Why wait for media coverage? Don’t wait, create! Most companies and organizations send press releases to the media only when they want to publicize an event, new product introduction, stock offering, expansion, or innovation, to name just a few. But these things don’t happen very often over the course of the year, which means you’re only making a couple of media contacts 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 in your company or organization that you think is worth alerting the media to, why not create an endless stream of story ideas and press 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 the current one or two, which would certainly increase your chances of getting coverage. So where do these story ideas come from? Simply put, they come from stories you read and hear every day on the radio, magazines, newspapers, and even your own company newsletter, as well as in your industry trade publications. Just search for stories that are in the national news and find the angle that connects your company to the story. Local news organizations absolutely love local angles on national stories. The following Associated Press news article serves as a perfect example:
MILWAUKEE (AP) – In his youth, Jason Heiman used to play a bit of basketball for Edgewood College in Madison. He still knows how to move on a basketball court today, but in a very different way. As president of Waukesha-based Jason Thomas Flooring, Heiman’s company recently completed fabrication and finishing of three of the 16 portable basketball floors the NCAA has commissioned for this year’s men’s and women’s basketball national tournaments.
Local news organizations, in this case in the state of Wisconsin, love this stuff! A local business with a direct connection to what is arguably the most watched sporting event in America. When wildfires, floods, or tornadoes bring death and 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? Is there one or more people in your company training together to run the Boston Marathon, a national event in which millions of people are undoubtedly interested?
Don’t miss these opportunities. The reason why many companies and organizations get lost is because they don’t normally think about these things. They’re too busy doing what they’re doing! Few people think in terms of the national impact of their mundane, everyday jobs. Turn the world into media coverage. Don’t wait, create!