How can you create media materials that capture the attention of journalists?

It's a mix of catchy relatable visuals and impactful storytelling skills. But the real work goes two ways, either tailor your pitch or content to what they're passionate about or research journalists who align with your area of influence+expertise. This ensures that your material resonates and is reaching the right group. A key factor is to as often as possible highlight how this work impacts the everyday person, connecting it to real-life situations, challenges or opportunities. Journalists are often drawn to issues that resonate with their audience's daily lives because they're perceived to be the mouthpiece of the people, "voice of the voiceless" so to speak. Once you incorporate these, your content is more likely to get noticed.

Look for reporters, editors, or bloggers who have previously written about subjects related to your story. You can use tools like social media, professional directories, or media databases to find them. Then study the recent articles, reports, or broadcasts produced by the journalists you are targeting. This will give you insights into their interests, writing style, and the types of stories they tend to cover. Look for patterns in their work to identify common themes or angles they prefer.

Understanding your target audience is crucial when creating media materials that appeal to journalists. By knowing your audience well, you can tailor your content to match their interests and preferences, increasing the likelihood of capturing their attention. Research your audience's demographics, interests, and behaviors to craft media materials that resonate with them. This targeted approach enhances the relevance of your message and significantly improves your chances of engaging journalists effectively.

So, first of all, we need to decide what we are sending where. It is always better to send a news to those who are interested in the topic, this message can be more in-depth. On the contrary, I would shorten the general topics and make them comprehensible. It is still valid that it is good to know your market and work on media relations on a long-term basis.

It’s important to also understand what your competitors are saying to ensure you can create a differentiated argument that stands out from the noise. Any good corporate communications campaign should begin by analysing both the competitive and the media landscape and doing a deep dive into your brand’s USPs. The communications campaign should then harness topical hooks to highlight your expertise and USPs, while ensuring you’re saying something different from your competitors - if you only echo others getting traction will be challenging impacting brand visibility and ultimately mind share.

Start by pinpointing the most newsworthy aspect of your story. What makes it timely, relevant, or significant? Journalists are constantly seeking stories that will engage their audience and add value to their reporting. Your angle should align with these objectives. Ensure your story answers the fundamental questions: Who, What, When, Where, Why, and How. Journalists need these details to build a comprehensive and informative story.

A strong story is imperative to get a journalist's attention. If you cannot say it in one sentence and hook somebody's interest, it's not journalist worthy. It could be a plenty good enough story for social media, and that is sometimes an honourable outcome. If you feel like your story is weak (for media), can you tweak it a bit? Can you work up some data visualisations that make impact? Can you work with an outside personality (artist/influencer/neighbourhood personality) to help you tell/launch it?

Add an element of "why this story." Everyone has a WIIFT (what's in it for them) mindset so bridge that gap as you craft the details. This can be achieved by knowing what is important to their audience and their brand.

When crafting your story to capture journalists' attention: Focus on Key Message: Clearly define your central message. Add Human Touch: Include relatable elements like anecdotes or testimonials. Highlight Impact: Emphasize how your story makes a difference. Use Visuals: Incorporate compelling images or videos. Maintain Clarity: Keep the story simple and easy to understand. End Strong: Conclude with a memorable statement or call to action.

Many have style guides, publication criteria, and info on where or whom to send your story. While I am a fan of innovation to achieve outcomes, one of the things I learned early on is by following their criteria at the start (along with a well-crafted WIIFT element), you are ahead of the competition. With a relationship, you are poised to shake it up with materials that suit your style.

Start by researching the specific requirements and standards of the media outlets you're approaching. Some outlets may have preferences for certain formats.

Consider press releases for news, media kits for comprehensive coverage, or captivating infographics for visual appeal. Video pitches add dynamism, while concise email pitches are ideal for busy journalists. Customize your format to captivate journalist attention effectively.

Make the journalist's job as easy as possible for them but don't do it for them. Make it super easy for them to understand the key messages, find facts with references, and quote your executives. Sure, some "journalists" won't mind copy-pasting a whole story onto their media, but most journalists want to feel/show that they're writing the story.

A well-written headline can grab a journalist's attention quickly. Your headline should provide a succinct summary of the story's main message or the most important aspect of your content. This is often the "who," "what," "when," and "why" of the story. Keep headlines short. A good rule of thumb is to aim for around 5-10 words.

Craft clear, concise, and compelling messages. Use impactful headlines, relevant keywords, and multimedia elements. Ensure your content is tailored to the journalist's interests and the publication's style. Providing valuable, well-organized information enhances the chances of capturing journalists' attention effectively.

Targeting the right media organizations for your specific story and context is important. One approach is to send your materials to many media outlets or journalists with the goal of having the story picked up in as many places as possible. You could do this for a general piece of news, e.g. an M&A or new CEO. Another approach is to target one journalist for an exclusive. You might do this if you have a great human interest story or revelation and you believe the exclusive will give it a huge amount of prominence, and that it will then get picked up elsewhere. For this to work you already need to have a trusting relationship wiht your chosen journalist.

Utilize reputable press release distribution services to reach a wider audience. Personalize your pitches for individual journalists, emphasizing the relevance of your story to their beat. Leverage social media platforms and professional networks to amplify your reach. Timeliness and targeted distribution increase the likelihood of journalists noticing and engaging with your media materials effectively.

You can build a reputation over time by being known as a contributor that offers reliable, accurate, and non-promotional input that the end-user audience values. When you get to that point journalists will come to YOU when they need help with a story.

Foster genuine relationships by researching journalists' work and interests. Personalize your outreach, showing how your story aligns with their beat. Be respectful of their time and deadlines. Follow up promptly and provide additional resources if needed. Building a professional rapport and being responsive increase the likelihood of journalists finding your media materials compelling and newsworthy.

To captivate journalists with your media materials, focus on creating succinct, engaging content. Commence with a compelling, news-driven headline and lead. Utilize data and statistics for easy quoting. Integrate multimedia components, such as images or infographics. Develop a concise, pertinent press release. Take, for example, Apple's product launch media materials, which encompass captivating visuals, precise specifications, and concise text, facilitating journalists in effectively covering the story. Customizing your materials to suit the target audience and journalists' preferences enhances your chances of seizing their attention.

It’s important not to underestimate the most basic aspects of engaging with a journalist - a clear, informative subject line for your email, easy to access materials (don’t attach your press release, paste into your email), and making sure you actually contact the right person who is relevant for your story. You could have the best media materials and the best story in the world but a poor subject line, making the journalist work hard to find your info or contacting the wrong person could mean you miss out on landing your story.

Go back to your original objectives and ask yourself - did this release and its materials get the desired impact? Where the materials used in the way you’d hoped? If yes, that's great. If not, learn from this and make sure you improve your pitch and materials for next time. I also recommend maintaining good relations with your key media focal points, even when you don't necessarily need them. One way to do this is to position yourself as a reliable source of credible information about your company or sector.

Don't forget that journalists sit in an ecosystem and they are human, after all. They both need to sell their story to managers and attract readers to their page/socials. So, they can't use a story that's already been told, need some fresh angle that no other media has yet had and it's rare they can just take something from a media relations person and use it immediately. They need a bit of time to digest and work it up.

The must do's are being original, focus on key strength and go ahead with multifold communication strategy. This should start with SWOT analysis before any media interaction.