Publicity: A Guest-Post Compilation of tips to put your Business in the News Radar
The media industry runs at the speed of light, but at the same time is rooted in conventions of the last century. Top world’s media platform such as Engadget in the tech industry and Sohh in the music industry, have been growing at the speed of the light, and now represent a reference point for millions of people. Even so, their influence as information agents is so significant that they daily give the pattern of life and observation of the world to the common inhabitants in almost every corner of the planet.
If you are trying to get a mention or something else for your product or startup, you need to understand the restrictions and go through the right doors.
What are the main methods to publish your product?
After the famous trial and error method, in the end, I outlined 3 primary coverage resources.
1. External guidance
The first point of departure and the most obvious one is to hire a PR agency or a professional with the right contacts; that way, you can save a lot of time and effort.
It should be noted that during my journey I found out one has to be careful with this last option as freelance professionals can be expensive and often less useful than specialized firms — of course, everything depends on your budget and your determination.
2. Forward strategy
Logically, the second step would be the direct approach: to contact an editor, blog manager, or influencer. But for that, you had to invest the necessary time to understand it. As publications such as The Huffington Post explain, each influential figure has its own followers within the generals of its medium.
Consequently, my recommendation for you would be: Give yourself the task of analyzing what is usually covered so that you can get an idea of how to reach their profile and audience. Typically, this means showing why they should care.
Keep in mind that direct contact is not about writing a generic press release for 200 journalists and 40 media, because that is a waste of time. In my experience, it is best to focus your efforts on up to 10 “reference” media and try to get those media to write about you.
3. Source of information
And finally, you have the option to contribute as a writer in a publication that relates to your company. Of course, you will need to prove that you are an expert on the subject to convince them you won’t abuse their space to promote your company.
This technique intends to attract individuals within that particular community, and of course, know how to sell your services without making it look like you are doing blatant advertising.
If you consider yourself to have the experience and skills to carry out the last two methods, the next point will come in handy.
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Speak the language of publicity
After spending a good part of my life in the marketing department of powerful companies, I understood the importance of preparing a good speech and working on my own communication skills.
Whether you plan to send a press release or be the author behind the commercial content, the information you share is essential, while quality is supreme. My goal was not only to reach the journalists, blogger, or influencers but to convince anyone who read that information that it is worth talking about my product.
Tell things that add value to your business. Tell what your company does, lean on storytelling, emotional approach, and creativity.
Among possible topics, you can choose innovation, consumer needs, achievements and merits, awards, job creation, and relevance in recent news.
Additionally, it may be the case that a medium or a contact asks you for exclusivity — a few hours or full exclusivity. My position is: As long as they promise to reward me (show my business in the news as a breakthrough solution and not one more option among the bunch), it’s worth considering.
To shield yourself in any case, create great material with different points of view.
Take advantage of any resource to make a presence
As I mentioned before, the tools and their opportunities to reach the media in different ways are important.
For me, it was essential to participate as a startup in events within the sector where journalists came (as other media talked about my solution), be it congresses, conventions, charity events, etc.
Also, make use of social networks. Publish very relevant content in the corporate blog, contact with influencers of the sector through DMs and try to turn them into ambassadors of your brand. Be charming.
At first, getting coverage from the press sounds like a simple task. A couple of clicks here and there and that’s it; you just went viral! Like every other nonsense today.
Regrettably or fortunately, that doesn’t happen as often as you think it would. But, why cannot any product get featured in the media?
For the simple fact that journalists are continually receiving news about new products, standing out from the crowd can be very difficult.
However, those are great news for you!
As we tell every client that resorts to GoodNoon PR: Whether you have an established business or you just started one, it’s never too early for people to know everything about your product. That is, if you have an infallible strategy, you will have a place guaranteed in the headlines.
On a related note, a recent study held by Nielsen showed that more than 90% of consumers trust recommendations and products that people have already had the opportunity to try and at least 70% trust the opinions and reviews they find online.
Of course, it is essential to emphasize that choosing the best exit to promote your business is only half of the work — and that is why many brands are still in the dark (something that even Forbes seems to agree on).
