PR Tips & Tricks was a half-day session held at the Truro Community Library on Thursday, 22nd of June 2017. The aim of the session was to bring together a number of Cornwall museums professionals to discuss with media and PR professionals about some fundamental tips for achieving good PR for museums with limited budget and resources. The session was organised by Cornwall Museums Partnership with funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund – Catalyst programme.
There is a necessity for museums to focus on their PR target audience; that is the journalists. Museums must establish a meaningful, quid-pro-quo relationship with journalists. This can be developed by inviting them to special events held in museums and being in frequent communication with them.
Your story
‘Journalists want good quality content without having to do much. Why? Not because they’re lazy – but because they are extremely busy’ – Tristan Hunkin, Content Director
It is very important that museums pick up and read the newspapers in which they want their story to be featured in. Be critical and start identifying the main characteristics the press releases featured in them. Keep notes of what they all have in common and try to apply this to your case.
The press release
‘Don’t be afraid to pick up the phone and talk to journalists’ – Scott Harrison, Editor
You don’t have to have a PR education or background to do a decent PR job. There are two fundamental skills in PR: a) writing skills b) people skills.
PR is not just about media and press anymore. Pay special attention to your websites, social media, newsletters, etc. An important part of PR these days is blogging – a blogs page on your website is a useful tool to get people engaged and take notice of you.
Organising late events in your museum can prove to be a great way to attract PR coverage. The best time to hold a late event is between 5.30 – 7.30pm. Have a thought on what you have in your museum that is definitely worth showcasing, and come up with a well-thought out, properly managed event.
‘Engage people with real human stories’ – Sue Bradbury PR
You can access the blog section of Sue Bradbury PR website here for some further useful tips.
‘The ground-breaking element and real human stories can encourage wide PR coverage’ – Lauren Hogan, PR & Marketing Manager