Media placements can make a significant impact on your business. Securing an article, interview, product review, or getting quoted as part of a larger feature can amplify your business, attract new customers, and boost thought-leadership and market credibility. From local newspapers and blogs to global media outlets, you quickly realize the power and reach of creating buzz through public relations, and you immediately want more. However, unlike other on-demand marketing tools, public relations is not something you can easily turn up. Among many factors – such as message, timing, personas, and media targets – “getting ink” requires a steady flow of content, consistency, and patience. Most importantly, it requires an investment of time to build relationships with the media and earn their trust.
Here are three no cost (or low cost) ways to create content that can help you generate buzz:
Surveys
Reporters are always looking for interesting data that can tell a story, identify trends, and other market dynamics. Tools like SurveyMonkey and Constant Contact make it easy to create compelling surveys, capture data, and develop storylines. You can send surveys to existing customer and prospect lists, and also make them available through social media to reach broader audiences. We have worked with surveys that included responses from 100 people to thousands; regardless of the size of the population being surveyed, the results will provide interesting data points that can be presented to a reporter.
Infographics
Today’s fast-paced, content-consuming audiences respond to visuals more than words. Infographics are a great way to tell a story – quickly. Whether you capture data from a survey or cull it together from other sources, an infographic can complement an article or be the focal point of one. Pitching a reporter and offering an infographic provides additional resources they can use to develop their article.
Use Cases
Testimonials, customer references, and application stories provide context about how your product or service is being used. Developing case studies to showcase how your product or service helped a customer solve a problem is more interesting than a plain-vanilla pitch about a new product or service. Reporters are always looking to connect with references to learn how they solved problems.
Whether you have a shoestring budget or a large marketing department, surveys, infographics, and use cases can help create media opportunities and build relationships with reporters. These can be integrated into your marketing team’s toolbox today, getting you one step closer to more consistent media coverage.