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Never before has it been more challenging for firms to earn quality coverage in premier media outlets such as The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Fortune and Barron’s. With fewer traditional publications in circulation and readership attention scattered all across the web, the competition for high-quality ink is stiff.
Unlike content created for advertising, the world of earned media coverage remains democratic. The most valuable sources to major outlets are individuals with expertise to share and a compelling story to tell. Whether you’re being asked to comment on breaking news or to discuss developments in your company, the media interview is an opportunity to engage listeners in your business.
When you get the call to be interviewed by a journalist, be ready to maximize the rare (not to mention cost-free) chance for exposure and messaging on a mass scale. Here are five top tips to become a top interviewee.
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Don’t fake it
If the prospect of positive exposure in a major publication is meaningful to your business, act like it. This is not a situation for shooting from the hip. Treat the interview like an opportunity to present before a high-end investor or your entire client base.
Be realistic about what knowledge is comfortably within your wheelhouse – and plan accordingly for what is not. In the best-case scenario, you will know the subject matter in advance, and your research would be covered in the course of doing your job. But if you don’t know the topic cold or are behind on industry news, spend time bucking up on the market, economic trends and breaking news. Know your stuff and what you want to communicate.
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Meet the journalist’s needs
Unless it’s expressly clear that the article will focus on you and your company, expect the journalist to be more interested in the perspective you bring to a topic. If you use the interview purely as an opportunity to broadcast your point of view, the content you deliver will not meet the journalist’s needs – and, consequently, will not end up in the published article.
Respect that the interviewer has a job to complete, and be helpful in achieving that objective. A sharp interviewee can always find opportunities to integrate a message. Speaking of which…
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Integrate your messages
Seize opportunities to communicate with your own audience. Messages can be effectively conveyed about your firm’s products and services, provided they are framed within the journalist’s question. To ensure you will be quoted and to be valuable to the publication, the points you’re personally motivated to impart have to be set within the story’s context.
Always be on the lookout for ways to communicate with with shareholders and potential clients. When the openings aren’t there, create them. Again, the key is to satisfy the journalist while inserting your message. For example:
Q: If the Federal Reserve increases interest rates, where will the markets be most vulnerable?
A: U.S. corporate and government bonds with longer durations will be hit the hardest by a rising-rate environment, which is why we maintain a global approach to investing in fixed income and an average duration of just four years.
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Be accommodating – but not passive
Journalists get antsy when their questions aren’t answered directly or if they perceive that a subject is being evasive or dodging a topic. But you can cede control to the reporter and still steer the conversation.
Some conversations may touch on facts tangentially related to your own talking points, allowing you to reply and pivot (frequently referred to as bridging or transitioning). However, a confrontational question may require more adept handling to shift the conversation toward your focus.
For example, say you’re asked a question that leads you to suspect the journalist is planning a negative piece on the annuity business – but you have friends in the industry, and you don’t want to go there. Answer the question and create your own opportunity to redirect.
Q: What do you make of the fact that XYZ Co. shut down its annuity business?
A: Well, it’s a business decision that’s difficult to make. I’m sure there are other firms out there taking a similar tack. What I see is a real opportunity for investors looking for other income investment strategies to….
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Assume nothing is off the record
Don’t say anything you wouldn’t want to see in print. A clever or biting bit of wit may feel right in the quasi-social setting of an interview but won’t necessarily earn you better coverage.
Remember that Wall Street Journal content is amplified by the Internet. When you share thoughts with a top-tier outlet, be it in print or with an online site like Business Insider or Huffington Post, the echo effect is huge thanks to social media. The one-liner used in a pull quote by Wall Street Journal becomes a one-liner in perpetuity all over the web.
With the collapse of traditional media, it is more difficult than ever to gain coverage in high-impact media. That only makes those fewer opportunities all the more valuable in building credibility and separating yourself from competitors on the local level and nationally. Knowing how to engage during an interview is key to gaining voice and authority in the market.
Joe Anthony is partner and President, Financial Services at Gregory FCA, an Ardmore, PA-based public relations firm. For the past 12 years, he has managed the firm’s specialized unit dedicated to working with the financial advisory industry. His Twitter handle is @JoeAnthony.
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