Proven Strategies for Earning Media Placements
Earned media, on the other hand, refers to the attention that is provided to your company without the need for a financial investment. Paid media refers to advertising that companies or individuals pay for, such as advertisements on television or advertisements on social media platforms. Sending in your proposal is all that is required of you in order to build your presence with the media. Earned media is in high demand due of the improved credibility that is commonly associated with it. On the other hand, anyone may write their own commercials. Earned media is comparable to having unpaid attention brought to your company. Earned media is something that every brand wishes it could acquire, but the question is: how can it be obtained? The following are tried and true methods for securing media placements with influential business owners.
Develop a Selling Point That Cannot Be Ignored.
You need to begin by pitching your business to a variety of different media outlets before you can acquire media placements. This indicates that you should develop a pitch that is impossible to ignore and that differentiates your company from that of your competitors. Describe the inspiration and enthusiasm that drove you to create this work, as well as the reasons why it will transform the industry. In order for your presentation to stand out among the others, the way you structure it will need to incorporate some audacious and theatrical thinking. You should not be hesitant to firmly market the benefits that your company offers.
CMO REX Medical Director Anthony Puopolo
Put Extra Effort Into Selling What You’ve Got to Offer
There are instances when how much work you put in determines how successful you are. In order to obtain earned placements, you will first need to make your business known to the media. This can be accomplished by beginning with a pitch that describes everything that your company has to offer. Because the media receives dozens of pitches on a daily basis, you need do all in your power to sell your pitch and ensure that it finds an audience. Instead of only contacting the media through the usual digital channels, try to think of new ways to get their attention and get in touch with them. Do some research to find out where your pitch might fit in the best, and concentrate your efforts on the journalists who work in that area. Verify with the media that they have received your outreach by following up with them. In order to “sell” your company to the media, you need to be willing to put in one hundred percent of your effort, no matter what it takes.
Allegiant Goods was originally established by Mike Pasley.
Interact with Journalists and Other Members of the Media
Journalists are inundated with requests from companies and individuals who want to be featured; as a result, they are required to constantly sift through a great deal of pitches before making their selections. One of the most effective strategies for attracting attention to your company is to interact with journalists and other personnel working for media companies. Put yourself out there and make an effort to get to know the individuals whose job it is to collect pitches. If you are able to build your name with the presence of the media, then your chances of being recognised and thought about during the process of advertising selection will considerably increase. If you want to be known by journalists, one solid rule of thumb is that you need to know journalists yourself. It’s important to remember that relationships are a two-way street, so you should make an effort to meet new people and cultivate the connections you already have. Although you are attempting to make a business connection because you want your company to be highlighted, you shouldn’t lose sight of the fact that you are dealing with actual people and that everyone wants to be treated with respect.
Jason Wong, Chief Executive Officer of Building Blocks
Condense Your Pitch
Make an effort to reduce the number of words in your pitch to the absolute minimum that will still convey the necessary information. Why? Because if you can’t articulate the heart of your company in a few words, it calls into question how well you grasp your mission and goals. And how is it even possible for anyone else to understand or care about this matter? After your proposal has been viewed, it will only have a brief window of opportunity to make an impression before a decision is made regarding whether or not to accept it. Therefore, rapidly get to the essence of your brand; stuff that isn’t necessary and just serves to dilute the message should be avoided. Your company should be able to speak for itself in the pitch, but you should try to keep it as brief as possible.
Matthew Mundt, Founder and CEO Hug Sleep
Include an Interesting Tale in Your Presentation.
Imagine your company’s sales presentation as an engaging tale that captures people’s attention and compels them to care about your product or service. This amounts to explaining to them why they ought to care and why it is necessary for your company to exist. Therefore, begin with the question of “why,” and build off of that with the concentration of a storyteller. Since the journalists who will be evaluating your presentation are themselves in the business of making stories, they will value a well-structured pitch that piques their interest and makes them care about the subject matter.
Chief Operating Officer of Advantage Rent A Car is Remon Aziz.
Communicate with one another in more individualistic ways.
There are common and straightforward methods available for communicating with the media, such as sending an email with your pitch attached to it. However, this is the barest minimum of work that has been put into the pursuit of a media placement. Instead, if you really want information about your company to go out there, you should interact with journalists in ways that are more personal. Don’t be hesitant to attempt a variety of different approaches to get to them. It is far easier to attract someone’s attention by calling them on the phone, interacting with them on social media, sending audio messages, or even setting up a meeting with them in person. These tactics are all considerably more effective than others. Keep in mind that when you send out your pitch, you are sending it to actual people who are working behind the scenes, so do not be hesitant to engage with them in ways that are non-virtual.
Seb Evans, Co-Founder Banquist
Do Everything in Your Power to Make Yourself Seen.
To anyone looking to get earned media placements, the best piece of advise I can give is to differentiate themselves from the competition. This may sound simpler in theory than it is in practise, but the essential thing that needs to be done is to think creatively about how to attract attention to your pitch. First and foremost, you need to showcase your company in an approachable and memorable manner, but you also need to make sure that people remember you. You can also take steps to make yourself noteworthy, such as following up after your pitch and contacting journalists over numerous media. This can help you stand out from the crowd.
The founder and current CEO of Bounce is Cody Candee.
Acquire Knowledge about Journalists
If you want your journalists to learn about your company, you need to educate yourself on them first. Once you have an understanding of the organisation that they work for as well as the kinds of placements that it supports and shares, you can tailor your presentation to match their framework. Get to know the individuals who are in charge of sifting through the pitches, and by this I actually mean learning as much as you possibly can about them. You want to get inside the heads of the journalists and see things from their perspective as reporters. Carry out the necessary research and become familiar with the most effective means of contacting and communicating with them. It is all about making true connections, and in order to do so, you need to comprehend the core of who the other person is.
Hector Gutierrez, CEO JOI
After Your Presentation, Continue to Follow Up
After you have presented your idea, it is important to follow up with the individuals with whom you have communicated. If you didn’t get a chance to meet with them in person, at least make sure they saw your messages, and be sure to thank them for their time. In the same way that you would contact a potential employer after an interview to express your gratitude and, in essence, remind them who you are, you should proceed in the same manner here. Taking this step will assist in bringing you to the forefront of their thoughts when it comes to selecting media spots.
Noura Sakkijha, CEO Mejuri
Give the recipient of your communication a lot of information.
When you are pitching your company to members of the media, it is important to provide them as much information as they could possibly require. Before granting any media spots, the journalists will need to conduct research on you and your business, so taking this step saves them time and will certainly be a gesture that they appreciate. Send any and all relevant information, including links, images, more information about your company, and so on. One of the benefits of taking this activity is that the perspective you select to show your company from will often have a greater chance of being followed.
