In the fast-paced environment of journalism and public relations, your pitch will either make or break the ability for others to hear your story. Avoid pitching the ‘same old ideas’ by implementing these three tips, with the goal of embracing creativity, focusing on the topics you excel at, and keeping the right audience in mind.
Share the Facts (Franco Client Example: AccessPoint)
It’s your job to be a valuable resource. What expertise do you (or does your leadership) have? What subjects does your spokesperson feel comfortable and confident speaking to? Once you’ve narrowed this down to three to five topics and perfected them, a strong media pitch can follow. This way journalists will know that your team can be relied upon when anything relevant arises in your industry. Once you master your key subjects it’s crucial to acknowledge your target publications, and who those audiences are, which brings us to our next tip…
Know Your Audience (Franco Client Example: Materialise)
Reporters are looking for stories that interest their readers, which is why public relations professionals should never broadly pitch a topic. Make sure to thoroughly research the reporters you plan to pitch to and target journalists who are publishing pieces about your subject matter expertise. For example, look for trade publications, blogs or websites specifically covering your sector of business. If you find these individuals and begin to build a relationship with them, they will start to reach out to you when they are looking for content or interviews as well.
Try a Different Approach (Franco Client Example: SMDI)
Essentially, ask yourself a million questions to stand out. How are other subject matter experts talking about your industry? Can you add commentary to a newsworthy topic in an impactful way OR differentiate from your peers? Is there a human-interest component that you can tie in? (e.g., Someone impactful that benefited from your services, ideas, etc.)? Is there any behind-the-scenes information you can share? Do you have any photo or video collateral that you can share that would benefit a journalist?
Avoid sending out ‘standard’ pitches – and ask yourself the questions above to truly rethink the way you approach sharing subject matter expertise.
These are a few ways we hit a home run with media pitches. How do you knock it out of the park? Comment and let us know.
If you want to connect about our media relations services, please contact us today.
