Top 5 mistakes businesses make when trying to get media coverage

[Maritza]

The top 5 mistakes businesses make when trying to get media coverage...

With the economy the way it is these days it is important that you are able to raise the credibility and visibility of your business effectively using TV, Radio and the Press to get your message across without having to spend a lot of money on advertising. In order to do this you must have an effective PR strategy for your business which enables you to get media coverage for free.

So what are the most common mistakes that businesses make when doing their own PR?

1. They don’t consider the possibility of free media coverage
Some businesses don’t even consider the possibility that they could generate media coverage for free so they cut off any possibility of getting featured because they don’t even try! They then consider paying for advertising space which has no guaranteed return. One thing to keep in mind is that your business will gain a lot more credibility by being in a feature / interview written by a third party such as a journalist.


2. They don’t consistently convey a clear core message
When businesses do decide to contact the media a very common mistake is that they don’t have a core message which they are conveying. The temptation can be to try and please everyone all of the time resulting in a number of different messages being put across. Without a clear message two things can happen –the media will not pick up on the story because the message is not clear enough or if they do the business runs the risk of a confused message being put across.

3. They don’t write a newsworthy press release
The most effective way of putting your message across to the media is by writing a press release. All too often businesses put too much information in a press release and not always in the correct format. They also put too much emphasis on selling their product or service and not enough on giving the press a newsworthy story. As the media receive thousands of press releases everyday it is important to make your message clear, concise and as unique as possible.

4. They don’t directly contact the people who can give them coverage
Once the press release has been written it is then time to research and get into contact with the specific members of the media who can put across your message. Many businesses make the mistake of sending press releases to general email addresses and do not directly speak with the individual members of the media who are in a position to make a difference and use their information. Doing your own PR relies on creating and building media contacts on an ongoing basis. In building contacts it also enables you to get feedback on how newsworthy and effective your press releases are. Persistence is the key!

5. They don’t do enough research before doing a media interview
When doing media interviews many businesses make the mistake of trying to get too much information across which can result in their message being diluted. They also haven’t researched the media organization that they are being interviewed for. This can mean that they don’t come across with as much impact that they could have.

Maritza

 

[Pressman]

Good post. Your third point about them not giving journalists a news worthy release is so true. Some tips here: http://www.londonpragency.com/blog/top-ten-press-release-writing-tips/

 

[Henley Interim]

Good stuff here!

I would also add 3 more:

No relevance - seek an angle that is relevant or topical
No picture - A great picture, especially in printed media, often 'sells' an ordinary story.
Don't forget URLs and Anchor text links for SEO - most PR in print also has an online mirror - you are wasting half the benefit if you don't factor in keywords, urls and anchor text.

Journalists are lazy - you've just got to make it really easy for them!

Best regards

Matt

 

[Netwurx]

Something to also think about is how are you going to manage the responses from this increased media coverage?

Systems, people and ongoing campaign/pr messages?

Just a thought!

 

[Alby10]

Newsworthy, that is the key term. Excellent post.

The key to make an item newsworthy is to find an angle, that will interest the readers. A launch of a new product or service, a competition, a new way of saving money in a recession etc, etc, whatever it is, it has to be able to engage the reader.

 

[danielmeade]

Excellent post, Market research is a key aspect here. A lot of companies don't do so well with their PR activity because they haven't done their research, generally businesses operate in niche markets, so a large scale press release isn't going to have much of an impact on the general public, having said that, a large scale press release will bring brand awareness and prove itself useful as a method of customer acquisition.

 

[Be Known PR]

Don't forget URLs and Anchor text links for SEO - most PR in print also has an online mirror - you are wasting half the benefit if you don't factor in keywords, urls and anchor text.

Personally I think this point highlights one of the the biggest misconceptions that businesses have about press releases.

There is a HUGE difference between a press release written for the media (ie. journalists) and a press release written for internet distribution to boost SEO. The former needs to be objective and is NOT a sales tool!

One of the biggest complaints that journalists make about the barrage of press releases they get from non-PR people (and indeed some PR people) is that they are filled with marketing/advertising talk. More often than not in this instance they simply hit the delete button.

Excellent post, Market research is a key aspect here. A lot of companies don't do so well with their PR activity because they haven't done their research, generally businesses operate in niche markets, so a large scale press release isn't going to have much of an impact on the general public, having said that, a large scale press release will bring brand awareness and prove itself useful as a method of customer acquisition.

It is not so much about 'market' research, as 'media' research. As stated in the original post, you need to make sure that press releases are being sent to the right journalists at the right publications.

A journalist on a national newspaper will be sent literally hundreds of press releases every day. They have therefore deleloped a defense mechanism for dealing with them that more often than not involves hitting the delete button before getting past the subject line of the email. If a company is constantly sending out irrelevant press releases then it will not take long for the journalists to instinctively hit delete on site of the company's or sender's name without even looking at what the release is about.

 

[Edward Moss]

I'm probably bound to say this but make sure you picture is of professional quality.
I used to run a couple of picture desks and anyone sending a poor quality picture was put straight into the bin, no questions asked.
Initially it may seem a lot of money to get a professional photographer in, but look at the longer term and spread the cost over a few months, no more than a mobile phone contract.

 

[dean1111]

Thanks for the post. It's interesting that you mention the free media coverage. Companies can be clever about this and get good results. It doesn't always have to result in a direct cost.

 

[Asim786]

Great post, I am trying to get free media coverage. Writing a an effective press release, can get you alot of free publicity.