Achieving positive editorial coverage with a strong brand message across major media outlets is often an important marketing goal for brands. If a news outlet deems a brand’s story interesting or relevant to their audience, they will publish the story across their print, online or broadcast media platform. Featuring in editorial content can only be achieved for a business by developing strong relationships with news outlets. It is not something which can be purchased, such as paid advertising.
So which media outlets is best for brands to pitch their story to?
BROADCAST MEDIA
On radio, a brand’s story must be portrayed wholly through audio. The time slot for a radio story is often short, and with no visuals to accompany it, so the story must be extremely sharp to grab the attention of a listener.
In contrast, TV obviously depends on visuals so requires the pitch to include exactly what the brand can offer to shoot. If a brand cannot offer a radio outlet engaging and relevant audio, and likewise a TV outlet with eye catching footage, it probably isn’t the right choice of medium for them.
ONLINE MEDIA
Maintaining a strong online presence helps a brand improve their search engine optimisation (SEO). Online media can include unlinked mentions of a brand or backlinks to the brand on a well-known website such as a news outlet, press releases and securing major feature stories, or even an influencer mentioning a brand on social media.
One of the major benefits of online media is its capacity to reach a wider audience. If a business is trying to expand into broader markets, online media is a great choice. Further, digital features or backlinks can help increase website traffic. The chances of someone clicking on a link which takes them directly to a brand’s website is far more likely, as opposed to someone reading a billboard or newspaper and then getting on a device and searching for the brands website.
PRINT MEDIA
Believe it or not, print is not dead! In fact, print media still plays a significant role in the public relations mix. From newspapers and magazines, consumers still rely on print media as a trusted and reliable form of communication.
Print is one of the oldest mediums to exist and has traditionally provided consumers with credible and reliable news and information. Incorporating print media into a brand’s public relations strategy can help consumers develop a sense of trust in a brand and held uphold a brand’s reputation. This may be beneficial for a brand seeking to build their reputation or recover from a reputational crisis.
Online content can be extremely distracting for users. Many consumers do not completely take in the information they’re being presented, due to the distraction of having multiple browser tabs open and busy audio and visuals. Print media can help slow down the information process and allows the consumer to take in the information in more detail. In this sense, print media can be extremely beneficial if a brand’s information is complex or lengthy as it can allow the user to process the information in more depth. Print can also be beneficial for a brand seeking out a specific niche market – for example, depending on the age demographic, a brand may find that a newspaper targets older demographics better, or perhaps a billboard strategically placed near a construction site aims to target local trades people whilst they work.
If your brand is seeking exposure in major media outlets in Australia, Sydney PR agency The Ideas Suite has strong media contacts and the skills to package your story to grab their interest. Contact us today.
