Catarina's World

Media coverage can make wonders for your business. So solid news media strategies should be part of well-rounded publicity campaigns. As opposed to advertising, articles have high credibility, are read and for free – if you manage to get the editors’ interest. 

Media is constantly looking for news and are happy to write about companies and business people, provided they consider the story to be of interest to their readers.

Develop contacts in the media

Learn how journalists and editors work and decide what to publish. It's easier than you believe. Media is constantly looking for news and are happy to write about companies and business people, provided they consider the story to be of interest to their readers. Do you have a story to tell, positive news or wish to comment on something in the news related to your business? Pick up the phone and call the journalist. This can be particularly fruitful if your organization has an ongoing need to be in the newspaper or on TV.

Create news

Editorializing your news is crucial. What subjects are media interested in and why? What would make them interested in what you have to tell? Read, watch and study as many news outlets as possible and try to understand what makes news. Then present it in ways that make the journalist feel it is newsworthy.

Get to the point and keep it short

When sending press releases to media covering your field keep it short to the point. If it's long and complicated the editor may not even read it. Don't make it appear like advertising, boast or complicate it because that can work against you. Focus on what’s new, trendy, unusual, interesting, and of significance to the broadest numbers of readers. News organizations also love stories that arouse deep emotions – love, sympathy, hate, fear, anger – feelings that people can identify with.

Call the media swiftly

Journalists are flooded by emails so the best way of succeeding is to call him/her. Once you have got them interested in your story you can proceed with sending an email with information. And be swift. Nobody is interested in yesterday's news. If you spend too much time contemplating how to best get results you will miss the boat. Arrange a news conference if you believe, or know, you news will generate significant media attention.

Need help?

If necessary use a PR & Communications consultant. It doesn't have to cost a fortune but is well worth it. Media coverage can be make or break for your business so until you master the art of handling the press it is money well spent.

Don't hesitate to be interviewed and profiled in the media because it increases your chances of getting your news published. Look at Richard Branson. He masters the art of using himself as a living "advertisement" for Virgin Group. And I don't need to tell you how successful he is. Where would Virgin be today if Richard hadn't manged to get an abundance of media coverage? Don’t be afraid to ask for coverage and propose specific ideas. Your story could become the centerpiece on the front page. Don’t be discouraged or argumentative if your idea falls on deaf ears. You will learn from the experience. And don’ forget that the editor may turn you down today simply because the staff ’s time is taken up by other assignments. Be persistent. Be positive. Develop more and better ways to pitch your organisation into the news media. And whatever you do, don’t forget that if they don’t like you they will not publish your news. So make sure you come across in ways that make both you and the company look good.

(photo: aidasonne – PhotoXpress)

“My wife loved George Clooney’s suggestion”, said Richard Branson and smiled.

Are you ready to follow in Richard Branson's footsteps?

Richard, as you know, is one of the most successful entrepreneurs of our time. His Virgin Group today consist of 200 companies with 50,000 employees in more than 30 countries. Their combined revenue in 2008 was around 17 billion dollars. Not bad for a man who started out selling Six Pistols records at car boot sales in the 70s.

Richard’s advice to future entrepreneurs is, point one excluded, different from the usual advice about how to succeed as in building up a company:

1) Take calculated risks.”You have to really believe in what you are doing because if you start a project believing that it may fail, nine times out of ten it will”. “Cautious people don’t live life to the full”, Richard says and adds that he always tries to figure out what could go wrong and try to balance that out.

2) Challenge the big players “Make jokes at the big established companies expense and use humour and sex in your marketing. Launch yourself as a Robin Hood in ways that make the big players look silly”. How many of you would actually dare to do so? It’s not enough that the idea appeals to you, would you actually have the guts to go ahead with what he advices?

3) Failure doesn’t exist Act swiftly when something goes wrong. “Our capacity to promptly adapt to changes have enabled us to overcome most mistakes”, Richard says. “You have to quickly take responsibility for a venture that’s not working, change direction or wind it up”.

4) Be casual and easy going. Have fun and make sure your colleagues have as much fun as you do. Develop equanimity.

5) Don’t regret – move on. “People spend to much time thinking about what mistakes they have made instead of using their time and energy to start new projects. Failures are useful tools that enable success”.

6) Don’t employ yes sayers. “Find people who dare to stick out and have a mind of their own. They are much more value for money”.

7) Be a live advertisement for your company. Be a bit of a clown, have fun or you will not succeed. That’s the advise Richard Branson was given when he started Virgin Airlines with no money to spend on marketing. Someone added that he should make sure his name was on the front page of newspapers and not in the adverts.

Psychologists claim Richard Branson has the F factor – fame, fortune and fun. Many people want to identify with him, not least since he’s regarded as down to earth, honest and simple.

He is a person who does things his own way and not how “they teach you at Harvard business school”. Richard Branson is actually a high school drop out. His way of doing things goes against all the advice about how to become an entrepreneur you can find. So who’s right and who’s wrong? None of the people advising you how to succeed as an entrepreneur are as successful as Richard Branson is. Need I say more?

Have you got what it takes to go your own way as an entrepreneur, build up your company and succeed? Do you employ people you cannot control that have a mind of their own? Could you turn yourself into a live advertisement? What new and interesting fields have you found where you could become a new Richard Branson? Are you, after reading Richard Branson’s advice, ready to trade places with him? Or will you opt for a less challenging way of succeeding?

(Photo: nrkbeta – Flickr)