Alert the Media!
Getting Your Press Release Out and Working with the Media
Accreditation is recognition of excellence and should be shared with your community. Here are some guidelines for getting your story to the local print and broadcast media. It is one of the most economical ways of developing a strong presence within your community.
Preparing a press release. This is the best way to alert all media in your area. A press release template is available (initial, subsequent). Personalize it by including a quote, facts about your museum or any relevant accreditation statistics. This information can make your press release more newsworthy. Some ideas include:
- How many other museums in your region/state/county/city/town are accredited
- How many museums of your museum’s type, size, etc. are accredited
- Any major changes made or hurdles overcome to achieve accredited status
- How long the museum has been working towards accreditation
- Special activities planned in conjunction with the award
- A quote from the director and/or head of the governing authority
- A quote from your site visit report or decision letter (please do not cite the names of your Visiting Committee members without their permission).
To get the facts and figures for your press release:
Use the Accreditation Program Annual Statistics At-a-Glance and access the list of accredited museums.
Timing your press release. Try to hold your press release until a quiet news day—if there is a major event happening that day, your accreditation award could get lost in the shuffle. It’s best to send press releases and make phone calls in the morning, not in the late afternoon when editors and reporters are busy filing stories to go to press or on the air.
Sending your press release. To reach the broadest audience, your list should include local newspapers, radio and television stations, and any other community publications. Address the release to the city or features editor at the newspapers and the assignment editor at the radio and television stations. A visit to their websites or phone call to the news desk can help you get the correct editor’s name. This is also an opportunity to determine if they prefer to receive press releases by fax, mail, or e-mail.
Following-up. Make follow-up calls to confirm the press release was received and to pitch your story. Present the facts quickly and explain why this is of interest to their audience. If there is interest, offer to set up an interview with your museum’s director or a behind-the-scenes tour.
Other tips for working with the media
Personal connection. Is there a reporter who normally covers your museum? Call and personally pitch this special story.
Local television and talk shows. Does your area have a morning news program that features segments on local attractions? Invite them to your facility.
Keep it short. Reporters want it short and to the point: For a straightforward overview of what museum accreditation is and what it means, give your media contacts a copy of “A Higher Standard: The AAM Museum Accreditation Program." A fact sheet on AAM is also available.
AAM is ready to help coordinate your announcement of your accreditation with you, offering up Ford Bell, our president, to comment to your local media as to the importance of accreditation and the stature it bestows. Please ask your media relations person to contact accreditation program staff. We will do our best to make Ford available to your local media, provided you think this will be useful to you and his schedule can accommodate the deadlines of your local journalists.
If you need more ideas, the AAM Bookstore has a selection of books with public relations and marketing ideas.
