Quite often, business owners ask how they can get local media to cover The 3/50 Project, knowing that greater consumers awareness equals greater success. While there’s no silver bullet when it comes to snagging coverage (every media outlet is different, with all sorts of personalities and nuances), there are a few things you can do to improve the odds. The important thing to remember is that if they don’t know about the story, they can’t cover it…which is where you come in.
Editors are desperate for positive angles regarding the economy right now—there aren’t a lot to choose from. They also like “little guy does big thing” tales, which certainly fits The 3/50 Project (hey, it began with a blog post). What that means is that you have ammo to work with.
Good ammo.
As mind-game-ish as this sounds, phrase your conversation as a question: “Have you heard of The 3/50 Project?” as opposed to “We’re doing this thing called The 3/50 Project.” By asking if they’ve heard of it, you don’t sound like you’re simply trying to sell them on doing a story about you.
(Even though that’s exactly what the end result will be.)
Example/GOOD
You: “Have you heard about The 3/50 Project? One of our customers brought this to our attention. It’s a grass roots movement to help small local businesses and their communities….”
What the editor hears: “Hey, there’s something out here that my customer found newsworthy…I found newsworthy…thought you might find it newsworthy too.”
Example/RISKY
You: “My store has been participating in The 3/50 Project and is wondering if you’d like to do a story about us.”
What the editor hears: “My store is fabulous, we’re doing this thing, and I’d like to grace you with the privilege of doing a story about me-me-me.”
Basically, if the conversation starts out sounding like it’s about you, well…it won’t be about you because it won’t become a story. Gotta let ‘em know this is about a whole lot of little mom-and-pops out there, making a difference, together.
So….how do you get in the door?
1. Think about who you know that has a connection to the station/paper
Check with employees and your best customers. A personal “in” is always most effective. Obvious, I know, but sometimes that’s the step people skip or shy away from (now is NOT the time to be shy).
2. Contact the station/paper and ask for the business editor—preferably by name
Do your homework first, and find out who the business editor is. Give him/her a call—if you get voice mail, leave a message, then follow up with an email (if their email address is on their company’s website…be sure to include the link to the350project.net in your message). Talking to them on the phone is more effective than email alone…want to make this personal.
If you’ve seen a recent story by the station/paper that dovetails with The 3/50 Project (ex: one about how consumers are holding back on spending….yikes), contact THAT writer or reporter first. They’ve already got their ear to the ground about what’s happening on the streets.
3. Twitter
Most news outlets are on Twitter, as are many of the anchors and reporters themselves. Find them. Send them tweets (ex: @WCCO: Have you heard about The 3/50 Project? @SusansGifts is part of the grass roots movement. Check out the350project.net.).
If you’re a Twitter user, you know what all those symbols mean. Odds are, your followers will retweet it, which is good, and every RT with the media ID name in it lands in their Twitter feed.
The crazy thing? Twitter has been as successful as personal contacts in some markets when it comes to attracting local media. That’s how the Minneapolis/St. Paul papers and television news outlets found me, on day four of all this…and the tweets were coming from other people since I hadn’t had time to even think in that direction yet.
If you’re not a Twitter user, keep reading.
4. Facebook
If your store has a Facebook page, put up a post that runs along the lines of “Would love to have WXYZ cover the story of The 3/50 Project here at Susan’s Gifts. Does anyone out there have a connection that will help?” You never know who’s connected to who.
5. Your blog
Write about The 3/50 Project. Talk about how it’s making a difference nationally…it’s grass roots…your store is part of it…you’d love the local media to pick the story up…. Just another place someone might see the info, then connect the dots for you.
I’m a big believer in first trying to connect to a human via the old school methods (personal connection, by phone), but will never discount the amazing value of Twitter. It’s pointed a lot of media outlets toward local businesses as the story has been covered from coast to coast.
Gotta make sure your name is the one they associate The 3/50 Project with first in your local market if you want to be part of the coverage.
Now…go out there and get some time in the spotlight!
Stay tuned for Part 2 about how to prep for the cameras and coverage
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