Twitter has become a new kind of wire service. Reporters today use Twitter to pick up tips and story ideas throughout the day.
This presents a great opportunity for anyone wanting to interact with the media. If you're successful in getting certain reporters or editors to follow you on Twitter, you now have another way of reaching them with your news. VIRTUAL MEGAPHONE In addition, Twitter also works to amplify your message to others within your industry, the community and to potential clients. Twitter can serve as a virtual megaphone to announce when you've written a new blog post or when you've posted a new thought leadership video on your website. It also gives you a platform to comment on what others are saying, helping to establish yourself as a respected expert.
0 Comments
A press release is a great way to convey your announcement or news item, but it's often not enough to do the job. There are often other resources that reporters will need and want in order for them to effectively tell your story.
VISUALS Let's start with visuals, which can be anything from head shots of your CEO to shots of the factory floor to graphs depicting your latest quarterly results. Images are more powerful today than ever because most everything gets posted to media websites or Facebook. Even radio reporters who never had to worry about visuals in the past are now asked to snap photos and shoot video of the events they cover. Think ahead to what images will help make your story more compelling. What parts of your announcement can be told in pictures? Can you supply the images or allow photographers access to key places where they can get their own? If you want to increase the chances your release gets used, make the lead the lead. Press releases often go unread because the writer has buried the lead.
One of the frustrating elements of press releases is that one must often wade through sentence after sentence of preliminary information before getting to the real essence of the release. The lead gets buried under process and procedure. The problem should be evident. Making it more difficult for a reporter or editor to understand the significance of the release increases the chances that they'll simply stop reading and delete the release before ever giving it much thought. So, what would you rather have? Someone hitting the delete key after the first sentence or someone giving your release the attention it deserves? Nothing like a fresh media campaign to remind you of what does and does not seem to work when it comes to media relations. We've recently gleaned the following points worth noting when it comes to dealing with reporters and editors, and why the process is more of an art than a science.
1. Reporters are not court reporters. They won't simply write what you script out for them in a press release. That being said, a press release can still influence how they write their story, often resulting in positive coverage. 2. You can't force the media to attend your event. No matter how good you think your story is, some in the media may not agree. This is why relationships with editors and producers are so important when it comes to pitching stories. Earned media is one of the most effective ways to tell your story. By having a credible news organization or online publication carry about a story about you or your products and services, you will reap incredible benefits. But, earned media is called "earned" for a reason. You have to work at it. It takes one's proverbial blood, sweat and tears, not to mention time. Unfortunately, many people don't have the patience for an earned media campaign. They want instant results. I once heard a successful businessman say that he demanded to know of a prospective public relations firm just how many placements he could expect for his monthly retainer. When the firm couldn't guarantee a specific number he said he wasn't interested. The question of how best to pitch a journalist came up again recently at a gathering of public relations professionals. We listened to a panel of editors and, in one case, a broadcast journalist, explain how they liked to be approached about a possible story.
In a nutshell, each one had a slightly different take. No two reporters or editors handle their jobs in the same way, although they had some points in common. What that means for telling your story to the media is that you'll want to avoide a cookie cutter, one size fits all, approach. Some reporters will take phone calls. Some will not. Most like email, but are quick to point out that they over deluged with so many emails each day that they cannot carefully consider each one. So, here are a few key takeaways: Want to get inside the mind of a reporter or an assignment editor? Want to learn the secret sauce that drives much of how they do their jobs?
It's really simple. Yet, it's far from easy. The key to getting the media to cover your story is to be both relevant and personal. Relevant means to affect as many of their readers, listeners or viewers as possible. It must have wide ranging appeal. Personal means to connect your story to real people. Give it a name and a face. Better yet if you can actually quote a real person. Earned media usually lives up to its name. You have to earn - or work for - media coverage instead of paying for it.
Paid media is just what it says: you pay for whatever media exposure you receive. This is typically paid advertising -- online or print ads, TV commercials, etc. With earned media, you don't pay a dime. In a sense, it's free. But you pay for it in sweat equity. Trying to earn media coverage is no easy task. After all, you have to persuade the media to see your story or event as newsworthy. You then have to trust that reporters will be fair in their treatment of your story or organization. Nothing is guaranteed. But there are definitely advantages of earned media that are worth considering when you're looking to tell your story. The popularity of the Ice Bucket Challenge to raise money for ALS research provides some helpful guidance when it comes to public relations and earned media.
As you probably know, the Challenge is for someone to be videotaped getting doused with a bucket of ice water to generate awareness of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and to raise funds to help find a cure. It's been a dominant theme on conventional and social media in recent weeks, helping to raise more than $40 million. Why has it worked so well? Some newsmakers have become popular because they've learned the art of being media friendly. That is, they understand what reporters need and want when it comes to covering their industry or field. So, are there certain tips or tactics one can use to become more media friendly? Absolutely. We'll outline them over a span of several posts. We suggest you try to put them to use at the next opportunity. First, we'll look at sound bites. A media friendly newsmaker has developed the knack of speaking in short, succinct and memorable sound bites. This sounds simple enough, but we can unpack it a bit more. |
tags
All
Archives
March 2019
|