What are some of the best media outreach strategies to improve public relations?
To help PR managers make a huge impact with their media outreach, we asked exports in the field this question for their best strategies. From using HARO and Terkel to focusing on brand core values, there are several easy strategies that may help you improve your business’s public relations.
Here are 8 media outreach strategies to improve PR:
- HARO and Terkel
- Competitor Analysis
- Check Out Other Niche Press Releases
- Answer Reporters’ Questions Directly
- Research the Media Outlet
- Targeted Guest Blogging
- Thinking Like My Target Audience
- Focus On Brand Core Values & Mentioning Brands Evolving
HARO and Terkel
Using HARO and Terkel comprise an effective outreach plan. If you are a community business owner, you don’t have time for actual outreach. Terkel and HARO let you know which journalists need tips for their authority blogs. You provide the tips, get links to your sites, and your content gets more visibility in Google’s SERPs.
Janice Wald, Mostly Blogging
Competitor Analysis
When reaching out to the media, do a quick competitor analysis. Where’s the competition appearing, and how do they seem to benefit from the exposure? Take a look at their backlink profile, and identify those that are featured due to a media collaboration. Then, use those ideas as inspiration for your own outreach programs.
Ryan Rottman, OSDB Sports
Check Out Other Niche Press Releases
If you’re conducting outreach to the media in hopes of boosting your PR, then there are several ways you can begin to gain visibility. But first, you must find the right contacts.Begin searching for press releases on those topics of interests, and then reach out to the media contacts. Chances are, you may find sites or connections to help with your own PR placements.
Lauren Kleinman, The Quality Edit
Answer Reporters’ Questions Directly
It’s important to answer the reporters’ questions directly rather than taking your answer in too many different directions. While sometimes it can be good to write a lot in order to show your expertise within a certain area, writing about too many topics in one response may make the reporter lose interest. I make sure that my response has a clear and solid point and that it is not too wordy in order to improve its scannability.
Jared Hines, Acre Gold
Research the Media Outlet
I always research the media outlet first to see if they have covered any similar companies or products. Then, I am able to reference it in my pitch. I always demonstrate that I am familiar with their platform, which seems to go a long way when it comes to winning over journalists and landing earned media.
Stephanie Venn-Watson, fatty15
Targeted Guest Blogging
Guest blogging for media publications, especially those that are targeted and niche-specific, can help businesses leverage the power of that publication’s audience for their own PR. There’s a conception that guest blogging is an outdated effort, but when done with intention, it can help you borrow authority and an audience outside of your own, allowing you to grow your reputation and network in the process. Carefully choosing a publication that aligns with your expertise and has an engaged following made up of those within your target audience can make a guest post a massive PR win that directs a steady stream of traffic and high quality leads to your site.
Roy Morejon, Enventys Partners
Thinking Like My Target Audience
Thinking like my target audience is very important for me. Regardless of whether something feels good to me, if it doesn’t feel good to them, it’s of no use. Hence, I keep my customer’s perspective first, then my own. Of course, it takes a ton of work and information to know what they are driven into. But it also results in powerful communication and better relationships. Knowing their values, expectations, and how they’ll experience this is important.
Meera Watts, Siddhi Yoga International Pte. Ltd.
Focus On Brand Core Values & Mentioning Brands Evolving
One strategy that is used when conducting media outreach is linked to the brand you’re conducting it for. The main way of outreach is by focusing on the brand’s core values, while simultaneously mentioning the brand’s evolving throughout time.The former, brand’s core values, is important because it shows consistency in what the brand believes in. This in turn builds up a brand image that can already be connected to something and referenced back when mentioned. A media source is likely to be interested in the brand when it resonates with an external value, movement, belief, etc.The second part mirrors the industry that brand operates in. With the change of the industry, the brand is fluid and adaptive, which are highly valued characteristics that make a story more interesting and engaging.Focusing on these two aspects of a brand when conducting media outreach increases the chances of that media outlet showing interest in working with you and spreading the brand’s name and face.
Marco Genaro Palma, PRLab
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