One of the most challenging aspects of my placement has been working on getting press coverage. We are a small business and most publications I have contacted regarding the possibility of getting an article done or a small piece of press in any way, shape or form, has been incredibly difficult.
While we have had a number of events or achievements over the duration of my placement, gaining media coverage has been difficult. We did receive a small write up in MacWorld regarding a range of products we had become the Australian Distributor for, however this really focused on the product and little was drawn back to the company.
We also had a retail store opening, that gained a moderate amount of attention from a radio station, however to get community paper coverage we needed to notify the paper 3-4 weeks in advance, and even then they could not guarantee someone would come to cover it.
There is also a software we have built that delivers incredible benefit to small business owners, however getting media coverage is incredibly difficult. The response I receive more often than not is something along the lines of "we don't generally give out feature article space or any kind of writeups without an investment in the magazine" ... reading between the lines, this means to get a feature article or mention in any credible way into the publications (both online and print) we were interested in for our target markets, we needed to buy advertising space along with it.
This also happened in radio to us also, where we wanted to run a competition through one of the commercial stations, however were told that without an investment of 4-5k in terms of advertising, the competition would not run.
The reasons given for this made sense on the surface, and were along the lines of "by combining an advertising package with your article/competition, we find this increases takeup and the impact of your news/item/service/event/competition and overall benefits your campaign and delivers better results". This I agree with on one level, but on another, being a small business, where large advertising budgets are more often slim to none, the opportunities pass us by.
Granted there are legitimate newsworthy events that happen for businesses of all sizes, where coverage is guaranteed without needing to buy advertising space along with it. However, for small businesses, this is sometimes just not feasible.
Was I going about things the wrong way? Or was this just the unspoken yet agreed upon relationship between advertising and PR? I started noticing things in magazines such as Marketing Magazine or B&T or Nett# where articles referencing the benefits of online CRM software or the benefits of the right promotional products, ended on page 31 and on page 32 what would there be? An advertisement for a certain CRM software or promotional product company. Coincidence? Or well structured ploy, honed over time to achieve the best results for advertiser and publication?
Perhaps my frustration merely stems from the fact that the company I work for is not overly in a position to buy our public relations coverage? Or am I being naive? Please someone tell me. I don't remember this being covered in PR 211 or 200 or any of the units, where more often than not our assignments were to 'create a PR campaign for such-and-such incredibly newsworthy event' ... where are the struggles? The coverage for events where you can't afford to buy advertising space to accompany your article? The real world adaptations for small business? Or again, am I being naive and just going about things the complete wrong way?
A number of sites for small businesses cite how important it is to gain PR for your business, and make out how simple it is - http://www.publicityship.com.au/ http://www.flyingsolo.com.au/marketing/public-relations-pr/5-ways-to-gain-small-business-pr-for-free http://www.smartcompany.com.au/advertising-and-marketing/20100421-public-relations-2.html etc etc ... however I remain 100% unconvinced. Or perhaps I am just demoralised?
Clearly, I do not mean to say that anything and everything that occurs in small businesses is newsworthy. In my placement I have learned that something merely existing or occurring, in itself is not newsworthy. It needs to be targeted based on the publication you are speaking to and their core demographic... it needs to have substance, a story to it, a benefit, a unique selling point. And again, I am speaking about small companies that do not naturally have large-scale news items or occurrences taking place.... please take this post in the context in which it is placed. I just wonder, even when our small businesses 'newsworthy' events come up... will we be able to afford the advertising space needed to cement a write up in a publication?
Any thoughts or opinions are gladly welcomed...
2 comments:
Hi Sharon
I really enjoyed reading your post and feel that I have found myself in the same frustrating situation too many times!
I’ve found that building relationships with a journalist from your target media will help you to gain press coverage when you have an announcement to release. My secret? Networking events!
Networking events have been the most valuable tool for building my network of contacts over the past 12 months. These events provide a unique opportunity to network with people you may not otherwise meet. I have met many journalist (or people who know a journalist!) at these events.
You can take this opportunity to tell them all about the fantastic work you do (and don’t forget to ask about them) and get their business card. Make sure you keep in touch with them after the event – a great way to do this is by touching base every few weeks either by phone, email or a message over Linkedin! Once you have a relationship with a journalist I think you’ll find they will be more interested in your story when you pitch it.
Below are some companies that host great networking events in Perth that I highly recommend;
Via Appia - Networking WA
Women In Media
The Lunchbox List
Congratulations on the media coverage that you did receive, I remember the first time I had something published in a newspaper, I was so excited I drove to the local BP at 1.00am to pick up a copy of the paper hot off the press!
All the best.
Bec
You make a number of very interesting and important points here, Sahron. Working for a small organisation is definitely a challenge. Great to see that Bec was at hand with some great tips. However, obviously it will take some time until you establish those contacts.
You included a couple of intersting links to companies like Publicity Ship. Have you had a look into how they approach the challenge of gaining media coverage for small businesses. A very intersting/ different approach to what you have learned at university. I'd love to hear yours - or in fact anyones - view on this.
All the best
Katharina
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