Picture this: You want to promote your destination/hotel/product with firsthand experience. So you search around, behind the couch cushions and realize you actually have budget to host a press trip. Hooray! Send out an open invitation for everyone who has a pen to come down and visit, right? Not so fast. Biggest mistake we see sometimes are open invitations to media to join press trips without confirmed assignments. Even worse, sometimes in the rush to fill spots, writers are not properly vetted. But say you have the right writers and they have assignments. You still have work to do. So how do you get the best of a press trip? Following these simple steps, we can guarantee a return on your press trip investment, since it works for us: 1)
Check confirmed assignments: Sure, it sounds basic, right? But I can tell you that there are a number of PR agencies taking writers on trips without checking if they actually have an assignment with XYZ outlet. Most writers will tell you that no editor provides assignment letters anymore in this time and age. So just send the editor a note and ask if the writer has an assignment. If you are not familiar with the outlet, ask for the name and contact of the editor who assigned the piece. 2)
Provide Complete Itineraries ASAP: Your rock-star writer/editor with confirmed assignment may be great at discovering hidden gems on their own. But you still want them to see you put some thought (and time) in how you present your product. The sooner you send them a complete itinerary, the more time they will have to research the information and perhaps come up with additional story angles. 3)
Attention to Detail: Remember, the press trip starts the moment the media arrives at the airport. You cannot control when they leave their house or they commute to the airport, but if you paid attention to the details, including providing enough information about check in procedures, where to meet the tour leader, etc., you will get this trip started on the right foot. 4)
Have The A Team Ready: Once your press trip participants arrive at your destination/hotel, you need your A Team ready. That goes from the airport transfer driver to the bellhop taking the bags to the room. If anyone in the group needs to interview someone, let it be a chef, a local artist, or a resident, make sure it is the best contact you have for the writer. And of course, your tour guide at all stops should be the best for the media needs. If that guide is not on top of their game when it comes to media relations, they will not be good sources of information to press trip participants. All the details from the itinerary will be meaningless if the guide can’t showcase what we are promoting or is not fast on their feet to make adjustments when needed. 5)
Follow up, Follow up, and Follow up: Finally, the part that most PR Pros (and clients) sometimes forget to do. The part that can mean the difference between a timely written article, resolving issues and maintaining a relationship with the media: Following up. It is easy to send a mass email to the trip participants thanking them for coming, but the best way to follow up is with individual notes to each, answering any questions they may have had during the trip, providing links to image libraries and giving additional information that may be helpful for them. Set up a reminder to follow up again in three and six months and you will guarantee better and sooner return on your press trip investment. Are you ready to plan your next press trip and get more results from it? Want to hear more suggestions on other ways to improve your media results? Leave us a comment or email for more information.