Most of you are already looking forward for the peace of mind around Christmas and the New Year’s Eve. Journalists feel the same way. However, there is no peace of mind in the newsroom unless you have reliable sources even during the quietest time of the year. So, what can you do to use this reality to your advantage and boost your media visibility in the weeks to come?
Here are a few suggestions of how to use the end of the year to get your name under the journalists’ radar:
1: Expert articles
You can agree with your PR representative on a few trends or industry-attractive topics for your key interest media. You can already start preparing a few attractive so-called expert articles on these topics. These are pieces of news or opinion commenting on specific trends and putting various issues into perspective.
What makes an expert article publishable?
- It’s well written.
- It’s elegantly balancing facts and opinion.
- It’s slightly evergreen – it can be published in mid-December as well as at the beginning of January.
Even if your article doesn’t get published in the exact form you filed it to the newsroom, it can be picked up and quoted separately in a larger editorial piece. In any case, your know-how can come handy for an editor at the end of the year and this can turn you into a reliable source now and in the future.
2: Quotable quotes
You can also agree with your PR advisor to put together a series of media quotes on your topics of interest: industry trends, legislative changes, competition moves and so on.
Write down a list of key questions on your main topics of interest and your potential answers to these topics. Create a media case and pitch it to your key media of interest.
How can you make sure your quotes are quotable by the media?
- They are short, punchy and powerful.
- They include facts as well as context: they put facts into perspective.
- They use metaphors, comparisons and / or humor. Basically, your quotes say those things that journalists would like to say but they can’t say because they can’t afford to be opinionated. Be opinionated and you will get quoted more often than not.
3: Visuals
Create visuals: pictures, videos and infographics that journalists can download from your website in order to illustrate their articles. Dare to be the thought leader in your industry or field of interest.
Warn the journalists via email that you’ve got such visuals available for them to download. Yet, don’t attach them to your email: just send the link to these items on your website.
My experience is that many newsrooms put a cap on the volumes of incoming emails. Very often, bulky emails get automatically rejected by the newsroom email provider.
4: Be available
It is maybe one of the scariest perspectives: you’re on the ski slope and your mobile is ringing with a reporter asking you to comment on a burning issue that you have no idea about.
The most important thing is not to take such calls as an annoyance or an intrusion. If you can comment, it’s great. If you can’t, it’s also OK to say so.
A journalist’s job is to ask questions even during what you may consider as the least suitable time. Should you be able to help the reporter out, it will show him that you’re a reliable source and you’ll get more calls in the future. Should you be permanently unavailable, it will only harm your relationship with the media reps.
5: Informal meetings
I won’t advise you to turn yourself into a newsroom Santa and pick up a bag of gifts to make a tour de reporters – even though in certain lines of media work it’s not only helpful – it is expected.
However, provided that they are available, inviting a few key reporters covering your industry for a coffee or lunch during the incoming weeks could be incredibly fruitful.
Don’t get me wrong: it’s way too late to organize such informal meetings in order to pitch stories – lead stories for the end of the year have been decided already long ago. Yet, getting a reporter out for a drink when most people will be at home with their families sends a powerful message that you care.
Besides, you might even get some valuable insights on the plans of the newsroom for the next year. You never know when that information comes in handy.
6: Show genuine appreciation.
My experience is that journalism nowadays is one of the least appreciated jobs. We somehow expect to receive instant quality news but we’re completely unwilling to pay for it or show that we see the effort behind the delivery of such quality stuff.
So, should you be willing to make a difference, take a few minutes and say an honest “Thank You” – not just to those reporters who provide you with regular coverage, but also to those reporters that you read regularly. It is time of their lives that go into the generation of the content that you read and that helps you make better business and personal decisions. It is definitely worth a few moments of your life to show that you appreciate it.
