Public relations
Growing pressure on budgets means that more and more housing organisations are combining their public relations functions with others, such as marketing and websites. Staff with only limited knowledge of what journalists need and want can find themselves interfacing with the media, with potentially adverse results. Our training offers hands-on support and advice for staff at all levels.
Our in-house workshops feature a menu of options which can be tailored to your needs, ranging from the basics of how to write a press release, to hitting deadlines, hunting down and recognising stories from within the organisation, dealing with incoming calls from journalists, and building contacts with target media. It spans strategic advice, crisis management, and how housing organisations can best connect with their communities.
Our workshop menu includes:
- What makes a story?
- Drawing up a communications plan
- Creating a schedule of upcoming announcements
- Selecting potential targets from the local and regional press, online and social media
- Creating the necessary internal channels for external coverage
- Crisis management
- Creating press releases and other announcements
- Developing a corporate press kit/background information for journalists
- Targeting and advising on placing news and feature articles
- Media training
- Mentoring inexperienced press and communications staff.
Who should attend?
Everyone who may ever have to interact with the media as part of their day-to-day job.
Our trainers:
Our experienced team is led by journalists Kate Murray, housing policy specialist and until recently editor of Inside Housing, and John Fryer, formerly a correspondent with the BBC and The Sunday Times and now a public relations practitioner and media and presentation trainer.
HQN has a track record of helping organisations achieve real and lasting performance improvements. If you are interested in accessing this training package please contact us by emailing training@hqnetwork.co.uk
