How to get media coverage

Limiting your marketing to your website or other owned media means you are likely to engage only with those who already know you and what you do. Getting media coverage will expose your brand to a larger audience than you would otherwise have been able to reach. Media coverage can help you reach interested people to learn more about your product.

What comes to mind if you were asked to name a famous technology company? If you were to survey 100 people on the street, you would probably hear the same few brands being mentioned. This question, when asked to customers, is called unprompted brand recall. The more likely a customer remembers your brand, the higher the recall, and the more successful the brand is. Maintaining media coverage throughout the year helps increase the customer's ability to name your brand when asked about a specific industry.

Through media coverage, you can influence consumer buying behavior. Highlighting product features in the media can also highlight the strength of your brand. With more brand awareness follows more sales.

A crisis can be managed effectively using social media. It is an instant communication channel and can be used for time-sensitive issues. However, the use of social for this type of delicate work depends on the brand already having a robust social presence before the crisis. Once the emergency has happened, use social to communicate with key stakeholders and develop a narrative that you want to be used to describe the problem at hand. Use social media to supplement a press release accepting responsibility for the situation and explaining what the brand plans to do. Social media can also monitor the brand's public opinion and respond to customer questions or criticisms. Press coverage also can help with this.

You can promote your event to a wider audience by engaging the media, regardless of the cause you are campaigning for. Gaining media coverage is a great way to spread your message and increase donations and awareness. Your cause can be promoted through events in a way that engages audiences directly, inspires them, and draws wider attention. If you receive the right kind of press coverage, your event will become more visible and may even attract more attendees. Your event, cause, and organization may also gain legitimacy due to media coverage and raise your profile for the future.

Your brand reputation will be much more impactful if your brand is mentioned in a respected media outlet that targets your audience. When an independent party talks positively about your business, it is much more credible than if you were to speak for yourself. This customer perception happens because when people see positive media coverage about your brand, they think there must be a reason for it. They assume the outlet chose to write about your brand, not a competitor, for a reason. It puts you in an excellent light. It also shows your relevance.

Media coverage can reinforce your brand identity. It can help get a compelling story out in the public realm and be used to show the brand's mission. Favorable coverage can build a reputation by making you sound like an industry leader.

Research the names of publications that can give you coverage within your field. Check for related articles published in the last few months. Make a list of these. Then, find the author and privately reach out to them. There is a good chance that the author will know the topic and be interested in covering it further. Make sure to personalize the message.

You might even find them offering to get your business on the news before you ask.

Freelance journalists are often a good bet. Potentially you can receive a variety of placements instead of just in one outlet, and freelancers are keen to get their stories picked up. Building rapport with journalists means, over time, you can leverage these relationships for mutual advantage. When done correctly, it can be very effective. Below we look at how to get media attention.

These days, journalists are on top of social media to follow trends and get ideas for stories. Therefore, post newsworthy items on your social pages. It may come in helpful in getting an article written about you. You can also follow reporters and outlets to see what they post. Also, your credibility can improve if the journalist follows your brand.

This is especially important if you are also buying media. Use your brand guidelines and style guide to ensure that all channels are consistent. It is essential to do this with internal assets, such as your staff intranet website, and externally on outdoor ads, tv ads, radio ads, press ads, and digital content. It needs to be up to date and consistent with the message that aligns with your brand's vision and vision. If your brand's website uses a slightly different version of your logo than your brand's social media profile, it won't give a journalist a great perception of you. They may not want to write about you. Be sure you convey who you are, what you do, and your values.

You can use Google Trends to create newsworthy content by monitoring interest and popularity. Media monitoring lets you see what people say about your brand, your competitors, and other topics or keywords related to your business. Google Alerts can help you understand your audience, your competitors, and your own business. All this increases the chance of your story being picked up.

Reporters work to strict deadlines and are bombarded with pitches from brands wanting to get published. Make their job as easy as possible by providing all the necessary information and writing parts of the story for them. This will make it a lot less time-consuming for them. Helping them in this way may also increase their likelihood of wanting to work with you again.

