Many companies remember journalists only when they urgently need to announce a product launch. The press release goes out to every address at once, nobody replies, and the conclusion is that “the media don’t work here”. In reality, it’s the approach that doesn’t work. Media relations in Tajikistan, as everywhere, are built gradually, and the return on them is coverage, reader trust and mentions the brand doesn’t pay for as advertising space.
Why a brand needs its own voice in the media
The fight for audience attention keeps getting tougher, and paid advertising alone is no longer enough to earn trust. An ad gains reach quickly, but readers know full well that the brand paid for it. A piece in an independent outlet is perceived differently: the company is described by a third party with no direct interest in praising it. That’s why press work should be built into your overall communication strategy rather than switched on once a year before a big event.
Advertising and PR: what’s the difference
When you buy advertising, you pay for the space and fully control the text. With PR you have less control, but you get what professionals call third-party validation: confirmation from the outside. The best results come from combining the two: advertising delivers reach, while coverage and comments in the media reinforce trust in what the brand promises.
Preparation: a media map and an in-house spokesperson
The first step is to understand which outlets your audience actually reads. A company working with businesses gets more from specialist media and expert Telegram channels. A retail brand benefits more from major news sites and city community pages.
- Build a media map: a list of outlets, the names of the writers covering relevant sections, and the formats each newsroom is most willing to publish.
- Check what the outlet has recently written about your industry so you don’t pitch topics that have already been covered.
- Appoint someone in the company who can respond to journalists quickly and give comments.
What news hooks interest editors
A journalist is looking for news and has no use for advertising copy. What works well: the launch of a new line of business, your own data or market research, an expert comment on a hot topic, a story with a clear and verifiable result, an unexpected partnership. The rule is simple: the more concrete facts a piece contains, the more likely it is to be published.
Relationships with journalists over the long run
A newsroom’s trust is earned through consistency and care. Offer not only ready-made texts but also your specialists as experts: that way the brand appears in stories without direct advertising. Respond to requests quickly and to the point, even when the topic is uncomfortable. Journalists value an honest answer in a difficult situation more than a perfectly polished release.
Crises are a separate matter. How openly and promptly a company talks to the press at a difficult moment often decides whether a story stays local or snowballs. This is where media work overlaps with online reputation management: responding to reviews and dealing with newsrooms rest on the same principles of speed and transparency.
What stops you from getting published
Even experienced companies often reduce their own chances. Here is what puts editors off most often:
- the release reads like a slogan, and the actual news is impossible to find;
- the same text is sent to every outlet regardless of its audience and format;
- the reply to a journalist arrives several days later, when nobody cares about the topic any more;
- the spokesperson avoids specifics and speaks in generalities that can’t be quoted;
- after the piece comes out, contact with the author breaks off until the next request.
All of this can be fixed without big spending: a little more preparation, more facts and more attention to how a newsroom works. These small things add up to a company’s reputation as one journalists find easy to work with.
How to measure the return
PR is harder to express in money than performance advertising, but it can be measured. Track the number of publications, their tone, the reach of the outlets, spikes in direct traffic to the website after a piece comes out, and brand mentions on social media. It’s easier to keep everything in one report and look at quarterly trends rather than analyse each article separately.
It also helps to draw on accumulated international experience. Professional associations such as PRSA have been systematising media relations practice for many years, and much of it applies here too, provided you take into account the specifics of local outlets and readers.
The bottom line
The media become a reliable channel for a brand when you work with them continuously. Build a media map, come to newsrooms with facts rather than slogans, respond quickly and honestly, and don’t lose touch after publication. Then press mentions will appear as predictably as paid advertising, but with greater audience trust. If you need help with news hooks, press materials and media coverage, see how SKY Central Asia works with content and PR.
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