When it comes to public relations, at the end of the day, all companies are trying to do is attract new leads, reach new audiences, and get them interested in a company’s products or services. However, getting media coverage from a major publication, podcast, or TV program is not the easiest thing, especially if a company has a limited PR budget.
Purpose
One of the first things that any company has to figure out before pitching a story to a news outlet or a journalist is the core reason why that company needs any media coverage in the first place. That means the company has to review whether it needs media coverage, whether getting any sort of media courage aligns with the company’s overall business goals, and how getting media coverage can help achieve those goals. In fact, the company should also review how it’s going to benefit from investing time and effort into developing a story and pitching it to journalists, which products or services the company is trying to promote to the audience, as well as the type of attention they need to generate.
Message
If a company has realized there’s a need for a stronger PR push that includes generating media coverage, it’s time to develop an attention-grabbing story that will present the news outlets and the public with the right message. This means the company needs to figure out which topics the story is going to focus on, make the story newsworthy for the outlets, and figure out why audiences should care about that story and the company’s products or services. Developing a strong message means the company also has to stay on top of current trends and stories in the news cycle so that it can relate its own story and message to what’s currently going on in the world.
Implementation
Once the purpose of a public relations campaign and its message has been defined and tested, it’s time for the company to figure out how that campaign is going to be implemented. While reaching out to reporters doesn’t take a lot of time, it does take a lot of effort because everyone needs to get a personalized pitch. It also takes time and effort for the company to follow up on any questions a reporter might have after they receive a pitch and decide they want to cover it.
As long as the story that a company is pitching to a reporter or news outlet is timely, newsworthy, and relevant to topics they already cover, there are good odds that the story will get media coverage. However, to get the best chances, companies should work on developing relationships with relevant journalists or media outlets before they have a need for media coverage. Once they have an established relationship that’s mutually beneficial, the reporter is going to be a lot more likely to talk positively about the business, whether on social media, in print, or through other channels.
