Being featured in the media might seem like something that only big corporates with huge PR budgets can achieve, or like it is only for exciting start-ups. But in this short video, the founder of Pure Public Relations, Phoebe Netto, shows you our approach to getting a client in the media, no matter their size or how interesting their might initially seem – so you can do it too.
Q. How do you get journalists to write about, interview, or film clients?
A. When I secure media coverage for a client, it is because I used the principle of helping make a journalist’s job easier by giving them a story that they are happy to cover and then giving them as much as I can so they have what they need to do that well.
Zig Ziglar said, “You can have everything in life you want, if you will just help other people get what they want.”
So that means being able to spot the newsworthy angles and opportunities, even in clients that are not immediately interesting to anyone outside their organisation, and then presenting that to a journalist in the way they prefer. And each journalist has a preferred method of communication and a different time of day and even day of the week to be contacted by a PR agent. And I make sure that what I am offering them is tailored to them and their magazine, program, site, newspaper or section – and to their particular focus within that.
And what I am bringing to them has the most interesting angles up the top to grab their attention and I give them multiple options or ideas of what they could cover.
I also make sure I don’t approach a journalist without having questions answered before they even ask. That means I am anticipating what they will want to know and I can give it to them up front to make their life easier and save time. For example, yes high resolution images or b-roll footage is available. Yes, I have the following people available for interview and case studies are available. And I have included additional information such as a bio and a lengthier background below.
Often I am even offering to have an advice article or opinion piece written by the client (which is with the help of me and my team, so they know it will be well-written) that they can publish in full. This is called a bylined article because it includes a line or even a couple of short paragraphs to say that the article was written by my client and includes information on them and their company. So it is an excellent form of media coverage – it allows the client to get their messages across and position themselves as a helpful authority on a subject – and it makes the editor’s life easier because they are getting an article that they did not need to write.
That sounds like a lot of effort, because it is. But it is why we are able to secure media coverage for all our clients, including the ones that don’t seem very exciting at first glance.
Remember, if you ask yourself how what you are doing can benefit other people, you are in a better position to go further yourself. And that approach doesn’t just work with securing media coverage, it works in all of life.
You can view more videos like these on:
Pure Public Relations’ YouTube Channel
Phoebe Netto’s LinkedIn page
Our Facebook page
