At my recent talk to the North Shore Business Forum on “Getting Good Press Coverage,” I offered a number of ideas for successfully sharing your news with the media. Here are four ideas for you to try.
- Make a list of current trends or topics in the news on which you feel you could serve as an expert source. Can you describe your expertise in the proverbial 25 words or less, or in a 30-second elevator pitch? If you can do this, terrific — you’re on your way! If you can’t, get to work — being able to quickly establish yourself as an expert when you’re pitching the media is essential.
- Develop a list of the media outlets that serve your clients or prospective clients. Some should come to mind immediately, but go beyond the obvious and do a little online research to find others. And remember to ask your clients where they get news. Media outlets may include:
· Local media: newspapers, TV & radio stations, magazines
· Regional/national media
· Industry or trade journals and magazines
· Web sites of news outlets, plus trade associations, networking groups, etc.
· Blogs or Twitter feeds about your field
· Social networking sites - Find opportunities to meet the local press. The newspapers serving your hometown and region may hold periodic “open houses” at which you can meet editors, writers, and photographers, and learn how to pitch stories. While the local papers are not the only media outlets you should contact, I’d encourage you to take advantage of these “meet and greet” sessions as a way to form relationships with local media folks. A reporter is more likely to tap you as a source for a story if he or she has met you and knows you’re an expert on a particular topic (see tip #1, above).
- Check The Publicity Hound’s “Tips of the Week” for creative ideas about getting coverage. Publisher Joan Stewart wrote recently: “Online publicity — from direct-to-consumer press releases to pitching bloggers and using the social networking sites like LinkedIn to promote — can produce far greater results than the biggest pile of clips. Smart Publicity Hounds cover all the bases by pitching traditional media and participating in social media. Read more about how to use LinkedIn to promote at http://tinyurl.com/5zvzyd.“ (Visit www.PublicityHound.com for more of Joan’s great tips.)
Thanks for reading — and let me know if you have success stories you’d like to share about getting good press coverage for your company or organization.