

visit before they arrive?

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What about when that

person gets to the museum?

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Are they greeted by a

friendly staff member?

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Is the museum accessible to everyone?

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How does the museum support its community?

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You want somebody to walk out your doors,

having had the best visit possible.

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And you want that visitor

experience to be consistent.

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So they're experienced.

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Is.

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Just as good as.

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They're next door neighbors.

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The next thing that will happen is they

are going to decide, Hey, does this

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great feeling I have about this museum?

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Is it valid?

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That's why they'll be looking

for that third party endorsement.

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Media relations is the best way.

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To get that third party endorsement.

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And that's what we've been talking about.

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How do you cultivate the

relationships with the hardworking

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journalists on your media list?

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It definitely takes time and effort.

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It's definitely a two way street.

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Think about how you can help them.

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Have you positioned your

curators as experts.

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Do you have spokespeople who

know your messaging and feel

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comfortable talking to journalists?

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I think media relations is something that

we're going to talk about a lot here.

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If you want to learn more, we also

talk about all of this in my new

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Love my museum Facebook group.

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It's a private community just

for museum professionals.

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I would love to see you there.

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Thanks so much for listening.

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And I'll see you next time.