Media Relations and Developing a Marketing Strategy
In the previous posting we began a discussion of the effective ways to use media relations to uncover the core market and media resources which will help draw customers to your business. Media relations, or the use of press releases, press events and announcements, and such, were touched upon as cost effective ways to begin this process.
This is due in part to the fact that editors and publishers of media have a very good idea of what their audience is looking for, and so will respond positively to stories that will be of interest to their readers.That said, it should be noted that media of all kinds and at all levels are not as open to publishing press releases as they once were; the media industry as a whole is also strapped for paying customers (advertisers) and is loathe to offend their advertisers with stories about businesses and non-profits which compete with their paying customers. The wall between advertising and editorial departments is in many cases not as clearly defined as once it was, especially in publications which are not in the hard news reporting business.
For this reason, it is important that press releases and follow up packages contain something that will be effective at helping the media resource attract readers and viewers, sell copies and advertising. There is thus a level of de facto collaboration between the writers and publishers of press releases, both parties wanting to attract readers who will in turn lead to respective and ideally repeating sales.
From the publishers perspective, especially well written press releases are a plus, as they become the basis of editorial copy which requires minimal input (and cost) on the publisher's part. I have sent out press releases to fairly extensive numbers of publications which in fact published the release, with it's photos and in its entirety, with no changes at all to the text; a self-directed message to potential clients repeated word for word to a multitude of readerships.
Now, to get to the nuts and bolts of writing good press releases. Press releases must have an element of newsworthiness to get editors to publish them. Simply publicizing a sale at your business won't get you much ink; donating a portion of one day's profits to charity, or announcing an expansion that will add new jobs, is more likely to get published. Marketing requires a planned, coordinated effort, which we will get into a bit further on. In general, informing people of activity that will be of benefit and interest to an audience served by the publication will catch the editors eye.
Editors are also interested in the people behind an enterprise, especially if they have a special talent or intriguing story. Bringing new people of exceptional talent or experience into an enterprise will also warrant at least a short mention. But generally, one needs an out of the ordinary story, which falls inside the "news" and not entirely under the "advertising" category, to gain coverage.
A good press release should be concise and to the point, with the gist of the story contained in the title and first paragraph. The real art of good reporting is to get the attention of the reader in the first line, and then hold their attention until they fully grasp, remember, and act on the piece. With press releases and other media work, one must first accomplish this with the filtering editors, and then with the targeted, buying audience. Practical experience is always desirable; and, it is certainly acceptable to send follow-up information carrying the same basic message in a modified form, as a process designed to find the right combination that will lead to publication.
Ideally, a release will contain all of the essential information in a single page. After establishing the fundamental information, subsequent paragraphs should fill in the essential details, including the all important contact info, website, address, etc.
There should also be a header before the body of the release giving contact information and names of contact people. This allows the receiving editor to contact you for more information or, in a best of all worlds response, to do a full article on your business or non-profit.
Include good quality photos of the subject, principle people, etc. Photos draw attention in publications; if the photos are interesting enough, they will carry your release to publication, even if only the photo and a brief caption are used. Be sure to include your own caption, with names of any people and descriptions of any objecs. The smoother the path is set out for editors, the better your chance of coverage.
In the next posting, I will address the issues of timing for press releases, and the need and value of having follow up and supporting media to leverage the coverage you receive. Also, it is important to keep track of where your press release does get published, and of any response you get to these publications. Remember, the dual purpose of sending out press releases are 1) to promote and publicize your enterprise and 2) to determine which media resources are likely to be most cost effective at drawing in customers with paid advertising.
This is due in part to the fact that editors and publishers of media have a very good idea of what their audience is looking for, and so will respond positively to stories that will be of interest to their readers.That said, it should be noted that media of all kinds and at all levels are not as open to publishing press releases as they once were; the media industry as a whole is also strapped for paying customers (advertisers) and is loathe to offend their advertisers with stories about businesses and non-profits which compete with their paying customers. The wall between advertising and editorial departments is in many cases not as clearly defined as once it was, especially in publications which are not in the hard news reporting business.
For this reason, it is important that press releases and follow up packages contain something that will be effective at helping the media resource attract readers and viewers, sell copies and advertising. There is thus a level of de facto collaboration between the writers and publishers of press releases, both parties wanting to attract readers who will in turn lead to respective and ideally repeating sales.
From the publishers perspective, especially well written press releases are a plus, as they become the basis of editorial copy which requires minimal input (and cost) on the publisher's part. I have sent out press releases to fairly extensive numbers of publications which in fact published the release, with it's photos and in its entirety, with no changes at all to the text; a self-directed message to potential clients repeated word for word to a multitude of readerships.
Now, to get to the nuts and bolts of writing good press releases. Press releases must have an element of newsworthiness to get editors to publish them. Simply publicizing a sale at your business won't get you much ink; donating a portion of one day's profits to charity, or announcing an expansion that will add new jobs, is more likely to get published. Marketing requires a planned, coordinated effort, which we will get into a bit further on. In general, informing people of activity that will be of benefit and interest to an audience served by the publication will catch the editors eye.
Editors are also interested in the people behind an enterprise, especially if they have a special talent or intriguing story. Bringing new people of exceptional talent or experience into an enterprise will also warrant at least a short mention. But generally, one needs an out of the ordinary story, which falls inside the "news" and not entirely under the "advertising" category, to gain coverage.
A good press release should be concise and to the point, with the gist of the story contained in the title and first paragraph. The real art of good reporting is to get the attention of the reader in the first line, and then hold their attention until they fully grasp, remember, and act on the piece. With press releases and other media work, one must first accomplish this with the filtering editors, and then with the targeted, buying audience. Practical experience is always desirable; and, it is certainly acceptable to send follow-up information carrying the same basic message in a modified form, as a process designed to find the right combination that will lead to publication.
Ideally, a release will contain all of the essential information in a single page. After establishing the fundamental information, subsequent paragraphs should fill in the essential details, including the all important contact info, website, address, etc.
There should also be a header before the body of the release giving contact information and names of contact people. This allows the receiving editor to contact you for more information or, in a best of all worlds response, to do a full article on your business or non-profit.
Include good quality photos of the subject, principle people, etc. Photos draw attention in publications; if the photos are interesting enough, they will carry your release to publication, even if only the photo and a brief caption are used. Be sure to include your own caption, with names of any people and descriptions of any objecs. The smoother the path is set out for editors, the better your chance of coverage.
In the next posting, I will address the issues of timing for press releases, and the need and value of having follow up and supporting media to leverage the coverage you receive. Also, it is important to keep track of where your press release does get published, and of any response you get to these publications. Remember, the dual purpose of sending out press releases are 1) to promote and publicize your enterprise and 2) to determine which media resources are likely to be most cost effective at drawing in customers with paid advertising.
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