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How to earn media the old-fashioned way
By Elizabeth Boineau
Marketing Matters
I would be so enriched had I earned just one dollar—inflation has turned a dime into a dollar for purposes of this example—for every time I heard the term “free press” and ardently defended my position that there is simply no such thing as free publicity, media, press or otherwise.
The word free next to anything that has to do with the things that journalists write and cover daily is simply an oxymoron. Yet it’s so commonly mislabeled a tool that I finally concluded it was time to address it in this forum, for richer or poorer.
Paid media vs. earned media
When you place an advertisement, you pay for it; that’s not free.
When you get coverage through a news article or feature story in the local paper, Business Journal, nightly newscast, talk radio or Conde Nast Traveler, that’s not free either. It’s also not advertising, but it carries enormous weight because it came through the filter of a third party who thought it worthy of being shared with those readers or viewers.
How do you get there? You earn your place. How do you earn it? Through discipline and strategic thought and planning that makes it happen. It’s no accident and it takes significant effort, so no, it’s not free either.
How do you earn it?
It starts, as with any good marketing strategy, by creating a clear message that defines who you are, what you offer and why it matters; identifying which media outlets speak to your audience; and knowing your audience. Your audience includes the reporters and writers themselves and the outlets for which they work.
To see great writing, aim high and pick up a copy of The Wall Street Journal and imagine your company name there on the cover of 1A, or even 1D. Then refine your media strategy, scan for opportunities by looking at your own timeline/milestones and reviewing editorial calendars, write your press release and develop those always-necessary media kit materials.
Be sure you know how to best reach your target media and try not to reach out in a way they wish you wouldn’t. Some say no attachments, some say fax only, some say don’t call me, just send an e-mail, some cycle back and say don’t call us, we’ll call you.
Offer up a timely, relevant event and angle it so they see how and why they should cover your story rather than the latest tax debate in the Statehouse or in Washington.
Speaking of influencers
The media may be an adversary to be overcome or won over, but your fan club will be there for you. Identify your company’s fan base, get their comments and add the best quotes to your release.
You might want to compile case studies of their business successes and how you added to it, with their quotes of praise sprinkled throughout. Third-party endorsers automatically add more credibility and an objective filter when telling your story. Let someone else blow the trumpet for you on your path to earning media coverage.
Time to pitch
It pays to build relationships. Put together a handpicked wish list of the top 10 to 20 media contacts who shake your world when you earn coverage from them.
Their readership is your target market, yet their editorial calendar is years in the making, so what do you do?
Start now to develop, contemplate and angle news and feature ideas that work for their outlets. To do that, you have to read, listen and watch carefully. That’s part of your research. What do they want and how do they want to get it? If you don’t know, try picking up the phone and calling the name on the other end of that
e-mail address.
Make it steady, consistent
Earning coverage in any media outlet is a full-time challenge.
Cuts in newsroom budgets make it more difficult than ever to reach and communicate with reporters routinely. Trying to propose a story idea or even just to be included in one takes formidable resources and time.
But constantly wearing the strategic communications hat does, over time, give a company a competitive advantage. And while you’re rising to the top, you can be proud of the fact that you landed that position in the marketplace the old-fashioned way: You earned it.
Elizabeth L. Boineau runs E. Boineau & Co., a Charleston-based strategic marketing communications and public relations firm. E-mail her at eboineau@eboneauandco.com.
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