In a world where competition is fierce and media outlets share content around the clock, proactive public relations is an essential business strategy. Public relations is about more than seeing your business name in a headline. It’s about building strong strategies, targeting the right media and crafting carefully curated content that exemplifies your brand, products and offers in unique, eye-catching ways.
Attracting notice in a crowded marketplace can be challenging, and the odds, unfortunately, are not in your favor. Consider this: journalists receive around 25 pitches every day, and only 45% of those important emails get opened and read. That’s because there are 6x more PR professionals in the world today than there are journalists, so your pitch must stand out, or it’s going straight to the trash folder.
Let’s get back to the basics of PR strategy to ensure your announcements garner the media attention they deserve.
Public Relations 101
So, what makes a good public relations strategy? It all boils down to a few fundamentals: make sure you’re sharing well-written, timely, newsworthy information, use a targeted media list, conduct personalized outreach and make sure you’re being helpful. When you make the media’s job easy, they’re more likely to run your stories.
Writing Quality Press Releases and Media Advisories
The first step in an effective PR strategy is to create quality content. If you’re promoting an announcement about your company, products or services, a press release is your go-to for notifying the media. If your announcement includes an event, draft up a media advisory as well.
Press Release Writing Tips
- Open with a strong but clear introduction paragraph (the lede) that emphasizes the newsworthiness of your announcement
- Share the Who, What, Where, When and Why so the intended audience understands the purpose immediately
- Include compelling quotes from key stakeholders
- Include a media contact for questions and follow-ups
- Link to photos when possible
- Link to media advisory, if applicable
- Remember: your release is intended to pique interest and doesn’t have to be a fully-written story that’s ready for print
Media Advisory Writing Tips
- Keep it direct and to the point—no fluff required
- Descriptive headline
- Pointed subhead with more detail
- Lede: Who, What, Where, When and Why
- Key details
- Speaker list
- Interview scheduling
- Event schedule
- Parking details
- Media information
- Include a media contact
- Link to the press release to share the full announcement
Developing Your Media List for Ideal Coverage
Once your press release and media advisory are ready to send, pause. Often, your first instinct will be to shout your news from the rooftops and send it to all media outlets. However, we don’t recommend this strategy. When you take time to think about which media outlets your intended target audiences are likely to consume, you’ll be more successful in achieving the coverage you want. Some things to consider as you create a list that aligns with your editorial calendar:
- Update your media list regularly—journalists change jobs frequently, so you may have to do some legwork to keep your contacts accurate
- Tailor media list to announcement—consider the publication’s readership to target your ideal audience
- Include the journalist’s name, email, phone number, title and beat when possible
- For TV, send materials to assignment editors and reporters
- For print media, send materials to editors and reporters
- Include newsroom emails with reporter outreach ([email protected], [email protected])
Conducting Media Outreach
Once you’ve got your list dialed in, hit send! Remember, news outlets decide on daily story lineups before 10 am each day. Send your materials by 7:30 am to be considered for that day’s publication.
Make your announcements stand out by:
- Personalizing outreach whenever possible—use journalists’ first names and avoid bling copying your entire list
- Grabbing attention with subject lines that include words like NEW, TODAY and EXCLUSIVE
- Keeping emails brief—less than 250 words, if possible
Press releases should be sent once on the day of an announcement and again the following day. Media advisories should be sent a few days before the event and again the morning of the event as a reminder.
Pro tip: Don’t send materials on Mondays or Fridays unless the event or announcement is happening that day. Media inboxes fill up quickly, and you don’t want to get lost.
Following-Up
Know that the work doesn’t end once you’ve sent your announcements to the media. In fact, it’s just beginning. In our eat-or-be-eaten world, it is essential that you follow up with key news outlets to create excitement around your offer and confirm coverage.
After you send your announcement, follow up with a phone call—yes, an actual phone call works wonders here. Make sure you call before 9:30 am to ensure coverage in that day’s publication. We recommend calling the media outlets you believe are most likely to cover your story. You do not (and should not) call everyone on your list.
For the best results, we recommend creating a script to cover potential responses:
- Ask if they received your press release/media advisory
- If they didn’t receive it, ask for an email and resend it
- Ask if they’re planning to cover the story or attend the event
- If yes, thank them and provide important details
- If no, thank them and share your contact information so they can reach out if they change their mind
- If you receive a voicemail, leave a concise but informative message and follow up with an email
Monitoring the Media
The final step in any public relations strategy is watching for news coverage. We often set up Google Alerts for specific keywords and phrases, so we’ll be notified automatically via email when stories air or are published.
When your business makes the news, be sure to thank the reporters and editors who covered the story. This is an important step in building mutually beneficial relationships with key players in the media.
Get Back to PR Basics
The team at Giant can help you refine your public relations strategy to ensure your business earns the media attention it deserves. Reach out anytime to learn more.
About the Author
Samantha Hanson is an energetic and strategic account executive highly skilled in lead generation, public relations and digital marketing.
