PR Advice

The Key To Media Success Is Focusing On Their Needs, Not Yours.
Written by Miguel Casellas-Gil and Shared by Marsha Friedman

2020 has been a challenging year in so many ways for nearly everyone – and pitching the media in the middle of a pandemic is no exception.COVID-19 dominated so much of the news cycle that, seemingly for months, any pitch that didn’t include a coronavirus angle ended up in some reporter, editor or producer’s deleted file.

Fortunately, at News & Experts we found plenty of ways to tie our clients and their messages to the situation, though at times it required some exceptional brainstorming sessions! And eventually other topics began to work their way back into new reports, much to everyone’s relief.But even through these unusual times, a couple of things did not change.

One is the value of media coverage for building your brand or promoting your business. Your ROI is the credibility you gain from the implicit endorsement when the media turns to you as an expert who can provide valuable insight to their audience.

The other thing that didn’t change is that, to be successful, you need to understand the media, their needs and what they want from you.Just recently, journalists were surveyed about how the pandemic had affected their work. They were also asked for their thoughts on how those seeking PR could do a better job of pitching to them and working with them.

As a result of their responses, let me share a few ideas on what you should be doing that will ingratiate you with journalists and increase your chances of publicity success:

Pitch journalists via email.
Most people in the media prefer to be pitched by email, rather than by phone or by a personal message on social media. With reduced staff and limited resources, they are often crunched for time and an email allows them to review a pitch at their leisure, without you interrupting their day. Make sure you have a succinct subject line that grabs their attention (but doesn’t promise more than you can deliver)! Try to keep the body of the pitch short and to the point.

Be willing to do video interviews.
In years past, most interviews with print reports were conducted in person or by phone. As we all know, times have changed, so it’s possible print journalists will request an interview over Zoom or another similar service. Your willingness to honor their requests will help create a great relationship with them. Of course, TV interviews absolutely will happen this way, so the more comfortable you are being interviewed on camera, the better.

Keep up with local news.
When you’re pitching to your local media, make sure your pitch is relevant to their readers, viewers or listeners. That’s why it’s important to follow the news so that you understand what is more likely to resonate with those editors, producers or talk show hosts you are trying to reach. One thing I always advocate when pitching the media (because it works!) is never pitch yourself, your company or your product. Instead, pitch the issue on which you’re an expert, or pitch the problem that your company, product or service solves.

Be on the lookout for fresh angles.
As I mentioned earlier, this entire year has been saturated with news about COVID-19, and that’s expected to continue for a while. So, continue to look for ways to insert yourself into whatever conversation is going on in the news, especially if you can come up with angles that are different from what everyone else is doing and apply directly to your community.

At the same time, the media are certainly open to other topics beyond the pandemic, especially ones with a positive punch to them. You might have even noticed that some TV news reports always try to end their broadcast with something upbeat, leaving their viewers feeling good after what otherwise was a gloomy newscast!

And keep in mind, as you help the media and give them what they want and need, you will help yourself. Your list of media successes will grow and you will be on your way to becoming a go-to expert the media turns to again and again. Stop by our website today!
https://newsandexperts.com/

Helpfully yours,

If you want professional advice on getting the most out of your publicity efforts, give us a call at 727-443-7115.

2019 Offers A Fresh Start To Re-Ignite Your Personal Brand – BY Marsha Friedman

It’s that exciting time of year when we look with eager anticipation to the future, plotting out how we can make the coming 365 days even better than the previous ones.

Maybe you want to expand your business. Perhaps you hope to add a few percentage points to your sales goals.

As you set all those wonderful goals for 2019, make sure you don’t neglect to include a few resolutions for continuing to build your personal brand. These days, with the ever-changing media landscape, the opportunities to ramp up your publicity are more plentiful than ever, yet I don’t think people are always aware of that – or realize how to take advantage of those opportunities when they are aware.

For example, nearly all print publications have an online presence that helps them reach a potentially larger audience than when they depended on delivering to homes and newsstands within a limited geographic area. And it’s easier than ever for you to share with others any articles you are quoted in, either by posting links on your website or by making use of social media.

Meanwhile, new online publications continue to pop up, so the digital realm is creating additional print real estate – and additional opportunities for you.
So, as you toast the arrival of the New Year and prepare to take advantage of the digital domain’s publicity possibilities in 2019, here are a few things you should be doing:

Maintain a strong social media presence.
One of your best weapons in the quest for publicity is social media, which can help you make connections both with the media and with your target audience. Jay York, our senior digital marketing strategist, says it’s important to know which platforms are best for what you do. For example, let’s say you are a restaurant owner.

Instagram provides a platform for foodies photographing their meals, as well as an avenue to browse hashtags related to new and interesting cuisines. Facebook offers broad appeal and features such as event creation, which provides additional value to restaurants. If you’re a financial professional, Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn all are good. LinkedIn is a great place to build your network and authority with higher-end clients.

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Facebook’s ad network provides powerful tools for targeting the right audience. Twitter, like LinkedIn, also provides an opportunity to focus on building authority and networking with other industry and business influencers.

Develop a content-rich website.
Your website, among other things, provides you with a chance to be your own publisher. Are you miffed that no one else will publish your thoughtful op-ed article? Don’t pout! Instead, create a blog, providing those who visit your website valuable information based on your insight in your area of expertise. Update the blog at least every week or two so people will keep coming back to read your newest thoughts and advice for them.

Create a digital-media footprint.
Vow that in 2019 you are going to redouble your efforts to pitch story ideas to the media. Reach out to publications and let them know how their readers would benefit from what you have to say. (Remember your blog? You can share that with journalists as well, giving them an even better taste of the topics you can speak about.)

If you find success reaching top-tier media, great! But don’t neglect the seemingly smaller players, including trade publications and your local small daily and weekly newspapers. The articles that small publications write are sometimes picked up by larger publications, and all of it can be linked to on your website, helping to impress clients and potential clients that you are someone the media turn to when they need a voice of authority.

As you do all these things and the months of 2019 fly by, who knows how one great publicity success might lead to another. We once had a social media strategist who was asked to discuss a topic on a local TV station. The appearance worked out so well that for a while he became a regular on the show.

Those opportunities can build and build, and build some more!

Just maybe, 2019 will be your best year for publicity ever!

Let the fireworks begin!

Marsha!

~Please visit Marsha and her team of PR Experts at “Experts & News Today”
I am taking her Rich Website Advice Into the New Year and expanding from not only Literary services but also Social Media and Media Branding and Promoting Events too on my coming soon new website beginning in JAN 2019 here “Lyon Media Services!”

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