One of the most difficult marketing obstacles for startups, small businesses, and even marketing departments in large companies is getting media attention.
If you don’t get media coverage for your business, it will be difficult to gain credibility and exposure. These are important parts of PR, and you need to establish them from the beginning.
It can be difficult for startups and small businesses to get media exposure using traditional PR methods, so you need to be more creative when thinking about how to get free press for your business.
This guide has been put together to provide you with the tools you need to win the media coverage you deserve.
This is because we’ve had to work to earn it, rather than pay for it. Press coverage is publicity that has been earned through hard work, rather than purchased with money.
What is “earned media?”
The end goal of all PR tactics is to win earned media.
In other words, earned media is any type of press coverage that your brand or company receives from external sources that are not under your direct control.
Owned media is separate from paid media, which is when you pay to place your content on someone else’s channel, such as through ads. Do not confuse this with owned media, which is when you publish content on your own channels, such as your website. Owned media is different from paid media, which is when you pay to have your content published on someone else’s channel, such as through advertisements.
Earned media vs paid media
I know what you must be thinking:
You talked about earned media and owned media already, now there’s another one?
Both earned and owned media are marketing tactics that grow organically, while paid media is advertising that is directly paid for.
Paid media is a great way to drive more traffic to your site, but it can only reach and affect a limited amount.
Why?
40% of Americans use ad-blockers which means that not everyone will see advertising. Furthermore, 92% of customers say they trust earned media more than advertising.
Paid media can drive traffic to your website, but if you have not built trust with your target market, it will be difficult to convert them. Customers want to trust brands before they are willing to spend money.
Getting media coverage is an effective way to gain the trust of your target audience. This is because what others say about you is more important than what you say about yourself. Therefore, for the best results, you should include all different types of media in your marketing strategy.
What are the benefits of earned media?
It’s difficult to count the benefits of earned media on one hand. But we’re going to try here:
Here’s a deeper dive into how earned media achieves these benefits:
- Builds awareness – Earned media allows you to reach more of your target audience. Winning earned media across different media outlets opens you up to new customers by getting more eyes on your product or service.
- Heightens your credibility – Press coverage is invaluable while you’re trying to build your social proof. By producing thought leader articles for publications read by your audience, you demonstrate your industry knowledge and build credibility.
- Increases trust – Consumers like to buy from brands they trust. 92% of consumers trust earned media, while only half trust paid ads. Therefore, it’s clear that positive media coverage is an effective way for your business to build trust with your target market.
- Boosts your SEO – Earned media will have a positive effect on SEO if you go after the right type of press coverage. Winning press coverage on industry-relevant sites that have good domain authority scores helps you rise up Google’s rankings.
- Increases your leads and sales – The positive attributes of earned media all lead towards business success. Through increased visibility, credibility and a clearer identity, you’ll no doubt experience an increase in leads and, ultimately, sales.
You’re probably thinking…
Although this is a good start, you still need to find a way to publicize your business.
We’ll get to that soon! Here are six simple steps to follow to get media coverage for your startup or business.
How to get media coverage for your business?
1. Start with your story.
The key to gaining press coverage is to do something worthy of media attention. This is a tactic used by celebrities and startups alike. The goal is to get the public’s attention through the media. If you can give them what they want, your chances of being covered in the press will increase significantly.
If you want your startup to get press coverage, focus on having a great company story. You’ll be more likely to stand out from the competition if your story is compelling.
Your story is your chance to present your news in a way that is impossible for the press to resist. It is your reason for existing.
Create a personal story that runs parallel to your company’s story. This will make your company more relatable and increase the chances of it being featured in the news. Instead of simply explaining why you started the business, make your story more interesting and compelling. Describe the problem that your company is solving or how it is changing the world.
It is important to have a strong and compelling story in order to have success with media coverage. Your story will be the foundation for everything else, so take the time to make it a good one.
2. Establish goals – the reasonable ones.
The next step is to focus on setting goals that are both clear and attainable.
Vanity metrics are important, but it is more important to focus on smart goals. Be specific when setting objectives and have the big picture in mind. rather than become famous, a better goal would be “Increase brand awareness by targeting well-known publications,” or “Alert potential customers to a new product by seeking coverage in niche publications that our target market frequents.”
If you want to be successful in publicity, have well-defined objectives and use a spreadsheet to track your progress. Make a list of journalists and publications that you want to cover your company, and choose outlets that will help you reach your publicity goals.
You will be more successful if you focus on fewer, high-quality connections than if you try to have a large number of superficial connections.
3. Identify the most relevant journalists.
If you fail to plan ahead for your PR campaigns, you are essentially setting yourself up for failure. Yes, this may be a tired old cliche that we have heard time and time again. However, in the realms of public relations, it couldn’t be truer.
