One good way to increase brand awareness is by being featured in the news. Many people still get their community information from the local news, so it's always effective for a company to direct attention to their business by coming out on the local news.
However, news stations need to make sure that the business offers something interesting and relevant - overall, something newsworthy. Just being that reliable business establishment in the community is not enough.
If you want to know how to get your business on local news, get your community interested, and know more about your operations, here are some effective and easy tactics to try.
Position yourself as an authority so you will stand out.
One of the best ways is to author a book. A book is the ultimate brochure - it promotes your services and business and gets you free publicity. But most importantly, it makes you stick out among your competitors as the authority. In a podcast episode, we discuss how to write a book very quickly, and even how to be a best selling author on Amazon.
Build Relationships.
Connect on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram with the reporters you plan on pitching. Compliment the reporter on these social channels publicly. Share their stories and tag them with hashtags.
Support your community.
Take a cue from the local juice place or bakery that helps sponsor community events that normally get featured on the news. These events really look for sponsors, whether they be SEO companies that can help market the event and really just spread the news, or the neighborhood pub where participants of the event can get a discount on some chow. Your business may not get a full feature but it will likely appear when the event is reported on the news. This is a great starting point to make contacts with producers too.
Hold a "free for all" event for your business and have recognizable personalities come.
Anything that gathers a lot of people together and also has distinguishable personalities present easily becomes newsworthy.
Ask your local radio station about live remote broadcasts.
Get the local radio stations involved as well. According to Colonial Tin Works' marketing experts, this is very effective; just "tie the broadcast in with a special event, contest or free offer."
The DJs can promote your event on air, and what's more, they can really make it so much more fun for everybody.
Support your local news stations.
Offer some of your products or services for free or at greatly discounted rates. Cupcake shops all around the country have tried this tactic, especially for morning news shows - at first the businesses just get a "thank you" on air, then later on they get featured for reports on food and popular interests. This tactic is very effective in fostering beneficial relationships with members of the media.
Be a reliable source for your field and available for interviews.
What a way to get media coverage for your business. If reporters come asking for help regarding the stories they wish to present, don't ever be too busy to accommodate them. It's good to build a relationship because this can lead to a full feature -- especially if you prove yourself to be a reliable expert in your field of business.