While the media landscape continues to evolve technologically and into new channels – as Australians diversify their media consumption habits – public demand for news isn’t going away any time soon.
There are regular opportunities for brands and thought leaders to regularly appear in the media, thereby building public awareness and credibility of their products and services.
A PR agency can help your business achieve these important aims through various media story tactics, including but not limited to:
- Proactive storytelling and pitching. Liaising with you to determine what your business is working on, and what its objectives are, and how it wants to be perceived, that would be of interest to a wider audience and then using the broader context of what else is in the news to shape the story. This may require the development of a press release, but more often than not, an email or phone pitch will be enough.
- Newsjacking. Responding to a breaking news story and weaving your company’s key messages into your response.
- Opinion pieces or bylined articles. Using an upcoming day like International Women’s Day to craft an opinion about a relevant issue. Talking about the gender pay gap would be a relevant issue to discuss respectively.
- Gift lists. Using major shopping events to get your product listed on gift guides (but make sure there is a relevant connection). Alternatively, develop your own gift guides to host on your channels to create a feeling of reciprocity among the brands you have listed.
- Activations, stunts and events (if relevant and there is a budget). We know we are in a visual world, and that extends to news media and social media. Be aware, as events require careful planning and execution to ensure the message is received as intended.
- Surveys. Commissioning a survey of an independent (not your customers) and nationally representative panel of people (at least 1000) on a timely yet evergreen topic is the benchmark required for the media to even consider publishing your findings. Pair this data with a case study or two to give your story extra heft.
Why should you be in the media all the time?
All of these example tactics are about one thing: getting your brand and its key messages into the media. These messages could encompass the positive aspects of what your brand does, how it differs in the market to your competitors, and how your product or service solves problems.
A 2024 Ipsos study revealed that 57 per cent of Australians trust television and radio as reliable news sources – higher than the global average of 49 per cent. More than half (54%) trust newspapers and magazines, also higher than the global average of 47 per cent. While it’s important to have a communication strategy that addresses all three channels, it is clear that earned media is still valued by the public as a leading source of trustworthy content.
Changing of the guard
What’s changing, according to data from the Australian Communications and Media Authority, is how we access news. In 2023 (the most recent year available), 20 per cent of Australians nominated social media as their main source of news in 2023, up from 17 per cent in 2022.
This means that journalists and editors are looking for newsworthy content that audiences on platforms like Facebook, Instagram, X and TikTok (among others) will really snap up.
As we know, social media moves at the speed of clicks – so it’s really important to always be ready to share your brand’s updates and announcements.
A PR agency can help by installing an always-on press office that can optimise your stories, whether for social or traditional media.
Sydney PR agency The Ideas Suite has been established for almost 20 years, and in that time we have run always on press offices for many well-known brands, from Flight Centre’s Corporate Traveller to HotelsCombined and Menulog. Contact us here to learn more.
