If you’re looking to get featured in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, CNBC, and other top tier mainstream news publications, you might think the most important question to ask your PR agency is: Can you leverage your good relationships with reporters to get us coverage?
That is not enough of a strategy. There are several questions you need to answer first - and honestly - to achieve success.
Of course, excellent relationships with reporters help; however, journalists are not going to “do us a favor” and write about a client. The stories we pitch have to be strong, and the topics have to fit their specific beat and their outlet’s area of coverage. Our direct relationships with reporters mean that they are more likely to open our emails, read our texts, and take our calls. But our relationships are built on trusting us not to waste their time with irrelevant pitches.
In this newsletter, we’ll share how we landed clients in some of the hardest media outlets to secure.
We’ll start by turning the tables on you because step #1 is asking yourself a series of questions to determine what stories you’ll need to tell to land the big fish.
Question #1: How strong is your story?
Top media outlets report on major trends with multi-billion dollar impact. They also search for voices who can bring new insights and deep commentary to breaking news. A B2B product announcement is not likely to attract their attention (there are exceptions of course).
This means you need to approach the media with stories that will interest them. You need to fit into their box and not vice versa.
For robots-as-a-service company, Formic, our team closely monitored trends in manufacturing and pitched The Wall Street Journal numerous related angles… not product stories. WSJ reporters don’t usually write features based on pitches but because our outreach was relevant and demonstrated the Formic co-founder’s thought leadership, when the reporter eventually wrote a related trend story, he asked for the co-founder’s input and included it in the article.
Which brings us to the next question…
Question #2: How patient are you?
The Formic article in The Wall Street Journal, and this article about Intuition Robotics in The New York Times, each took approximately six months from initial contact to publication.
Reporters don’t work on your schedule. At top media outlets, there are a number of hurdles, including the need for their editors to approve the story and for fact checkers to confirm details and quotes. Unless it’s a time sensitive story, it can take weeks or months.
Question #3: Are you a consumer or B2B company?
Opportunities for B2C products versus B2B vary wildly. Ask your PR lead to explain what are realistic targets. For example, there are opportunities to pitch consumer products for inclusions in gift guides, influencer reviews, and as giveaways. Outside of financial news, B2B products are often not a fit for mainstream media unless they are from major industry players.
That said, you can secure mainstream top tier coverage if you can tie your product legitimately to breaking news or key tech trends, or if your product is truly bleeding edge…and not just hyperbolically speaking.
By operating at breakneck speed when OpenAI’s ChatGPT broke open the floodgates around GenAI, our team secured media coverage for GenAI startup D-ID in CNBC TV, The New Yorker, Rolling Stone, TechCrunch, and more. The majority focused on the company’s consumer product, with mentions of the B2B applications.
For companies with only a B2B product, especially those playing in niche spaces, question #4 is critical.
Question #4: Are you targeting the right outlets and reporters?
In the case of Intuition Robotics, the key was understanding that a reporter on the “Metro” beat would be most likely interested in the story since it directly impacts NYC residents, and we had locals using robot ElliQ who could share their experiences.
In the same vein, when pitching TV news outlets, you need to understand what are the areas of focus for each program so that you pitch relevant shows.
Question #5: Are you a well-regarded industry expert willing to share strong opinions?
Reporters interviewing thought leaders are not interested in product or company pitches. They are looking for bold opinions and expert insights that help their outlet’s audience understand the impact of news and current trends.
Our team has introduced Voxel51’s cofounder, Dr. Jason Corso, to reporters in need of expert commentary for breaking news. He’s shared unique insights in Newsweek, VentureBeat, and The Hill about the future of AI innovation and regulation. Dr. Corso is able to provide context based on deep experience in the field.
Make sure to leverage the expertise of thought leaders within your organization, especially if they have insights that challenge the status quo.
Question #6: Do you have a megabrand as a customer who will go on record?
Another opportunity to secure interest from top tier outlets is by leveraging your biggest customers. For example, In our recent Cybersecurity Brand Pulse Report, we demonstrate how Island Security secured a significant article in The Wall Street Journal by putting the spotlight on its customer, Pfizer.
The story headline will focus around the famous brand and your mention will be further down. Some founders find this frustrating. Instead, they should be pleased. More people are likely to tune into stories around major players so your brand will get more exposure.
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