How to maximise relationships with the media

Have you ever wondered how some aesthetics professionals always seem to be featured and quoted in articles, and on journalist and influencer’s social channels?

At this years’ Wigmore Medical Presents, aesthetics journalists Alice Hart-Davis, Olivia Falcon, Francesca Ogiermann-White and Victoria Woodhall joined together in the Council Chamber for a Meet the Press session.

The agenda included advice on how practitioners can work with the press and gain media attention, how key relationships can be forged and maintained, understanding what is interesting and relevant to press, and what constitutes as a newsworthy angle. Below are some of the key takeaways from the talk.

How can practitioners increase footfall?
VW: “Show the human side of your clinic—people are nervous about having treatments, they want to know, ‘is this practitioner right for me’? Display a soothing presence—I’m seeing a lot more clinics moving away from a white clinical space to something more welcoming.”

A H-D: “Journalists are usually writing for an organisation or publication and that needs a very specialist way. If it’s a journalist wanting to enhance their own social media, that’s different. You may think, ‘is this journalist going to do this for free’? The answer is possibly not. But you could always offer them a nice treatment that they may be delighted to review. This would generate video content, and whatever content you get from that, you and they should use it to the max. Put the video up across different platforms with captions so that whatever content you’re creating, you get a lot of mileage out of it. You can use them as reels, stories or YouTube shorts. If it’s more serious stuff, put it on LinkedIn and take a more businesslike approach.”

How can practitioners build a relationship with press?
A H-D: “It’s about establishing trust and reputation —making friends isn’t always easy but try and get the interaction going somehow. This could lead to doing short videos, hosting webinars, creating closed groups, contributing to newsletters. All of these generate content.”

OF: “Sometimes the partnerships don’t come until you’re a bit more established. It’s about reaching out and making yourself visible to the journalist through social media, meeting in person at events and conferences, dropping into the inbox with some newness and making time for last minute quotes and additions to features. We’re always looking for specialists; people are always asking who is the best person for a treatment. They want absolute specialists and I appreciate practitioners don’t always want to say they only do one thing, because nobody wants to miss out on any potential consumers.”

Should you employ a PR to help you connect with the press?
A H-D: “If you have a PR, it’s always easier to get an intro with a journalist as we may know them. We need to know who you are, what you do and what you’re interested in. We want to know who we’re talking to; if people approach out us of the blue and we don’t know you, it’s much harder to get that connection with us—if you come to us through an introduction from a PR we already know, we’re more likely to listen. Alternatively, if you have a friend, colleague, acquaintance or brand who knows us and can recommend you, we are more likely to listen. Follow us on social media, see what we’re doing and engage on our posts. There’s a lot of people I’ve got to know over the last few years who will comment on posts and at first you think, ‘do they know what they’re talking about?’ But then I’ll look at their accounts and maybe we’ll start talking. If you want to showcase yourself or a specialism, make sure your biographical information is available, your specialities, or the kind of things you do in clinic. You could have those via a LinkedIn bio, or Instagram highlights.You can drop us a line if lots of people are looking at a particular treatment which we have mentioned or which you know is adjacent to something we’ve been writing about, and then you never know because we’re all trying to come up with ideas for content, whether it’s for our own platforms or newspapers and magazines. If somebody shows they have been paying attention to what you do, that’s great. There will be a point when we’re covering these things and I always want fresh voices.”

F O-W: “I’ve met some really interesting practitioners because they’ve been introduced to me by their colleagues. You don’t necessarily need to pay a PR to make that introduction on your behalf— you might be at a conference, and if your colleague happens to know us but you don’t, maybe they can introduce you.”

OF: “I think there is great value to PR—some people excel at it and understand —but if you are going to invest in a PR company, you want someone who is really specialised and knows the industry and can guide you properly.”

How can brands and clinics leverage social media?
VW: “Speak in hooks and reiterate your point of difference. A hook is also a headline—you’re trying to hit SEO markers as well as hook people in with keywords, an arresting visual and an arresting caption.”

OF: “There are way—you can actually model someone else’s really successful post. Even if it’s not in your niche, you can look at what worked for them and apply it to your niche. We are all trying to grow our platforms and love it when you comment, especially if there’s a topic that we, as journalists, are broaching—if you can add medical expertise and take the conversation further that’s brilliant. The algorithm will then show us your posts.”


Wigmore Presents 2026



Wigmore Medical is delighted to announce that award-winning nurse prescriber, Julie Scott, has joined the Wigmore Presents 2026 panel as Co-Chair, and together, we look forward to hosting a stellar line up of speakers, so make sure you save the date—we’ll be back at the Royal College of Physicians from 17-19 April.

“I’m deeply honoured to step into the role of Co-Chair for Wigmore Presents, a programme I have long admired and been fortunate to contribute to since its inception,” says Scott. “To have been asked and trusted to take on this role is a true privilege, and one I approach with respect and enthusiasm. Collaborating with esteemed colleagues and world-class speakers to help shape the programme and the conversation in aesthetics is both professionally enriching and personally rewarding.
“For me, what has always distinguished Wigmore Presents is its commitment to intelligent, evidence-based education, which is driven by curiosity, grounded in integrity, and always with the aim of developing the wider clinical community. I’m looking forward to helping curate conversations that reflect the leading edge of science while staying true eto the values that have always defined
this event.”
Julie Scott is an NMC-registered independent nurse prescriber and Level 7-qualified aesthetic injector with more than 30 years of experience in plastic surgery and aesthetic medicine.

SAVE THE DATE for Wigmore Presents 26 — Friday 17 to Sunday 19 April