Press Officers Training Day 2017: A huge success!

4th May 2017

Earlier this year, the annual Stempra Press Officer Training Day took place with over 200 eager attendees from Universities, research councils, and agencies, 19 experts featuring in 8 sessions, and eventually culminating in one big social at a nearby pub (of course).

This year we were really delighted with the range of attendees, from fresh-faced press officers to the wise and experienced. We had an array of PR professionals attend and share their knowledge.

Sessions spanned from ‘Careers in PR’ to our annual statistics masterclass, ‘Social Media 101’ to a debate about managing expectations of scientific and technological advances, and the traditional ‘meet the journalist’ session.

With so much wisdom shared throughout the day, it’s hard to summarise just a few key points but here goes…

1. Avoid the hype
2. If unsure, seek help with statistics
3. Get to know your journalists – remember they’re human too!
4. Don’t be afraid to go where your target audience is (even if it’s social media, or the glossy mags – national coverage isn’t suitable for every story).

And finally….

1. Use the Stempra platform! We have such a diverse range of members from junior to director level, spanning science, tech, maths and health, so use the mailing list and expertise of others when needed.

If you enjoyed a session and would like to share a short summary 300-400 words, get in touch, we’d love to hear from you!

Also, don’t forget to get your hands on our free ‘Guide to being a media officer’, contact us, or come to our next event to get your hands on a copy.