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The Media Need You! Reporters are not Experts
Instructor: Steven Van Yoder, Author of Get Slightly Famous ™: Become a Celebrity in Your Field and Attract More Business with Less Effort and specializes in helping mission-driven companies become recognized leaders in their industries.
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Steven, the Founder of Global Initiative to Advance Entrepreneurship (GIVE), an organization focusing on social entrepreneurship and poverty alleviation says...
When the issue for your small business is attracting more of the right kind of business, more business owners need to integrate media strategies in their marketing mix. By ignoring the media, or dismissing media strategies altogether, you fail to develop visibility, credibility and expertise attainable by those who embrace this simple truth: the media need business owners, the true industry experts, to give substance and credibility to their stories. Reporters are not experts. So, they look for experts who can help them create their stories. As a business owner, you have in-depth knowledge about a specific subject, and that subject is your business.
1. Hook The Media If you learn a bit about how the media works, and mold your expertise into a carefully-crafted media marketing strategy, you will not only help the media do its job but get a lot of free, valuable exposure for your company. The secret is seeing yourself, a business owner/professional, as a partner in the news-making process. Approach editors and journalists like new clients. Do some fact-finding to learn the kind of stories they run. Once you understand their needs, introduce yourself and offer your business expertise.
2. Become A Media Resource Becoming a media resource serves two functions: it helps you demonstrate your expertise so as to be in demand as a media expert. It also helps you become "locatable" when editors and journalists trawl the Internet in search of information. You can sources of data that can be compiled as case studies that reflect your expertise and that provide insight into your industry. Find attract the media by posting free, useful information about your area of expertise on your website. Start by taking data you already have available within your business and converting it into useful media information. Consider your clients as possible ways to "create" news by looking to your particular industry expertise and insights and even your customers to create information that is useful to journalists and editors.
3. Get Interviewed Getting quoted by a reporter is not as mysterious as you may think. But first, you have to let the media know you exist! When you find journalists and editors that reach your target market, contact them. Introduce yourself and explain that you have specialized knowledge they find useful in their stories.
* Identify the media likely to be interested in your business expertise
* Build personal relationships with reporters who influence your target market
* Look for columnists who cover topics related to your business
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