Become A Super Promoter - Lesson 4

The Media Needs You

The world is a big place.  Because the scope of what constitutes news is so vast that no media outlet could possibly know about every topic worth covering, they rely on public relations efforts from all kinds of sources, including businesses, to help them spot interesting news stories.  People just like you help shape the news because editors and reporters need inside tips, specialized knowledge, and the unique story ideas that come from small businesspeople.

Although reporters through investigation and research have generated many of the stories you read in the papers, PR practitioners who have pitched their story to the media generate many others.

There are numerous ways for your small business to get coverage.  You can, for instance:

· Alter the media to story ideas within your industry
· Position yourself as an industry expert or commentator
· Organize and promote a public event
· Tie your business to current issues
· Write articles for trade publications
· Showcase an unusual aspect of your business.

Make the Media Your Working Partner
 
Although PR is free, it is not free advertising.  Reporters are loyal to accurate reporting and genuinely good stories.  The secret to success is positioning your business as a media partner.  If you make your expertise and experience available where it’s needed, you can help the media do its job while getting valuable exposure for your business.

Part of developing an ongoing relationship with the media involves being at their disposal.   Because they have daily deadlines, reporters and editors are almost always in a hurry.  They expect you to know this and adjust your schedule accordingly.  You will be expected to make time for reporters who, at the last minute, want to interview you for a story due that day.  Or you may have to make yourself available weekends or early mornings in order to get interviewed on a radio station.

Create and Execute Your PR Action Plan

PR strategies are about developing a systematic approach to marketing that embraces the media on its own terms in ways that will directly benefit your business.  You need to craft a plan, consistent with your business and industry, which appeals to your market niche and supports your overall branding strategy.

Your PR Strategy

PR can be labor intensive, so it’s important to fashion a media strategy that emphasizes the media outlets that reach your specific target market on an ongoing basis.  Look for the centers of influence for your audience, such as trade associations or professional groups that regularly address your audience.  Are your potential clients more likely to respond if they read about you in a trade publication or a chamber of commerce newsletter?

Sometimes a humble trade publication is the ideal spot to reach your best prospects.  A highly specialized consulting firm might seek and get lots of coverage in its local paper, but if its clients are distributed throughout the country, and can be reached only through a trade publication, the effort is wasted.  Good marketers are never seduced by media coverage for its own sake. They do not measure success in column inches, but rather by how much their reputation is spread and enhanced among the right people.

Effective use of the media means reaching the right people with the right message.

Have Persistence

Because it is central to your marketing plan, media relations need to be integrated into your everyday business.  Media strategies connect not just to your marketing strategy, but also to the place your business has in the life of your clients, and everyone in contact with your business.

Integrating media relations into your business requ9ires that you:

· Read everything that affects your industry
· Keep your Web site up to date with relevant information
· Keep an eye on competitors’ marketing and PR efforts
· Talk to those in your market niche and use their feedback
· Attend trade shows, seminars, and other events related to your market

By continually immersing yourself in the world of your clients, you can develop a sixth sense regarding PR and how it can help you maintain your reputation in your market.  The more you develop a PR mindset, the more you’ll see PR opportunities in your client interactions, in day-to-day news and events, and in your dealings with vendors and others who affect your business.

Good marketers do not see PR as an on going, off-again activity, nor do they expect miracles after writing an article or being quoted in a newspaper.  Media strategies are dedicated not just to creating but also maintaining a visible, credible brand and reputation.  This means pursuing PR with the same regularity as paying your rent.

PR is about investing for long-term results.  In the same way that you shouldn’t expect small monetary investment to yield a lifetime of wealth, you should not expect a couple of media appearances to turn your business into a success overnight.

Although initial dividends may look small at first, each media appearance will add to your advantage, growing your reputation and increasing your reach.

Building a Media File

The first step in any media campaign is to identify the media outlets, and the key people within those organizations, that reach your target market.  The goal is to build a list of newspapers, magazines, newsletters, and radio and television programs where you want coverage.

Your research can begin by asking your clients what they read, watch, and listen to, and where they get news related to your industry.  Google search trade magazines and newsletters  

Encyclopedia of Associations

Most businesses should include associations and their newsletters in their media list.  The Encyclopedia of Associations lists over 81,000 nonprofit, professional, and trade organizations worldwide.  Entries contain complete contact information and detailed data on their membership, budgets, purposes, activities, services, organizational structure, affiliates, publications, and convention/meeting activities.

As you do research, you’ll probably be amazed at the number of tightly focused publications that cater to specialized business categories and interests.  Get to know your reference librarian, one of the most under-appreciated information resources in the world, and ask him or her to help you locate resources.

Even if you serve only a local market, don’t limit yourself to local media.  Include publications with a national audience on your media list, and look, for opportunities to be quoted in national publications   Even though such media exposure may not lead to direct sales, it can help establish your credibility.