In Part 2 of my series, “You’ve Got Big News to Share: Now What?,” I’ve included some additional ideas for getting exposure—ones you may have considered and perhaps ones you may have overlooked. Depending on your announcement, you might use all of the ideas I’ve provided or simply choose one and work to achieve that goal.
Utilize social media
The rate at which news spreads on social media is quite fascinating. That is if you have the right followers, fans and customers who know you use social media. It isn’t so much about quantity anymore, but about the quality of those you interact with. Do customers come to your Facebook page to share their experience with you and do they “like” or share your posts? If so, then you are doing a great job and likely have a good audience for sharing your news.
The same goes with Twitter and YouTube. People must first know you are there and they have to engage with you. If they don’t, you may not want to rely on social media alone to spread your news and instead work on building your fan and follower base. It is a process, but one that is well worth it. Some ways you can use Twitter:
- Create a hashtag for your news. This is when you see the # symbol before words or phrases. Users are then able to categorize their news or messages using hashtags. When someone clicks on it, it brings up all of the other messages on Twitter using the same hashtag. Using a hashtag helps get a particular topic “trending” which means a lot of people are using it.
- If you follow reporters who cover your industry, you might want to include them in a tweet about your news to let them know about it. This means you put @reportername in your message so it will show up in their mentions. Try using Muckrack.com to find reporters on Twitter. It’s a well-organized website that allows you to search for reporters in many national media outlets.
The Opinion Pages
If your business deals with an issue heavily reported in the news, consider looking for ways to tie in the work you are doing to the stories already out there. Do you have a service that can help people make informed decisions about their finances or health care? You might want to write a letter to the editor commenting on an article about one of those topics. Perhaps you agree with the stance the reporter took or a person quoted. In a concisely written letter, you can commend the reporter on a well-done piece and provide your own take on the situation, thus giving you credibility and getting your name out there.
Or, maybe you have a very strong opinion about something happening in the news and you need more space. An opinion editorial might be a better option for you. Newspapers generally provide guidelines for submitting these types of letters and if you follow those and your issue is timely, you have a pretty good chance of being published. Remember, the opinion pages in the newspaper are one of the most read pages and it’s a great place to be if you are looking for exposure.
Focused pitching
While the traditional press release and “spray and pray” (sending releases to a mass distribution list) method still works occasionally, it may not give you the bang you are looking for. At WordWrite, we believe targeted pitching to those reporters who have an interest in what you do is more effective.
Remember, media relations is a two-way street. You want to get some exposure for what you are doing and reporters are looking for sources and more creative angles for stories. So, help them out by really thinking through what makes you and your business unique. Can your story tie into an article a reporter has already written? Maybe you can provide another angle that hasn’t been considered yet.
It is especially helpful if you know the reporters who cover your industry. Do you follow them on social media and read their articles on a regular basis? Try to build a relationship with them that is not simply one-sided. Compliment them when they’ve done a great piece and be sure not to expect anything in return. Re-tweet their articles or like what they’ve posted on Facebook. This shows them you aren’t in for just self-promotion but are generally interested in what they are writing about.
One great feature article in your daily paper has greater impact than a few blurbs in multiple publications. For one, you get to share more of your story through an interview with a reporter and maybe even contribute a photo or two. Second, many TV news stations rely on the daily papers for their news sources, so you may have opportunities for follow-up media once the story has been published.
The same goes for national media and what we call “media influencers.” These are the outlets other media follow and use as their sources—ones like the Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times. Media relations works best when you’ve spent time building relationships with reporters so that when you have news to share they are more willing to listen to you.
In today’s world there are many ways to share a story, and using a one-size-fits-all approach isn’t necessarily the best way to get exposure. What are some unique ways you’ve garnered coverage for your business? Share them with us. Reinventing the wheel is never the best use of time, so let’s share our success stories (and even failures) in the hopes others can benefit and come up with their own unique twist.
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Hollie Geitner is vice president, Client Services for WordWrite Communications. You can find her on Twitter @JustHollieG
