Make Publicity Work- Give Your Story an Edge PDF Print E-mail
Tuesday, 26 May 2009 18:34

Do you want to take advantage of publicity, but the problem is you don’t think you have any newsworthy stories to pitch to the media? Or maybe you just saw that the media covered a similar story and you missed out on your chance?

As a small business owner, you are well aware that publicity can help your business gain favorable media attention that puts you directly in front of your target market. And publicity is free, so you can save money on advertising and drive more dollars to your bottom line.

Create news that stands out

Almost anything can be turned into a good story, as long as you put the right “spin” on it. Have you introduced a new product or service in the last few months? Added new employees or created new partnerships? Sponsored an event or received an award or recognition of some kind? Shifted the way your business operates to be more efficient, “green”, etc.?

Once you determine what you want to use as the basis for your story, think about how you could make it more interesting and newsworthy. You want your story to be new and exciting and catch the media’s attention. You need to create a niche that will stand out among your competitors and give you that extra edge.

Here are some examples for several different scenarios to give you a better idea of how to give everyday news an edge:

  • Your company just hired a new employee. Consider why you needed to hire this additional person. Maybe in light of the current economic recession, your company has seen an increase in overall sales, or you have seen a shift in demand toward a specific product or service that you offer. Instead of simply submitting a press release about the new hire, pitch a story about the increased demand for the product or service that has “skyrocketed” in sales leading to the need to expand and hire new employees. Maybe you only hired one employee this month, but consider your future outlook over the next few years. Check out this example article.

  • Your family-owned business has been around for years, and sales remain steady with similar product/service offerings over the years. What have you done differently to create new business opportunities? Maybe you have established a partnership with another local business, or shifted your processes to create efficiencies, attract new customers, etc. Check out this example article.

    • Re-purpose the angle

    Another opportunity to create news is to re-purpose the angle of a story that is closely related to news you could promote about your business and pitch it to another media outlet. By reading and monitoring news outlets with a critical eye, you'll be able to gain an understanding of the media. This will allow you to be able to find ways to better pitch your story ideas based on what these publications are paying attention to and reporting on.

    Find your edge

    The hard part isn’t determining what news to pitch, but rather how to give your story the edge it needs to get the media to listen up. You must be willing to put in the time and creativity necessary to develop your story, or else you might want to look into hiring a public relations company to help you succeed.


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