New research has found an increasing number of company CEOs and other senior leaders are actively avoiding becoming media spokespeople. In the professional services sector, convincing partners to take up the role of media spokespeople can be particularly challenging; senior timekeepers do not want to use their time for anything that is not contributing clear and direct value to their practice, and they remain by training and often disposition quite risk averse.

Traditionally, media training has been about how best to engage with the press and on social media, but increasingly this training needs to focus first on the why – why engaging with the press is worth a leader’s time and focus in the first place. Here are a few key arguments to outline the why:

1.  If you don’t set and communicate your narrative, the wider market - which includes your competitors – will fill the void.
2. In financial and professional services, competition is fierce, and you need to use all of your key channels to speak to your current and potential clients, and other important stakeholders.
3. Email communications such as client alerts have rapidly lost value and readership – it’s important to communicate where your clients are getting their information, rather than where it feels most comfortable.
4. Having an informed view, sharing it with the market and being part of the wider debate, demonstrates a person is a willing and engaged contributor in the communities they are targeting.
5. The quality press is still a gatekeeper – while direct channels to speak to the market are much more accessible and credible today, news being reported widely in the press still carries a lot of weight.
6. Do think of top podcasts as quality media outlets – the market may be saturated so starting another podcast may not be advisable, but listenership for the top podcasts remains higher, and more loyal, than many other media channels now.
7. Build relationships and be helpful with the press during the good times – it benefits a lot when crises hit, as they eventually will.

To develop your spokespeople, or build out your media engagement program, get in touch.

- John McGuinness, Director, Leon Communications