I know you may be thinking that keeping in touch with the local or regional press is only for big corporations or those who work in the public eye. That is not necessarily the case. I work with several small businesses, some home-based, who send out press releases and have been able to get some pretty good free promotions from the press–but it takes some work and effort to not only send out the releases, but keep up with who is who in the press.
There is turnover in the land of newspapers, radio and television just like in any other industry. Depending on where you live and the average wages and work environments, the turnover could be relatively high. Just when you know who the community editor is and the person who writes the business beat, it could change. Advertising representatives change as well. Since press releases really need to be sent to an actual person to be the most effective, you can see how keeping up with who is doing what with your press contacts can be important.
You can learn a great deal just from reading the staff list and periodically checking web sites of the press you access in order to keep up with what might be going on, but what really works is if you develop relationships with individuals in the press–this way they will actually let you know when they make a change. If you are sending out press releases regularly, it helps to give your press list a once-over every couple months. Double check e-mail addresses and do a little homework to make sure there have been no new reporters hired or editors shifting into different positions that might affect how you share your business news. If you establish a good working relationship with a particular ad representative, they will want to keep you happy and keep you as a client so this can be a good source for keeping your information current and updated.
Also: Brand New to Advertising?
How Can You Make Your Business More Visible?