PR 101 eNEWSLETTER - SUBSCRIBE TODAY!
With simple tips and actionable advice, you'll be able to quickly and easily enhance the visibility of your product, service and brand.
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The Philanthropic Publicist
http://maryvailpublicist.com
Strategies for Small Businesses to Gain Local Media Coverage
By Dan Janal, Small Business PR Expert
- Become a consumer of local media. Read the newspapers. Scour the magazines. Listen to the radio. Turn on the TV. Watch shows you normally don’t watch so you can learn about all the opportunities out there. If you don’t know where to start, order a media list that shows you the names, phone numbers, emails and topics covered by reporters in your area.
- Become a connoisseur of local media. You can’t tell your story to every reporter. Decide who the big fish are. Who has the largest audience? Who has the most targeted audience for your needs? What publications are your customers reading? That’s where you should take your first shot.
- Decide what they’d be interested in. The media care about one thing: being interesting to their readers. Put yourself in your customer’s shoes. What information can you share that they’d be interested in? Chances are they are not interested in your latest promotion, but they could be interested in knowing about real estate trends, how to get a job, how to have happier and healthier children and how to improve their relationships. If you can answer those questions, you’ll increase your chances of gaining their attention.
- Frame your story. Now that you know what you want to talk about, put a 30-second cap on it. That might sound tough, but everyone tunes out after 30 seconds if you don’t get to the point. Listen to a news report on TV and count how long the stories are. Yes, they can tell a good story in less than a minute. You must be able to get your point across quickly, or reporters will tune out.
