Media relations are a central part of health care public relations. Effective media relations involves developing relationships and working with various media outlets in order to inform the public of a company or organizations mission, policies and practices. In the world of health, having excellent media relations is vital. Here are some basic tips to get media relations at the forefront of health care public relations practices.

Keep it simple. When pitching to the media, keep pitches short and to the point. There is no need to include every detail in your pitch. The point of pitching to the media is to get them hooked. Therefore, the goal is to get them to want more details from you. By providing them with all the details up front, they have no need to do anything more and you do not develop that relationship.

Be creative. Entice journalists, play to their interests and avoid putting them to sleep with long drawn-out pitches. Pitches should engage the reader instantly and make them want to read on. In order to do this, pitches should go beyond self-promoting. Any pitch that seems too much like an ad will be disregarded by journalists. When possible, try to tie a pitch to a current event or pop culture in a unique way.

Hone in on the best person. The best health care public relations practitioner will target select media outlets that are the best fit for their pitch. From there, it is important to take it a step further and target a specific journalist that will be most receptive to the pitch and message. This increases the likelihood of the pitch being picked up.

Utilize editorial calendars. These let health care public relations practitioners know when and what publications will be writing about. They can be extremely beneficial in crafting pitches. For example, perhaps a top health care trade journal is doing a special feature on spring allergies and hay fever. As the health care public relations representative for a pharmaceutical company that specializes in making allergy and hay fever medication, this is the perfect opportunity to have a spokesperson provide commentary for this top health care trade journal.

By putting these tips to good use, health care companies and organizations will see an increase in their media relations success. Effective media relations will increase media coverage and position health care companies and organizations ahead of the competition.

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