When you think about ways to jumpstart your media presence this year, try one of these four simple activities to gain exposure:
Assess social media options
- Are you utilizing Twitter, Facebook, Instagram or Pinterest? Are there social media platforms that your business competitors are mastering and you are not? Assess the available social media platforms that allow for engagement with your potential media sources. Develop a social media schedule in order to keep a consistent flow of communications with those media sources.
Create press releases
- Press releases are one of the best ways to introduce media to new and exciting changes in your business. Whether it is television, radio, print or bloggers, all media outlets utilize press releases for relevant information to share with their audience. Creating a written overview and submitting it to local news outlets is a great way to get media coverage.
Create a newsworthy event or activity
- Create an event that media wants to cover like one that supports a charity or showcases the community. Research which bloggers write consistently about the type of charity you support or feature events in their posts. Watch your local newscast or read the newspaper and see what types of human interest stories they cover. This will give you a good idea of the kinds of events or activities that you can organize that would be newsworthy. Above all, be genuine. Promote and participate in events that you feel strongly about and not just for public relations purposes.
Submit an opinion/ editorial pieces
- Submitting editorial letters commonly called “op-ed” pieces to a newspaper can provide a highly engaged audience for your company message. The nature of these types of written opinion columns allows for the writer to identify with an issue and write under their name. If there is a relevant issue that affects your industry or that you have a passion about, submitting an op-ed piece could be a great way to generate media exposure. Be aware if the topic is controversial, the company could also be associated with the topic and this may or may not be a positive association. Use caution when deciding to submit an op-ed.
Use these media ideas throughout the year as well. Courting the media is an ongoing activity that can pay off down the road with TV, radio or print interviews.