Is your credit union frustrated with its media coverage? Recently, I spoke at NACUSO's Network Conference about how to work with the media to get better results. Here are five ways your credit union can achieve that goal.

1. Timeliness. Social media, which has changed everything else in business and in life, has also had a profound effect on media. I like to remind people we live in a Twitter world, on Twitter time. That means event reporting is instant; there is no lag time. Press releases with photos must be sent the same day, because attendees have already shared this information on Twitter and other social media platforms. Forget a worthless press release sent two weeks or a month after an event occurs. Even a release sent the following day has diminished timely value. Prepare your release ahead of time so you can focus on the event. Snap some photos with a digital device, attach them to your release and send them during the event or immediately afterward.

2. Delivery. CU Times editors receive hundreds of emails each day, and that's pretty typical for any newsroom. During weekday mornings, I often receive a new email every 15 seconds, most of them news releases. It's impossible to open them all, so if you want to grab an editor's attention, you must do so in the email subject line. An email with "press release" for a subject line isn't going to cut it. Instead, promote your release with a subject line that sells your news. The body of the email must summarize the news hook, too. Don't just say "press release attached" and name the press release file "press release." You're asking a journalist to jump through too many hoops, and most will ignore your release and move on to one that's more efficient.