Media Protocol for Business and Life
Recently, there has been a change in the relationship between the media and people. During this changing time, it's essential for business to understand the "me" of its target customer. The media is an authentic and dominant way that people know about brands nowadays.
This blogpost will provide information on how to build better relationships with journalists, how to use social media as an effective tool for engagement, and offer advice on how businesses can utilize new forms of communication in order to build stronger bonds with their target audience. This post will also touch on if you should invest in reaching out to journalists at all times or not.
It's important to note the fact that this article is not intended to be an all-inclusive list on how to get media coverage. I will try my best to give tips and examples of how these businesses can communicate more effectively with journalists.
First off, it's important for businesses to understand the type of journalist they're dealing with. The number one thing that people don't consider when they contact a journalist is that every single one of them has a different personality, so they will respond differently when contacted by different brands.
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Identify your audience. Is it a tech-savvy person in their twenties, a wealthy business person, or someone who is neither? Everyone has different ways that they like to connect and get news so it's important for you to learn how they want to be contacted before you approach them, or else you run the risk of wasting your time and getting nothing out of it.
Now that we've established that journalists can be different, let's take a look at how you can approach them.
Here are a few ways to get started and build relationships with the media:
- Do a news roundup or use DataSift to see what your competitors are talking about. Use this information to reach out and offer them a brand-new perspective on the story. This is an effective way to reach out because journalists are constantly looking for new sources of information. By offering something more detailed than your competitors, you're more likely to get noticed by the journalist and their editor. - Throw a small event or party in your office and invite journalists to it. This is a great way to get the attention of the press without any obligations. - Have an expert on staff for something in-depth you're trying to communicate about. This can be used as an opportunity for you to meet with them in person and pitch your story idea. - Send them an email directly from your company's website with a brief statement such as, "Our product X is launches in Y date. Would you like to come see it?" - Put on a media event in your office and invite journalists to attend. Journalists tend to be hesitant to negotiate with you, so if you're hosting an event and asking them to come, they are going to have a tough time saying no. - Tweet out their website or check out the source code of their site. If they're sharing content, this is a great way for them not just to get new information and see what's popular online but also because they'll likely share your link back. - Design a new product for your store, write about it on your blog, and then tag them in it. Unless you're offering 100% free advertising to journalists, this is likely the only way you're going to get a chance to meet with them again. - Invite them to speak at an event that you're hosting in your office or wherever else you're located. - Attend a conference that your target audience is attending and be one of the few people there who are actually interested in their industry or product. If they want to meet up with you, the chances are much higher that they'll make the time for you.
- Contact journalists at publishers or magazines who write about similar topics as your company's industry or business. These are people who are trying to get their own stories out there and if you can offer them something new, they'll be more likely to take you seriously.
After reaching out to these journalists, there is only one thing left to do: Prove that you're not wasting their time. Do some research on any information they've already published on your industry or topic and make sure it's something that you can use effectively. If not, give them some new content or information, then follow up with them. This will make sure that they remember who you are and that they'll be willing to keep an open mind towards whatever it is you're pitching them in the future.
Here are a few examples of how journalists can look to reference new sources of information. Even if none of this applies to you, there will still be some value in it. Journalists typically like to know what the newest technologies are and how they're useful so keep this in mind when you're pitching them:
-"This new app lets people add photos and videos from their phone to their posts, making it more interactive and engaging," "A new service helps employers manage their employees by tracking what they're doing online. Their clients include a content marketing firm, a marketing agency and a pharmaceutical company."
- "Large companies are looking to achieve social media savvy in order to stay ahead of their competition," "Small businesses can benefit from the increased online visibility that comes with becoming more active on social media."
- "The global financial crisis has shown us that being on top of the latest trends is important. It is even more crucial when you're trying to get your products and services noticed by people who may not be familiar with your business."
- "This is just one way to increase your chances of success. There are many others, so please reach out if this applies to you. I'd love to meet with you and discuss your upcoming marketing goals."
- "It's easy to dismiss your competitors. It's easy to lose sight of what you're doing right. It's a lot harder to forget how well you've been doing, and how much better you could be with an updated approach or some new ideas."
- "Your current strategy is like trying to predict earthquakes in New Zealand: There are many factors that can affect the success of an organization, but it is always best to think about things as a whole. This is especially true in a highly competitive society like ours where changing trends come from many different sources.
Conclusion:
Journalists are skeptical of other people. They are always trying to get the best story possible and in order to do that, they will use any source they can find. This means that your innovative ideas have value but you need to make sure that you're using those ideas effectively.
With all of this information, there is no reason why you can't put it into practice. All you need is a bit of determination and effort and by the end of it, you'll be getting a lot more attention than before. Best of luck!
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See how we helped one company with their content marketing strategy here: http://blog.