In today’s post, we will see the smartest ways to get the attention of influential journalists and feature your product in the mass media. Even if you are in a tight market, it only means success (traffic and sales) will be much more precious and longer lasting.
Let’s go into the matter
Is your company newsworthy?
Your company and your product or product line can become news when you rely on the principle of effective external communication in the digital era: planning and execution. This process has several important points, such as:
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Define a reason: The media needs news, but for that matter, you must know your solution very well, what are your strengths and weaknesses and why your product should be featured in their platform in the first place.
Find your facts: Opening a company is not news. But, if you are the first company of this type to be founded in your country, it can be news for a local media. It’s about looking for evidence to corroborate your message.
Creativity: Exploit your creativity and that of your team to the fullest. What makes your product special? For example, selling a cryptocurrency to establish healthy meals in schools can be a headline. Of course, you have to stay true to the actual offer.
What is the first step to feature your product in the media?
Before jumping into unexplored waters, bare some material in mind. When we talk about content, we put aside advertising strategies because users hate an empty promotion.
The step to follow has two aspects. Use your own networks to propel news and “make a call” to replicate the message (not recommended because you are still building a reputation and a community); or create an action plan to be fulfilled.
Concerning the last case, the task is to look for means specialized in your sector. To do this, you can use Google and type: Top bloggers, Influencers, Blogs like, and so.
The purpose behind that action is to gather as much information as possible — anything, from the first and last name of the collaborator to their email and where they live.
After getting said information, send a contact message in summary mode; together with an attached material, which must answer the questions or expand the first information. If you do not want to do all the work on your own, you can always hire professional help to do this for you.
About content
Although the options are unlimited, on other occasions, we have already discussed the importance of press releases, opinion articles, and guides.
Whatever format you choose to publish or send to opinion influencers via email to capture the attention of media of authority, there are precise components that we recommend you to follow:
Unless yours is a renowned company like Apple, never contact a journalist if you don’t have a value proposition, that is, never reach them only to present a product or service.
Give added value to your offer. For example, if you just launched an e-commerce sales channel, provide an interview with a spokesperson to delve into the boom in this industry, the benefits for consumers, etc.
Make sure that the content you claim is published serves in some way or another to improve the lives of consumers.
Surveys, studies, or research are, in most cases, well valued by the media, but they must have an impact on society.
Delivering tips also tends to be of interest, especially those that have to do with the world of business or technology. For example, “100 tools to boost your sales,”, “7 apps that will help you find your dream job,”, etc.
Always have a list of topics that are within your industry, and which you would like to speak of, as part of the launch of your new product or service.
What to do after your product has been featured
You followed all of our advice and finally made it! When you have been featured in the media without spending a single dollar on conventional advertising (those annoying ads, which have a place in the marketing strategy but not in publicity) you have developed along the way.
But now you can’t stop. You still have to do:
Press Clipping: Press clipping is the follow-up that is done to all media you have contacted with; to know if they have published your product’s information. It is a document in which all the links, PDF, or videos of your passage through the media must be attached.
Massify the information: If you have appeared in a digital journal, don forget to attach the links on your brand’s social media, your company’s blog or on the main website. It will help you to improve your visibility and to let all your followers know about the good news.
Conclusion
I know many roads -in addition to what I’ve shared with you today-can get my business in the news. Being an entrepreneur like me, that means you are about to learn to investigate and invest the time that corresponds, which is considerable. Otherwise, if you have a marketing department, tell them to take that task as a priority.
The message behind this post is that as an entrepreneur or marketer, it is necessary to understand the dynamics of influencers and niche readers, that your words should be reliable and that you know the functioning of the digital industry.
The last tip that I will give you is a universal truth: Don’t pay for a medium to writes an article about your company. There are many better ways to spend money. For example, turning to a PR agency brings long-term benefits in addition to strategies that outstrip publicity advances.
Originally posted in: https://freelancers-hub.com/publicity-a-guest-post-compilation-of-tips-to-put-your-business-in-the-news-radar/
