If you’re an artist, whether a singer, author, actor, painter, sculptor, or director your goal is to share your vision and build a bridge between the public and your art. But there is more that PR can do for you than simply build your customer, client or fan base. For example we’ve worked clients where the media coverage not only helped build their brand; it connected them with influencers in their field resulting in:
- Writers who were offered publishing contracts.
- Singers who were offered record deals.
- Film directors who were offered distribution deals.
- Fine artists who were offered gallery representation.
- Artists who were offered assignments.
- Actors who were offered parts on film or TV.
The magical part about media relations is that once you start landing media coverage, you never know who is going to read your article, listen to the radio interview or watch you on the TV segment. Yes you’ll reach your target market, but you’ll also come to the attention of decision makers in your field. People who normally wouldn’t answer an unsolicited call, could suddenly be the ones picking up the phone to call you.
When you are ready to launch a campaign, whether is be traditional public relations or a melding of media relations and social media, you want to decide what your ultimate objectives are. What are your primary goals, your endgame? For a public relations campaign to be truly effective, the media exposure needs to lead you somewhere. Which means before you launch you want to come up with a game plan; in essence you want a PR and business roadmap that will keep you on track towards your goals and objectives. So define your objectives, but also give some time to reviewing how you want to position yourself. How do you want the decision makers in your particular field to view you?
Remember you’re building an image through the stories you are telling. What do you want that image to be? How do you want to be perceived? Do you want to be seen as an edgy artist or one who speaks more to the masses? What type of attitude do you want to emote? What images and photos will be the most appropriate? How will the stories and media pitches you send out help create this image, this story of you?
How you’re going to present yourself is as important as where you’re going to present yourself. Give thought to both. Once you’ve defined your objectives and goals, you can create a PR plan and approach tailor made to help you achieve those goals. But always keep in mind the media doesn’t only reach your clients or fans; it reaches the decision makers in your industry.
Copyright © Anthony Mora 2012