Why wait for media coverage? Don’t wait – create! Most companies and organizations send news releases to the media only when they want to publicize an event, a new product unveiling, a stock offering, an expansion or a groundbreaking to name just a few. But these things don’t happen very often during the course of the year which means you’re making only a couple of contacts with the media each year. Also, with such limited contact, the odds of the media covering your events are not in your favor. So instead of waiting for something to happen at your company or organization that you think is worth alerting the media about, why not create an endless stream of story ideas and news releases that you could send to the media at least twice a month? Twice a month would mean twenty-four media contacts per year instead of your current one or two which would certainly increase your chances of obtaining coverage. So where do these story ideas come from, you ask? Very simply, they come from stories you read and hear about everyday on radio, magazines, newspapers and even your own company newsletter as well as your industry’s trade publications. Simply look for stories that are making national news and find the angle that connects your company to the story. Local news organizations absolutely love local angles to national stories. The following news article from the Associated Press serves as a perfect example:
MILWAUKEE (AP) – In his younger days, Jason Heiman used to play a little hoops for Edgewood College in Madison. Today he still knows his way around a basketball court but in a far different way. As president of the Waukesha-based Jason Thomas Flooring, Heiman’s company recently completed fabricating and finishing three of the 16 portable basketball floors the NCAA has commissioned for this year’s national men’s and women’s basketball tournaments.
Local news organizations, in this case in the state of Wisconsin, love this stuff! A local company with a direct connection to what is arguably the most watched sporting event in America. When wildfires, floods or tornadoes bring death the destruction to parts of our nation, did the local bottled water company ramp up production and send emergency shipments a thousand miles away? Did the local paper products company get the contract to make napkins for the President’s inaugural ball? Are there one or more people at your company training together to run the Boston Marathon – a national event millions of people are certainly interested in.
Don’t miss out on these opportunities. The reason many companies and organizations do miss out is because they don’t normally think of this stuff. They’re too busy doing what they do! Few people think in terms of the national impact of their everyday, mundane jobs. Turn the mundane into media coverage. Don’t wait – create!