The media coverage you receive needs to be relevant to your business. It is a waste of resources to get media coverage that is not aimed at your target audience. Therefore, it is important that you research where and how you want to get media coverage.
Our guide provides detailed instructions on how to find journalists that cover your industry. Firstly, identify the most relevant publications:
Start with the publications that you read or are aware of which report on your industry. Make a list of all the publications that you read or that you’re aware of which report on your industry. This will give you a good starting point for finding the right publications to target.
If you want to find out what kind of media coverage your competitors are getting, you can use tools like Google News or Moz.
Use Similarweb to find other online publications that are related to the ones you uncovered in the previous two steps.
Once you’ve got your list of publications, you then want to identify the most relevant journalists at these publications:
Search for keywords related to your business or industry, and look for journalists who have reported on these stories. Make a note of the journalists who you find.
4. Build rapport with journalists BEFORE you need them.
In order to be successful when pitching to the press, it is important to establish a rapport with journalists ahead of time. Asking strangers for favors without first establishing a rapport is less likely to be successful.
The better your relationships are with media outlets, the more likely you are to get coverage. Pitching news that the outlets’ writers are interested in will help, since they are more likely to read your pitch if they know you.
Start Connecting With Journalists:
- Follow Them on Twitter – Most journalists can be found on Twitter; almost 60 percent have a Twitter account. So follow them, and engage in conversations about day-to-day life, a TV show they’re live tweeting, a sports event, or their daily coffee shop visit.
- Connect With Them or In-Mail Them on LinkedIn – Some writers prefer LinkedIn. If the writers you’re targeting are on there and the timing seems right, pick their brain about how they prefer to be pitched. Ask them what type of stories they look for and how much notice they prefer to have when covering your news or announcement.
- Connect Locally – If a journalist is local, it’s important to connect in-person. On a local level, attend events, conferences, or trade shows to get some face time.
- Make Their Life Easier – A great way to connect with journalists is by making their life easier. Help them with a piece they are working on, one that’s unrelated to your company, by referring them to a business or product that you know of. HARO (Help a Reporter Out) is an excellent resource.
Our Director of PR recently found a female reporter who fit our client’s demographic and started following her on Twitter. After several months of engaging with her over things they had in common, she pitched her. The reporter gave us an email that put us in touch with the right producer, and four months later our client secured an incredible interview that sent their website traffic skyrocketing!
You should never underestimate how important it is to have connections. Make an effort to connect with journalists through Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, or in person. Get to know them and establish a relationship. You’ll be much more successful than if you just cold pitched them.
5. Close the deal.
Ensure that the assets you create for the media are both beautiful and detailed. Make sure that you have all the information they could potentially ask for on hand, as time is often of the essence. Try to predict their questions and have answers ready in advance.
You don’t want to come across as pushy when trying to confirm interest from a writer – this will make you seem like a used car salesman.
If you want to follow up with someone, it’s best to wait at least 24 hours. Even if you’re in a time crunch, it’s important to give the person some time to respond.
If you receive a response from a writer saying they are “not interested,” don’t be discouraged. It happens. Instead, use it as an opportunity to learn what you can do differently next time. Maybe the timing was wrong, or the story was a poor fit for the publication. Whatever it is, be sure to respond to the writer, thanking them for their consideration. If the timing is right, consider asking them if you could pitch to them again in the future. Always treat a “no” like a future “yes.”
When a writer responds to your pitch, be available to give them everything they need to tell your story. If you’re launching, make sure your website is ready. If they ask for an interview, be available for one. Have your press assets on hand: founder bios, photos or videos of the products in action, and your company story or media release. A few great pieces can be extremely impactful, so focus on quality over quantity.
DO: -Stand by your promises -Keep to deadlines -Give people what you promise them -Don’t change your mind -Be mindful of your reputation -Make life easier for journalists DON’T: -Come across as rude -Make promises you can’t keep
6. Follow up on earned media wins.
If you’ve gotten media coverage for your business, good job!
Although this may be true, it’s not an excuse to be lazy.
There are still a few things you can do while ‘running your victory lap’:
Make sure the article or post you received mentions your company by including a backlink. As we have discussed, getting backlinks from high-quality sources can have a positive effect on your SEO. Therefore, you should make sure that any media coverage you receive includes a backlink. If it does not, don’t be offended. Just send a follow-up email asking if they would be willing to include one.
Be sure to monitor people’s feedback on your publication’s website and social media channels. This will give you a good idea of how well you are being received and what areas you need to improve. You may also get some good ideas for future earned media successes.
If you want something posted on social media, do it yourself. Post it on your social media profiles right away. Pay attention to what your target audience is saying to get an idea of what is successful.
Related posts:
