How to Put Your Best Foot Forward in a Media Interview

With Internet, email, social media inundating readers with a constant barrage of information, it gets harder for businesses to promote their message through the media. So how do you make a good impression?

Photo credit: USFWS Pacific Southwest Region

Tell A Story

Every business owner has a reason why they decided to go into business. Everyone has read the story of the burned out corporate executive who completely changed his or her lifestyle by becoming an entrepreneur. Some stories are highly emotional, but they don’t have to be. Maybe you did it for your children. Maybe you did it because there were no jobs available in your field. Whatever it was, be open about it. Your story tells your customer who you are and helps you make a personal connection with the reader.

Your type of business can also be inspired by a story. I once read an article about a company that changes commercial light bulbs. Sounds dull, right? However, the owner talked about how he was sitting in a busy diner at lunch time when a poorly dressed man came in, set up his ladder right in front of the one till and went to work oblivious of the harried cashier and the long lines forming behind him. The owner decided he would bring customer service back to the job by finding out when his employees should arrive to cause the least disruption to the business, providing his team with clean uniforms and ensuring professional service. The next time I heard his company name, the story came back to me. He had successfully branded his company as being customer-service oriented.

Prepare

If it helps, write down your personal story and practice saying it. Don’t hand your interviewer the piece of paper. He or she will probably rather engage you in conversation. You may find the interview process brings up other unique selling points that the reporter can include in the story.

Relax

Most importantly, relax and have fun. The reporter wouldn’t be there if something about your business hadn’t attracted the interest of the publication. This is your chance to let the rest of the world know about how great your business really is!

by Shella Gardezi

The second of two articles by Shella Gardezi, offering business owners expert advice about how to put their best foot forward in media interviews. Shella has written business profiles for newspapers and magazines and is currently the owner of BCBusinessBeat.com, an online publication focusing on small business in British Columbia.

How to Put Your Best Foot Forward in a Media Interview

Photo by MattHurst

With Internet, email, social media inundating readers with a constant barrage of information, it gets harder for businesses to promote their message through the media.

Time-crunched information gatherers are blocking out ads, glazing over newsletters and, even worse, reporting businesses that send out marketing messages as spammers.That’s why when a third party, such as a newspaper, magazine or website agrees to do a business profile on you, it’s an opportunity not to be missed.

A business profile is an opportunity for you to define your unique brand to readers in a way that will make an impact. Usually it will be the reporter writing the article, and you won’t get a chance to read it before it goes to press, so here’s how not to blow it.

Come prepared, but not too prepared: Reporters don’t want you to write the story. Believe it or not, if you write down what you want to say it will make it harder for them. Why? Because what you write will probably sound more like advertising copy than what the reporter will write. The reporter is looking for an interesting story, not an ad.

Answer the questions: Some business owners come to the interview so afraid they are going to be misquoted that they say very little. Or they think, “All the information is on my website. Why don’t you get it from there?” The result is the reporter walks away frustrated. At best, he or she will make a half-hearted attempt at writing the story, and the reader won’t find it very interesting. At worst, your story could get killed.

by Shella Gardezi

The first of two articles by Shella Gardezi, offering business owners expert advice about how to put their best foot forward in media interviews. Shella has written business profiles for newspapers and magazines and is currently the owner of BCBusinessBeat.com, an online publication focusing on small business in British Columbia.

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