What’s The Best Way to Get a Journalist to Cover Your Press Release?
If your press release marketing strategy includes media coverage, then one of your top goals is to get your release covered by a journalist. There are a few key steps that you can take to get this coverage and to help increase your press release marketing success.
A Solid Press Release Marketing Strategy
The first step to getting media coverage is to have a strong PR marketing strategy. This includes research on your audience, your competition, and your market. You also need to have a strong brand message, vision, and an overall marketing strategy that effectively communicates these elements.
You see, your marketing strategy and your press release strategy are intricately linked. If one isn’t strong, it’ll impact the other. When a journalist looks at your press release, they also look at your other marketing collateral. It all needs to stand up and reflect some continuity.
You Have to Have Something Interesting and Important to Share
Your story needs to be relevant to a journalist. That is to say that it needs to be newsworthy. It also needs to be on a topic that the journalist covers. You see, journalists have jobs. They have to write stories on a very specific niche for a specific audience. If your news doesn’t fit into that niche, they’re not going to cover it. And that’s okay. You don’t need EVERY journalist to cover your story. You really only want reporters that write for your audience to cover it. That’s your target. So make sure your news is relevant and useful to them.
Supporting Collateral
If you can make a reporter’s job easier, then they’ll be more likely to cover your release. So what makes their job easier? Great images that are ready for publication. They also like solid data that can be backed up, and quotes that add interest and personality, along with credibility, to your story. You can, and should, have a media package that’s accessible. However, if you can also include some of these key elements in your release, that will grab attention from the media. Keep in mind that social media can also be collateral. Include your social media profiles in your contact information. If you have links to case studies, fact sheets, white papers, and other supporting information, include those as well.
A Relationship
Finally, you stand a much better chance at getting a journalist to cover your story if you have built a relationship with them. This may be something as simple as connecting on social media and providing them with the occasional bit of information. Maybe you’ve pitched to them before or you share a business connection. Journalists are people too, and we like to work with people that we know and trust.
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