MEDIA RELATIONS 

Nothing to say in the media? The trick is to think creatively

By our News Team | 2023

‘Hot news’ content opportunities are rare. Perhaps you have data that can be packaged as ‘trends’, or employees who are ‘industry experts’?

Positive media coverage is an important element of any marketing and PR strategy. But, at times, it may seem there is little to talk about that would warrant media attention.

Writing in Entrepreneur magazine, Tim Johnson, President of Upraise Marketing and Public Relations, a boutique marketing firm based in the US, suggests several creative strategies to increase the quality and quantity of an organisation’s media coverage. Among them:

Media relations

Photo by Ann64 via Wikimedia Commons

Topical surveys

These can range from statistically significant polls of several thousand respondents to highly in-depth interviews of as few as 10 subject-matter experts. To generate media coverage that supports the organisation, the subject matter should somehow relate to the business. 

The key is to identify news or trends that create ‘aha’ moments. Of course, this can be difficult to predict far in advance, but one helpful approach is to envision the media headlines the marketing team wants, and structure the survey questions around those.

Aggregated data

Many companies collect data on their customers they can aggregate, sort and analyse to reveal interesting consumer or industry trends that journalists and editors would fine useful.

Clearly, this must not reveal any personally identifiable information. Marketing teams must also ensure they comply with privacy legislation and client privacy expectations, 

Infographics

Infographics enable a marketing team to offer their organisation’s knowledge, survey findings and points of view in a visually attractive and simple way. Some media may use infographics alone, others will include an infographic along with an article on the subject.

Be an expert or influencer

Media organisations will often look for outside sources to corroborate a story idea. The kind of individuals or organisations the journalists will seek out include industry analysts, independent research companies, law or accounting firms with recognised expertise on a given topic, or investors in a particular market segment. If your organisation fits any of these categories, make yourself readily available.

Creative re-packaging

By re-packaging available information as a ‘quarterly update’, for example, an organisation can conduct quarter-by-quarter trend analysis to provide an added layer of insight beyond just the information itself.

You can read the full article here.

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