Every organization has a story to tell, but not every story gets the attention it deserves. How do you identify and leverage your unique stories and angles to stand out in the crowded media landscape? In this article, you'll learn some best practices for finding and pitching your stories to journalists, influencers, and audiences.
Before you start looking for stories, you need to have a clear idea of what you want to achieve and who you want to reach. What are your communication objectives, key messages, and desired outcomes? Who are your target media outlets, influencers, and audiences? How do they consume and share information? What are their interests, needs, and pain points? By answering these questions, you can align your stories with your goals and audience.
It's easy to get caught up in landing a mention in a big time media outlet. But is that where your audience is consuming content? Some of the best mentions come from outlets that cater specifically to your audience. These outlets understand your audience and can dive deeper into the storylines you want.
Once you have your goals and audience in mind, you can start searching for stories and angles that showcase your organization's value, impact, and uniqueness. You can find stories in different sources, such as your mission, vision, and values, your products or services, your customers or beneficiaries, your employees or partners, your events or initiatives, your challenges or successes, your industry or sector, or your social or environmental causes. You can also look for timely hooks, such as news trends, seasonal themes, or special occasions, that can make your stories more relevant and interesting. To find angles, you need to think like a journalist and ask yourself: What makes this story newsworthy, compelling, or surprising? How does it relate to your goals and audience? How does it differ from other stories in your field or niche?
Integrating client stories into our media pitching has always resulted in great success. Your pitch needs to be relevant to those outside your business. Looking at it from the perspective of a client will generally make your pitch more interesting and timely. It also brings the news closer to home for your target audience, making your angle or story more relatable.
After you have identified your stories and angles, you need to craft your pitches and press releases that capture the attention and interest of the media. A pitch is a short and personalized email that introduces your story and explains why it matters to the journalist and their audience. A press release is a longer and more formal document that provides the details and facts of your story, along with quotes, images, and contact information. Both should be clear, concise, and catchy, highlighting the main points and benefits of your story. You should also tailor your pitches and press releases to different media outlets and influencers, based on their style, tone, format, and preferences.
Clear and concise is key. Pitches longer than 7 sentences, and press releases longer than 400 words, lead to lost interest from readers. You've got less than 7 seconds to snag a reader's eyes before they move on, so the first two sentences matter the most (and are what you should write last, once you fully grasp your topic, purpose and direction). Something I've seen folks slip up on here is talking too much about product and features and not touching on actual value — for either an end user or a reporter. A pitch is really a sales tool: reporters have to convince their editors their choice of topic is worthwhile and adds value to the pub. Help reporters make that pitch by giving them something valuable beyond "how neat is this product."
One of the most important aspects of media relations is building and nurturing relationships with journalists, influencers, and audiences. You need to research and identify the right contacts for your stories, based on their topics, beats, and platforms. You need to reach out to them in a respectful and professional manner, respecting their deadlines, preferences, and feedback. You need to follow up and follow through, providing them with the information and resources they need, and thanking them for their coverage. You also need to monitor and measure the results of your media relations efforts, tracking the reach, engagement, and impact of your stories. You should also engage with your audiences on social media and other channels, responding to their comments, questions, and feedback, and inviting them to share their own stories.
Relationship building and nurturing those relationship is key to anyone using the media to pitch stories. Knowing who the key players are especially with your local media, goes a long way. Start to establish the relationship before you need your story published, this allows you to have a point of contact and make sure your prepared with any information the outlet needs for your story.
Media relations is not a one-time activity, but a continuous process that requires adaptation and innovation. You need to keep looking for new stories and angles that reflect your organization's evolution and growth. You need to keep updating and improving your pitches and press releases, based on the feedback and performance of your previous ones. You need to keep expanding and diversifying your media contacts and networks, reaching out to new outlets, influencers, and audiences. You also need to keep experimenting and learning from different media strategies, tactics, and tools, such as social media, podcasts, videos, webinars, or blogs, that can enhance your storytelling and visibility.
In my journey, I've learned that our unique stories lie within our values and the impact we make. It's about empathizing with our audience, sharing successes, and staying agile in a changing world. To stand out, we must blend authenticity with innovation, crafting stories that truly matter.