How Traditional Media is Still Your Best Publicity Strategy

Social media has become today’s go-to when you’re trying to build your platform. It’s (mostly) free, you can reach people outside of your circles, and if you get something to go viral, it seems like you’ve hit the jackpot.

But if you want your personal or business brand to reach hundreds of thousands of people quickly, gaining publicity through traditional media is still the way to do it. Don’t think so? Here are some traditional media numbers (note that they change quickly and are consistently reported differently): 

·        37% of people get their news from TV

·        27% get their news online.

·        18% of people get their news via social media

·        8 % of people get their news via radio

·        8% of people get their news via hard copy print newspapers 

If you want to see that in numbers, ABC Online gets 7.6 million readers a month, while ABC radio in Melbourne gets 691,000 listeners a week. The Herald Sun has 1.3 million readers a week across print and online, and the Australian has 636,000 readers. That’s a lot of people you can reach through a PR campaign. And the more you use PR, the more your brand is seen. Eventually, you become the first person people think of on a particular topic or industry. Like Bernard Salt. 

Bernard is Australia’s rock star demographer, and he built the foundations of his profile through publicity, giving thousands of traditional media appearances. After many years of reliably and diligently offering himself to the media as an expert, every newsroom and almost every metropolitan news reporter in the country has Bernard’s number on speed dial. Anything to do with demographics, population trends, gen X, gen Y, smashed avocado millennials, you’ll see a quote from Bernard. He is the authority on Australian demographics, because he used publicity to become the authority. 

Our news cycle relies on people like you to put their point of view forward. Cranky newsroom Chiefs-of-Staff and news editors are waiting for you to contact them and say, ‘I’ve got an angle on this current topic’. And in time, you could become the leading figure in your industry. The person with all of the expertise, the person who sees opportunity for change, the person who sees trouble ahead and wants to put out a warning. If you’re good (as in a great, insightful and engaging talker), newsrooms will look to you to provide another angle or perspective to their stories on your industry in the future. From a PR point of view, the benefit you get is enormous publicity.  It can also lead to other opportunities. For example, Bernard now has a column in the Australian and commands an enormous social media following. He is a sought-after and booked-out speaker on the corporate circuit.  

Sound like one of your goals? Then here are two ways you can get there: 

The Proactive Approach

This is where you actively create stories and angles with your publicist to pitch to the press. These pitches should be on current and trending topics to have a better chance of gaining traction with the journalist. Ideally, one of them is accepted and you get an interview. Then repeat. 

The Reactive Approach

When a topic related to your area of expertise shows up in the media, your publicist will pitch you as someone who can provide another angle or perspective. It’s called ‘moving the story on’ and the publicist is doing the press a favour by finding them an expert, and you get publicity. Win-win. 

After a few successful press interviews from either approach, if you’re a Good Talent, you will find that the media will start contacting you directly when the subject comes up. And that’s the aim of the game. Because if they recognise you as an expert, so will the audience.

So make sure publicity is a key part of your marketing strategy.