By Erin Bury
When you work at a startup or start your own business you need to employ inexpensive tactics to get the word out. It’s not enough to just build a great product or service – if no one knows about it then you’re back at square one. Social media tools have been gaining momentum and are a great way to reach your target audience, and it seems like every company big and small is joining Twitter and writing blog posts. But you can’t forget about the power of traditional media. Whether a well-read blog, a national newspaper or a community publication traditional media still has the power to capture eyeballs and establish credibility. Here are some ways you can grab the attention of the media, and build relationships with key journalists in your industry.
Survey the landscape. You can’t expect to get attention from the media if you don’t know who’s writing about what for which publications. Sounds like a mouthful, but it’s simple – make a list of the top 20 publications you want to be in, and for each publication make a list of the journalists/bloggers that write about your beat. Continually update this media list with relevant contact info and notes so you’ll always have an up-to-date reference tool.
Go beyond your launch. A lot of people think that you can just write a press release, put it out over the wire, and you’ve done your job. While launching your company or debuting a new feature can be newsworthy, it’s not enough to grab the attention of journalists. They see a ton of launches every day, so what makes yours different? Whether it’s that you’re the first in your industry, or your launch comes on the heels of a controversial piece of legislation, find a unique angle that makes your news stand out.
Find story angles. You don’t want to just rely on product launches and releases to sustain your media presence. You’re in a unique position as an entrepreneur – you have an interesting story about why you decided to start your own company. Use your personal story as a story idea. You can also create story angles by commenting on relevant current events or holding seasonal campaigns (Christmas gift guides if you’re a product-based company, for example). Also consider using a customer or client success story as a story idea – it takes the focus off of you while showing how you can help.
Do your research. Before you reach out to a journalist it’s really important to do your research. The days of sending a generic e-mail to a massive list of e-mails is over, and personalization is the key to success. Before you reach out to a journalist you should know the topics they cover, a rough idea of what they’ve written about lately, and any other important info (did they just accept a position at another publication? Do they prefer to receive e-mails over phone calls?). A quick Google search should provide many of these details. Trust me – it’s better to research these simple details than to pitch a story idea to a journalist who just wrote about the exact same topic.
Take a multimedia approach. My mom, also a Carleton journalism grad, often tells me about the days when she used to sit by a bank of rotary phones waiting for a source to call her back. Reporters these days don’t have to face those same hurdles – today they get their news, sources and story ideas from any number of media including Twitter and blogs. The way they conduct interviews has also changed. You may interact with one reporter over e-mail, and find another one prefers to use Twitter. Be open to interacting wherever reporters hang out – whether that’s conducting an interview over Skype or taping an interview with your Flip video camera.
Become an expert in your field. While acting as a source for an article is great, it’s often not a recurring role. If you want to be a constant presence think about how you can become an expert contributor. Whether it’s writing a weekly column for your favourite industry blog, or hosting a segment on a morning TV news show, many outlets accept applications or submissions. Think about segment or story ideas you’d feel comfortable producing, and then visit the outlet’s website to find out how you can get in touch with them. But don’t forget, you do need the expertise to back it up.
Don’t do it alone. You have to make a big decision when you start a company – do you want to do your PR in-house or do you want to outsource to an agency or consultant? There are pluses to both sides – while a PR agency or consultant often has the existing relationships with the media they can’t devote as much time as someone you bring in-house. Regardless of what you decide, there are additional resources that can help you get started – one is HARO, or Help a Reporter Out. This online service sends daily e-mails with requests from reporters looking for sources – I’ve used it several times for Sprouter with great results.
Public relations is a free way to get the word out about your startup – but remember, it takes an investment of time if you’re doing it yourself, and a salary if you’re bringing someone in to handle it. Think about incorporating it into a larger marketing/communications role – PR is only one of my responsibilities at Sprouter. And if you outsource to an outside expert make sure you communicate your goals clearly from the get-go, and continue to keep an eye on news in your industry. Most of all remember that you have a great story to tell – take the time to make you get it out there.
Image courtesy stock.xchng
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