I am a firm believer in the power of the media which is why I want to share with you Why You Want Media Coverage & How To Get It!
I worked in media for many years and now work in media relations and public relations but I think after I point out a few things you too will be a believer in the power of the media and what it can do to help you and your business.
I am going to share a few benefits of media mentions, features and interviews so that you can see why you want media coverage and then I am going to share a few ways you can go about getting it for yourself.
Benefits first!
Why You Want Media Coverage
Business Street Cred: Earning media mentions gives you some serious visibility and brand awareness because you are now getting in front of a bigger audience. It gives you credibility and legitimacy. Media mentions, coverage, and interviews help you stand out in your industry and it helps you stand apart from your competition. Share your media on your website in your media page, or better yet, share all those media logos in a As Seen On Media banner on your homepage!
Third-party Endorsement:Earning media is a solid third-party endorsement because journalists do the work to check you out and by sharing you and your expertise with their audience they are saying you are legit!
Build Know, Like, Trust Factor:Earning media allows you to connect with an audience in an authentic way. You get to share your expertise by helping the audience and not selling. When you share information that resonates with the audience it allows them to connect with you in a way they can’t with advertising. You are building trust, allowing the audience to get to know you and, ultimately, giving them a reason to like you!
Exposure, Visibility and Brand Awareness:Let’s face it there is nothing better to get you and your business in front of a bigger audience than earning media. It is a ready-made audience that you get to tap into! You are working to earn brand awareness.
Have I convinced you there are many benefits to stepping out, getting visible, pitching and earning media?
Things To Think About
Before I give you a few key ways to go about earning media I want you to think of three areas that will help.
Profile: Have you created a solid profile of yourself and your business? Do people know what it is you do and how you help people? Do you have strong messaging? This is where you want to be thinking about your elevator pitch so to speak. When you meet people or when people go to your website do they understand who you are and what you do? Will a journalist know right away what you do when they go to your website or social media handles? Be sure to make that clear.
Presence: How do you show up online and in real life? Do you have a strong message and elevator pitch? Do you show up regularly online, and not just by telling people to buy what you are selling? Are you building community, sharing your expertise and knowledge and helping people? Showing up with a solid presence is key, not just for your community and customers but also for journalists (especially if you are actively seeking media mentions and coverage).
Pitch: This is how you reach out to journalists to get that earned media. How are you crafting your pitch? Are you actually pitching? How are you presenting yourself and your business to journalists? Are you going heavy on story? Are you being of service to the journalist and the audience? Are you sharing your expertise to help people?
How To Get Media
Now, let’s get to a few ways you can effectively start earning media mentions, press and coverage for yourself and your business. It doesn’t have to be complicated. I have listed a few ways you can go about earning media, some are what I call low hanging media fruit and some active pitching techniques.
HARO: Help A Reporter Out is one of those low hanging media fruit options. It takes very little effort on your part but can have big media benefits. It is a great option for those of you who would consider yourself introverts or even new to the media thing. www.helpareporter.com
Twitter: This is another of those low hanging media fruit options. I know a lot of people find Twitter a noisy place but it is essential, in my opinion, for a solid media outreach plan. Most journalists are on Twitter and a large majority of them still use the platform to do their jobs every day. Many journalists are researching stories and even find sources, experts and thought leaders on Twitter and that is a good thing for you. There are many journalists who even put their work emails right in their bios so you have no reason not to add their emails to your media list and start pitching them.
So how do you find those journalists?
Start with the ones you know. Look for journalists who work on the television and radio shows you watch and the newspapers and magazines you read. Think local. Think niche.
Use the search tools of Twitter to find producers, reporters and writers to follow. Create lists for yourself so it makes it easier for you to check on a regular basis to see what the journalists are working on and if they are looking for a source for a story.
You can also use the search function to search for journalists who might be looking for someone to interview. In the search window type looking + for + experts + interview and see what comes up.
Twitter Hashtags: Hashtags allow you to search for content quickly on the platform.
Here are a few key Twitter hashtags that will be useful to you when it comes to earning media.
#HARO
#helpareporter
#journorequest
#PRrequest
#sourcebottle
Piggy-Back The News: As you start to follow journalists on Twitter and add their emails to a media list you can start looking at pitching them via email with story ideas. This doesn’t mean you have to reinvent the wheel but look to the stories that are happening in the news, your industry or community and piggy-back on what is already out there. Think about things, events, milestones that are marked regularly like holidays, seasons, time-change etc and use them to craft a story idea, segment idea or guest interview idea. Creating an editorial/pitch calendar will help you with your pitching and posting.
Want more ideas on what to pitch and how to do it? Be sure to swing over to my blog
http://christyalaverty.com/category/blog where I share pitch and post ideas each month and also share tips on how to pitch media outlets, like television, radio, and print.
Meet The Author:
Christy Laverty is a media expert who helps entrepreneurs learn to get visible in a big way by amplifying their brands and businesses with media coverage!
Christy uses everything she learned while working in some of Canada’s biggest broadcast newsrooms as a writer, producer, and editor to help entrepreneurs master their media influence.
She coaches, consults and represents businesses in their journey to earn media mentions, press and coverage.
You can find Christy at www.ChristyALaverty.com
Twitter: @ChristyALaverty
Instagram: @ChristyALaverty
Facebook: @ChristyALaverty
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christylaverty/
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