If you want to learn how to write a press release, then being original is priceless and will always be in demand. It may be an original subject or a different angle on a topic. Either can help you get noticed. Provide data. Journalists love data!

Pitch original content that's tailored to the publication that you're targeting. Also, provide visuals. Far from just looking pretty, visuals can help tell a story and aid the reader's understanding. Visuals also help you stand out. Visually appealing infographics can help you get media coverage and are a great asset to getting media attention.

The sample can be an incentive. By offering a complimentary product sample to a reporter, they can review your product in their publication. This helps if you are a smaller business and you need to get your foot through the door.

You need to be bold and proactive to get press attention. Take advantage of the information available to check the PR coverage your competitors have received and who, if anyone, assists them. Finding this out on their press pages or social media may be possible. As they've already covered similar businesses, take advantage of this and contact these outlets. It won't hurt.

This brings us to this. Sometimes just asking can help. Reach out to a media outlet and ask if they would be interested in covering your news. Be polite and persistent. It will soon pay off.

One other method that could succeed in getting you media coverage is newsjacking. In short, this involves using a topical news story or discussion to boost your brand. A definition offered by Tech Target is "the practice of aligning a brand with a current event in an attempt to generate media attention and boost the brand's exposure". You need to think carefully about how this can be accomplished and how you can relate it to your business. While it presents risks, it can help generate interest in your brand and get you in the news.

Some services can provide media coverage. Sites like HARO (widely used in digital PR campaigns) connect journalists to sources, who in turn offer their opinions and expertise on a matter that the journalist can then use in their story to increase credibility and legitimacy. If your answer gets picked up, you and your company receive a backlink to your website, thus driving traffic to your site and promoting your brand. Another similar platform is Terkel. By using multiple platforms, you increase your chance of receiving a backlink. Potentially, you can get twice the publicity.

Part of being consistent in trying to get published is to be consistent with following up. Have a set procedure in place. Reporters are inundated with emails from people wanting them to cover their stories. They need to prioritize these.

As a result, your story has a greater chance of being published. Answer any questions you receive as thoroughly as possible. Ensure your replies are timely, clear, and personalized. This will make it easier for them.

To get published in the media, use multiple avenues and work with multiple journalists. Working with only one journalist means the input of only one viewpoint. By working with as many different people as possible, you can answer more queries and share the views or expertise of others to increase your chances of making the news. Choosing representatives from various companies should ensure that a wide range of experience and credentials are covered.

Your brand awareness and market presence can be improved by analyzing media coverage. Website traffic and backlinks are a great way to monitor your media coverage progress and check social media platforms for links or an increase in followers.

While you must follow up with reporters and chase them to get coverage, calling every hour on the hour and emailing them daily is not the right approach. Think how you would react if it were you were the reporter. This approach would not make you want to publish the story. The strength of your message alone is what will get you the coverage. Follow up two days later and possibly two days after that. Then leave it. It probably isn't the right time. It helps in the long run if you recognize and value a journalist's time.

It is easy to get frustrated when you feel your efforts are being ignored and you have something valuable to contribute. Try not to take it personally. Stay professional in emails and over the phone, even if you don't like what you hear. Not every attempt will work. You will eventually find a reporter to cover your story, and you must stick with it.

It's essential to be consistent with your branding and messaging. It needs to align with your company strategy and brand development. When contacting reporters, it is very easy just to focus on the newsworthy element and to sell your story this way. It is crucial, however, to be consistent with your messaging and brand as it helps reporters learn about you and perceive you in a certain way over time. You can, over a longer period, claim broader leadership. This will strengthen your likelihood of getting published as they understand your story.

Congratulations! You've secured media coverage. Job done, right? Actually no. In today's highly competitive market, even after a journalist publishes your news, you'll miss an opportunity to stand out if you don't take advantage of the coverage. Use social media platforms and more traditional forms of marketing, like emails, to extend the impact of positive media coverage. People seeing this may want to learn more.