Press coverage is a powerful tool for any business to have in its marketing arsenal. Press coverage can help you build credibility, get your name out there and boost sales. But how do you get it? This step-by-step guide will lead you through the process of finding and securing press coverage for your business:
Know your audience.
Know your audience.
Knowing your target audience is essential to getting press coverage. You need to know what they want, and more importantly, what they need from you. You also need to understand how their interests align with yours–what are the commonalities between you?
Make a list of relevant journalists and influencers, and reach out to them.
The first step is to make a list of relevant journalists and influencers, and reach out to them. How do you find these people? The internet is an excellent resource for this information–you can use search engines like Google or Bing to look up the names of publications in your industry, then see if they have an email address listed on their website (or ask one of your fellow employees who’s worked with them before).
If you can’t find an email address for someone specific at a publication, consider reaching out through social media instead; many journalists are active on Twitter or Facebook where they post updates about what they’re working on at any given time.
Once you’ve compiled a list of potential contacts in your industry:
- Update it regularly! It’s important that your list remains current so that if any new opportunities arise (like getting interviewed by someone), there won’t be any slip-ups due to outdated contact information; 2) Keep track of which ones are available versus unavailable (e.g., maybe some writers only accept pitches via email while others prefer phone calls); 3) Be sure not everyone gets contacted simultaneously — spread out messaging efforts over several days rather than sending everything all at once because otherwise it might seem spammy or annoying; 4) Use BCCs when sending emails so no one else sees each other’s responses until after everyone has responded back individually.”
Ask for help from friends, family and other business owners.
- Ask for help from friends, family and other business owners.
- Ask for help from people who are experts in your field. If you’re an accountant, ask your CPA or other accountants in the area if they can recommend any publicity opportunities that might work well with what you do.
- Ask for help from people who have been in the media before (especially if they’ve had good results). This can be done by asking them how they got their story published and what type of coverage worked best for them – just make sure not to come off as someone looking for free advice! You also want to make sure that no one has a reason not to give away their secrets either because there could be some resentment over something related back when it was published first time around…and then again after each subsequent reprinting too!
Read up on your industry’s news cycle, and prepare for big announcements.
- Read up on your industry’s news cycle, and prepare for big announcements.
- Know what’s going on in your industry.
- Be prepared for announcements, especially those that affect you or your business directly (like a new competitor).
Create a press kit for the media.
A press kit is a collection of information, photos and other media that can be used by the media to write about your business. It should include:
- A list of all the ways you can be reached. This includes phone numbers, email addresses and social media accounts (if applicable). If you don’t have an official website yet, include links where readers can find more information about who you are and what you do online.
- Your logo and company colors so they know exactly who they’re dealing with when they contact someone from your organization–and it’s helpful if this matches up with the branding on any materials used for marketing purposes (website, social media accounts etc.).
- A short bio about yourself or other key team members at work here at [your business]. Include any impressive achievements such as awards won or recognition received from previous employers/clients/colleagues etc., especially if there are local connections between those people/organisations involved in these achievements too! Addressing these areas provides context around why someone might want to write about us – which helps build trust between parties involved
Respond quickly (and professionally) to all inquiries from journalists.
- Respond quickly (and professionally) to all inquiries from journalists.
- Be polite, professional and concise in your response.
- Include all relevant information in your response: who you are, what you do and why it’s interesting to the journalist (and their readers).
- If you don’t know the answer to a question, say so! This will help them move on to someone else who does know rather than waste time trying to figure it out themselves or waiting for an answer from someone who doesn’t have one yet.
- If there is anything preventing you from responding within 24 hours (or any other timeframe), let them know when they can expect a response from you instead of leaving them hanging indefinitely – this shows that their inquiry was important enough for us not only respond but also keep them updated throughout our process until we’ve done so!
Press leads are an important part of how many businesses market themselves
- Press leads are an important part of how many businesses market themselves.
- Press leads can be used to generate traffic, sales and brand awareness. They’re also a great way to build relationships with potential customers. Here are some examples:
- If you sell products online (or even offline), consider offering free samples or free shipping to journalists who write about your company. This will help them test out your product(s) and get their readers excited about them too!
- Offer discounts for established media outlets such as newspapers or magazines that cover similar topics as yours, especially if they mention one of your competitors in their articles (which often happens). This will encourage them not only write more about both companies but also give more exposure since they’ll likely share their articles across social media platforms like Twitter or Facebook – which means more people could potentially see those posts than just those who follow these publications directly themselves.”
Press coverage is an important part of how many businesses market themselves. By following the tips above, you can make sure that your company is getting the attention it deserves from the media and other influencers in its industry.
