If your race for office is being covered by local media, that’s good news, because we can tell you how to use the media presence to your advantage.
And it’s important. No matter how the news media is regarded in the larger culture, people who vote in local races pay attention to local media, so you want to look good in that coverage, and be mentioned as much as possible.
In addition, media coverage can drive the issues, and you don’t want to find yourself out of the media spotlight, on the sidelines, while your fellow candidates are shaping the issues and presenting themselves as credible to the voters.
So first off, open the channels of communication with the media.
Once you’ve formally entered the race, call up the paper, the radio or TV station. Send an e-mail to the local-affairs website host who has a popular blog or YouTube channel. Introduce yourself and give them your contact info. Tell them you’re always available. You might even provide a press release announcing your candidacy that contains contact information and a nice photo so they can see who you are and what you look like.
The only exception would be a media outlet – usually an internet-only outlet – that truly exists to promote a viewpoint opposite yours or to attack your beliefs. You know which websites these are. (There’s always one!) And no, we don’t mean the newspaper or TV station you think is too liberal or too conservative. Local, nonpartisan races feature lots of ideological crossover, and people tend to vote for people they know and trust in local races regardless of party. If you’re running in a larger, partisan race, you should definitely be open to interacting with media outlets that might not be your first choice.
Secondly, keep those channels of communication open.
Return reporters’ calls, texts, emails, whatever, even if it’s just to tell them you can’t help them with the matter they’re contacting you about. If they find you unresponsive, you risk dropping off their radar.
As far as how to conduct yourself, it’s pretty simple:
Be yourself. You’re an individual, and important intangibles – your personality and temperament, your philosophy of governance, your approach to problem solving and working with people – will naturally shine through if you are authentic. Don’t worry about what a candidate is supposed to be like. The candidate is supposed to be like you.
Don’t stretch for an answer you don’t have.
If you’re asked a question and the honest answer is “I don’t know,” don’t be afraid to say so. And if you can elaborate a little, all the better. “I’ll have to study that” or “I’ll have to study that further” or “I’m keeping an open mind until I hear more from the residents” add notes of thoughtfulness and thoroughness.
If you provide a response off-the-cuff that’s completely wrong, it’s a wrong answer that’s now in print, and it may come back to haunt you. Spur-of-the-moment answers on topics with which you’re not familiar can be dangerous. It’s ok not to know everything. Nobody expects you to.
Don’t say anything to a reporter that you don’t want to see in print.
This especially goes for texts and emails, where people often abandon the tact and discretion they use in conversation. Read it a second time before you hit send.
And forgive us for once again stressing this to your good self: Always, always, tell the truth.
If you’re available, forthright and authentic, and you sit still for questions, including the ones you might not like, you’ll gain in exposure, name recognition and an increased air of credibility. Reporters will understand your style of communicating, which will allow them to quote you with confidence. And when events transpire, they’ll turn to you for your perspective.
Trust us, the effort will translate into votes.
If you want to find out how to translate more of what you do into votes, go to ElectionContender.com. We transform aspiring candidates into serious contenders.