TL;DR:
In an increasingly digital B2B landscape, face-to-face media engagement remains essential for building meaningful, long-term relationships. While email and virtual communication offer speed and convenience, in-person interactions create deeper connections, uncover new opportunities and deliver stronger results, making them a critical component for modern media relations strategies.
WHY DOES FACE-TO-FACE MEDIA CONNECTION STILL MATTER?
For all the benefits of immediacy and flexibility that come with the myriad of digital communications channels of today – there’s something irreplaceable about face-to-face connection with media, as this blog explains.
There was a time in the world of PR and comms when the ‘journalist lunch’ was a regular occurrence and over two or three courses (and perhaps two or three bottles!) the world would be put to rights and working relationships would be built and maintained.
Times change, but while there is much to be said for the immediacy and efficiency of digital communications, and while our livers and our waistlines will likely thank us that the ‘journalist lunch’ is not as frequent as it once was, there is a lot to be said for ‘traditional’ media relations and the value of face-to-face communication when building and maintaining a B2B brand.
While regular communication with the media today is usually handled by email, phone or video call, face-to-face interaction remains key to building genuine two-way, mutually beneficial relationships.
As the media and marketing landscape has changed over the years and people are becoming busier and less accessible, it’s sometimes hard to make time for the basics that were once a staple of any communications campaign.
While communicating by email and phone provides the basis of regular contact between agency or client and editor, there’s potentially so much more to be gained for sitting down in person and having an open discussion. The reality is that, in our sectors, this type of meeting is usually saved for exhibitions, where – let’s face it – both companies and press are stretched for time, trying to get in the pertinent questions before their next appointment reminder pings on their phone.
The power of personal connection in action
Distance can be a major challenge in the world of B2B media relations, as the expense and logistical challenges of organising a face-to-face meeting can be considerable. The value of these meetings is difficult to overstate however – as we demonstrated for a client recently by organising a European media tour with the objective of nurturing and building relationships with industry editors in key geographies. The aim was to meet with key editors to provide important news updates, to discuss potential editorial opportunities and to look at ongoing opportunities to work even more closely with them in the future, while also building direct, personal relationships with the editors in question.
The tour covered multiple European countries and included in-depth briefings with 14 editors. The quality time spent with each editor individually was invaluable, there wasn’t even one, for example, who failed to comment on how much they appreciated the trouble and expense taken to travel to them to meet in person. It’s easy to forget that trade publications today sometimes rely on just one or two journalists, so taking time from their day-to-day editorial responsibilities can be difficult. Going to them meant less time out of their schedules, resulting in more in-depth, longer and more productive conversations. These open-ended discussions also nurtured new ideas and opportunities that wouldn’t necessarily have arisen from a quick email or phone call to follow-up on a particular editorial feature or news item.
There is also the personal connection. The press got to have a fruitful and wide-ranging conversation, rather than a fleeting chat. This helped to build the relationships directly between the client and press, enabling both parties to have an open discussion about a range of topics.
The result? Substantial positive coverage in the short term, yes, but beyond that, a deepening of relationships, leading to many more exclusive opportunities since the tour and many more still expected in the future.
Final thoughts
Yes, digital communications are fast and efficient and serve an important purpose, but it’s vital this doesn’t become our only method of communication. Media relations shouldn’t be reduced to transactional exchanges of news and functional ‘press office’ services. The true essence of our work as communications professionals must be to cultivate strong and lasting relationships between clients and media that respect the needs of both parties and deliver mutual value.
And while emails and Teams calls can be part of achieving that, you need that in-person connection to realise it fully.