Press Releases - an exercise in hope rather than expectation!

It is always exciting when a plan comes together and no more so, than when the press pick-up on a press release, which you despatched in hope, rather than expectation!

Talking to the press is always fraught with apprehension. There is a natural tendency for the interviewee to focus on his or her message without paying sufficient attention to the needs and aspirations of the interviewer, whereas the interviewer will always have their own objectives which may not always align with the aspirations of the interviewee.

Where the interview is strategically important, it would always be good advice to seek support from a Public Relations professional and your Finance Director from FD eXcel will be able to introduce you to a PR consultancy, from our vast network of associates. Where the interview is less strategic, the interviewee should approach the event like they would an important presentation, where the more that you have prepared, the more successful the event. The most successful presentations address the interests of the audience whilst allowing the presenter to make the points that he/she is endeavouring to project.

In November, 2013 we launched FD eXcel and engaged the services of Hayley, from Nao Communications, a boutique PR agency with a background in both new and established businesses. Not only did Hayley draft the press release, she targeted a bespoke list of financial journalists as the first step in a campaign designed to raise our profile and over a period of time attract some editorial interest. Much to our surprise the press release was picked up by the publication FT Adviser which is a Financial Times publication aimed at the IFA marketplace.

Daniel Liberto, the reporter from FT Adviser, was interested in what we were doing and was keen to understand how our services fitted into the IFA market. He completed the interview, checked a couple of details with Hayley and we held our breath as to whether it would be published.

If you would like to read the article it can be accessed at http://goo.gl/M0j4hK and we will see where our next press release goes in January, when we announce a new high profile recruit to FD eXcel.