Is your company’s C-suite a “go-to” source for media? Do reporters proactively call your company when industry news breaks seeking expert commentary? Are your company’s spokespersons consistently quoted more than the competition?
While we hope your company is fortunate enough to be able to answer “yes” to all of the above, increasing media coverage is a goal for many companies. Here are five ways to increase your media coverage in 2016 and beyond:
Commit to an ongoing public relations program
Consistently generating company news is a key way to stay on the media’s radar. Commit to sending out news – key accounts won, product/service expansions, new hires and promotions, accolades and awards, etc. – a minimum of once per month. In addition to generating news releases for your business, take the opportunity to issue statements and pitch your spokespersons for expert commentary when timely opportunities arise.
Engage with media via social
Many journalists use Twitter to take the pulse of the day’s news and seek additional sources for stories, often when on deadline. Beyond monitoring for these timely opportunities, Twitter is an important tool for building relationships with media. Ways to build media relationships on Twitter include commenting on and sharing reporters’ stories, acknowledging media’s coverage of issues that are important to your industry, thanking reporters who have taken the time to interview your team, etc. Remember, the goal is to build relationships and add value – not badger and overwhelm reporters.
Be a source and a resource
Part of relationship-building – media or otherwise – is the element of reciprocity. To that end, being both a source and a resource can strengthen your company’s relationships with key media. For example, if you see a reporter is looking for a source on deadline and you know the perfect person (not necessarily from your company) take the opportunity to point them in the right direction. If you know a reporter has a passion or interest outside of work and there is a great story related to that that you think they would like to pursue, let them know about it. When reporters know they can rely on you for more than company news, it builds trust and strengthens the overall relationship.
Newsjack
Are you familiar with David Meerman Scott and the art of newsjacking? In newsjacking, expert sources insert themselves into the news cycle when relevant news breaks. Think a financial analyst offering themselves up for commentary when the stock market crashes. The key to newsjacking is to make sure that you are adding value to a story – not creating clutter.
Create your own news opportunities
Having a news dry spell? Create your own news. What exactly does this mean? Mine for trends, breakthroughs, unique occurrences, etc. that haven’t yet made their way into the news and on which your spokespersons can serve as sources for expert commentary. Reporters receive hundreds if not thousands of emails each day. Bringing an element of the unexpected to them – so long as it is of relevance to their audiences and their beat – can help to generate additional media opportunities for your business.
Public relations, in particular media relations, can help to keep your company on the radar of existing and prospective clients. It can also help to cultivate new referral sources and increase your company’s share of voice in its industry. Increasing your company’s media coverage also provides more content to share amongst your social media communities and extra pages of content for your website (it goes without saying that you should have an online newsroom).
If you’re looking for a public relations agency to help spread your news to local (print, online, broadcast) and trade media, contact us today. Now, let’s start spreading the news!
