Gaining exposure using public relations for your business is a fantastic idea in order to drive sales. Although advertising constantly may not be the most cost effective way to achieve your goals.
When it comes to publicity though, most people who are new at the game believe that you simply pen an effective release, send it out to the print media and wait for success. But when the requests DON’T come in, maybe you would make a couple of call to the newsroom with little to no success.
“Taking a passive approach with the media will not get you many positive results.”
So what’s your first ‘media marketing’ step? Simple. You need to find the media ‘niche’ that best suits your message.
You first need to look at your message and ask yourself a few questions. Is it newsworthy? Is it a topic I can have a long conversation about? Is there a financial income I’m targeting? The answer to these questions will help you determine the correct medium.
First Up? Television.
Whether a morning, noon or evening newscast, they communicate to their audience through pictures. It’s all visual. A producer is looking for something ‘camera-worthy’ that’s also newsworthy, entertaining, informative, or a ‘how-to.’ “If you don’t think your message can be visual, think again”, says Marsha Friedman.
“My firm had a life insurance agency as a client and they really wanted television exposure for their Chief Executive Officer. The segment pitch we prepared was an interview about the importance of life insurance and why it’s vital for women to protect themselves for the future.”
Friedman continues, “That probably sounds to you like a visual sleeping pill, right? What we did to make the segment really terrific is that we told our client to create large, colorful graphs in order to really create a compelling and visual story. In the end it was a very successful interview for our client!”
All newscasts are directed to a specific demographic. For example , early morning news shows are usually watched by working adults and families getting ready for school. Lunchtime shows are aimed for stay at home moms and retired individuals. Late night news is usually targeted for younger business people.
Now, how about talk radio.
Talk radio talk to their audience through words and not through pictures. Friedman adds, “Talk radio is conversational, so be ready to talk.” What’s more, many radio shows love local angles. Can you tie your topic to a news story that is hot in your area?
A similarity held by TV and talk radio is that each show is targeted to a specific demographic. As you would expect with the news, weather and traffic segments, there is not really time for an interview. 12:00pm shows, now run the gamut of topics since so many people listen to the radio at work.
So now more then ever you can expect to catch a business program during the typical workday. When work is finished for the day, when you turn on the radio you will be hearing the 2nd drive time of the broadcasting day. “Listeners are more relaxed then, and it’s more conducive to a longer interview”, adds Friedman.
And don’t discount those overnight shows. Think no one’s listening? You’d be mistaken. Evening and overnight interviews reach a broad audience of listeners, including 2nd and 3rd shift workers, public service employees, truckers and many people who work overnight.
Now, why not get your name in print!
Magazines and newspapers resemble radio and TV in that they’re looking for the newsworthy, the entertaining, the informative as well. But certain segments of print also like visuals.
Marsha Friedman says, “If you have a story about a gourmet food product, make sure to include a delectable dish photo.” Whenever appropriate, photos can help you make the grade.
For 20 years Marsha Friedman has been a leading authority on public relations as CEO of EMSI. Go to publicitythatworks.com to claim your free “Power of Public Relations” video today!