The Public Relations Blog

Newsroom veteran shares the roles and how of getting a story on TV

Throughout my 20 years in TV and radio newsrooms, I’ve received many calls from PR professionals. It’s clear some don’t know their way around a newsroom. So let me provide you with a roadmap because there is no better way to get your story ignored than pitching it to the wrong contact.

Pitches must be newsworthy and succinct for outlets to pick them up 

Whether it’s your first time pitching to the media, your 100th time, or your 5,000th time, you need to make sure there are things you consider and keep in mind. When you're getting ready to pitch to the media, you need to be clear on this: what's the actual story you're pitching? 

Why is being included in a news story so important for companies?

One reason is because positive news coverage improves your company’s reputation. Another is news stories about your company put it at the forefront of prospective customers’ minds.

As consumers are inundated with options, many may not know about your company and its offerings until they see your company included in a story as a thought leader.

So how do home service companies like plumbers, A/C repair companies, flooring, electricians, pool service providers, home warranty companies, and more get in the news?

Earned media is the coverage your company gets without paying for it. This isn’t done through self-promotion or advertisements nor posting news releases on PR newswires.

Earned media shouldn’t be confused with paid media, which would be paying influencers or running social media ads. It is distinctly different from owned media as well, which is the attention your company’s website attracts.

Grow your business using media contacts

When you think about how to get explosive business growth, you probably imagine your company website displaying on the first page of Google’s search results – and all the traffic that comes with that. No doubt, this is something that would do it. However, there are other ways to grow your company without necessarily being No. 1 on Google. And one of the most important is building solid media connections.

3 things to consider before submitting your news release

Are you receiving great media coverage for your company news? We once had a client who was not satisfied with the media coverage they were earning. They’d put out two news releases and only earned one media article as a result. We recommended they review their news releases, keeping the following three things in mind:

How to make your content discoverable and shareable to generate new leads

Millions of companies compete for attention on Google. How can you outsmart your competition? The answer is simple: Create great content to attract, convert, and delight your target audience. The well-known cliché content is king remains true. Providing valuable information to your audience will build trust in your products or services.

Understanding the process of earned media and measuring the value of your coverage

How do you know if your earned media coverage is successful at telling your message? Our process for measuring earned media efforts can prove its value to organizations. Go beyond media impressions and measure numbers that really matter.

Beyond impressions, use these success factors to calculate the value of earned media coverage

Earned media coverage is a way to reach audiences and share your company’s message. A common way to make an announcement is to distribute a news release on a newswire. What does this actually do to reach audiences?

Download a scorecard template to measure the quality of your earned media coverage

Earned media coverage, such as news coverage and social influencer mentions, is a great channel to tell your company’s story. However, people often misunderstand the value of the earned media, since it’s difficult to tie value to a free news article.