A Guide to B2B PR Press Interviews

Few events will do more for your company’s reputation than a successful press interview.

Whether it’s a press conference, a TV interview, or even an interview the reporter will translate into a written article, B2B PR press interviews have powerful potential.

The benefits of B2B PR press interviews

Press interviews make most people nervous, sometimes nervous enough to avoid them altogether. However, if you perform well, there are several ways your interview can pay off.

Establishing your reputation

An interview is the perfect way to position yourself as an expert in your field. You’re the person the reporter has turned to for expert insights. In your customers’ eyes, this establishes you as an industry leader they will want to engage with. This fits in perfectly with a Thought Leadership strategy, as a way of building your brand’s authority and credibility amongst your competitors.

Spreading your brand awareness

Depending on the media outlet that publishes or airs your interview, a press interview can be a game-changer purely because of the large audience reach. Your interview gets your name in front of hundreds, thousands, or even millions of potential customers, and this will do wonders for your brand awareness.

Tips for press interviews

If you want to start incorporating more impactful communications into your B2B PR strategy, start with these top tips for press interviews.

Build relationships with reporters

Before you can rock an interview, you need to book one. In many cases, the most effective way to do this is to build relationships with reporters. Target reporters who cover your industry and those whose audiences overlap well with your target customers.  Provide those reporters with a list of topics/subjects you consider yourself expert on.

Practice and prepare

Delivering a successful press interview is an art that requires techniques, research, and unique skills. If this isn’t your area of expertise, a media training specialist can help you prepare.

You may be able to get the interview questions from the reporter in advance. If not, consider the most likely questions the reporter will ask and practice answering them whilst thinking about weaving in your own company messaging.

The better prepared you are, the less nervous you’ll be during the interview.  You will also come across more natural and personable.

Use relating mechanisms

Your interview isn’t just about what you say, it’s about the way you say it. You want to build familiarity with your audience, so they feel a connection with you.

A key approach is to use certain mechanisms that help you relate to people. One technique is to tell stories and anecdotes. Illustrating your point with real-world examples will help too.