Mastering the Media Release

Just about everyone in business these days will be familiar with the ubiquitous media release. Sometimes it is called a press release and other times a news release. But whatever you call it, the million dollar question remains: Why don't more business owners make more use of this powerful promotional tool?

One reason may be that most people simply don't feel confident enough to put their thoughts down on paper. And this, it seems to me, stems from early days at school where the printed word seemed to convey so much authority and power. In my days, few kids loved comprehension or essay writing.

But there's probably a more compelling reason. My experience working with business owners suggests it has more to do with not knowing what to write about than how to write it. The result is that they forgo the benefits that this wonderfully simple yet powerful business-developing tool has to offer.

If this sounds like you, don't despair. It is easy to fix.

You see, what you have to remember is this: the reader of your media release wants to know what's in it for them. And when I say reader, I am referring to not only your intended prospect but also the editor or journalist to whom you have sent the release. They don't want to hear garbage or a sales pitch. They want news. And by news, I mean news about something that will benefit them.

So how do you deliver this? I do so by following my seven golden rules.

1.Develop a good general knowledge. The more you know, the better you will be able to communicate. You are, after all, aiming at developing an on-going conversation with your various audiences - you are aiming at opening up lines of communication that will inform your audience about various aspects of your business and why they should deal with you. But if your general knowledge is lacking, chances are your message will lack substance or relevance. For instance, if you wanted to stimulate interest in a product you stock, it would be helpful if you knew that people still wanted or believed in your product. But if there were moves afoot in overseas markets to move away from a product like yours, then it would be very difficult to get people here to comprehend your message, especially if they were aware of what was happening overseas while you were not.
2.Keep up to date with local and international news. You need to know what is going on in your community, in your country and the world at large. You need to know this because it is what will be on people's minds on a daily basis. If a plane has just crashed in their neighbourhood, it is unlikely they will care too much about that new widget you have just launched, unless the widget is designed to rescue people from plane crashes, of course. From a PR point-of-view, if you know what the pulse of the community is, you can tailor your message to suit. You can also ask yourself questions that will tell you what you should be talking about in your media releases. Remember, your message needs to be in sync with the way your intended audience is thinking.
3.Keep up to date with the latest trends. So often you can ride on the back of a trend and gain invaluable publicity. To do this, you need to know what is going on in general. Think of it as a surfer would. They see the wave building, then start paddling well beforehand so that when the wave is just about underneath them, they have sufficient momentum to ride the wave. If they were to start paddling too late, they would miss the wave. PR is much the same. What trends are about to happen in your neck of the woods and how will it affect you? Is there any connection? Can you make a connection? For instance, we are now in a time of water conservation. What does your business do that has anything to do with water conservation? Do you market anything that can help people monitor the amount of water they use? Do you sell accounting software that may possibly be adapted to assist water users?
4.Keep your eyes open and ‘see'. Most people look without seeing. They don't notice the little things around them that can make all the difference in their businesses. If, for instance, road works commences down the road from your shop, what does this mean for shoppers? Will it affect their shopping habits? If so, what can you do to alleviate this for them? If you could, for instance, commence a home delivery service, then this would be ‘news' that the local newspaper would like to know about. You see, they are not called ‘news' papers for nothing. This would be something worthy of a media release.
5.Develop the ability to predict. If you knew what the next big thing would be, how much money could you make? Let's look at the Baby Boomer phenomenon as an example. Back in 1946 when the Boomer wave started, what was the situation? Millions of babies were being born. So who rode on the back of this wave? Baby food companies. Then as the babies grew into children, the companies who scored big time were the toy companies because that is what the market needed at that time. Then, as they matured, the housing market took off. What is happening now? The Boomers are beginning to retire. Guess which industry is booming? The retirement village industry. Those businesses who were able to predict the next boom wave were the ones best placed to capitalise. They had the time to gear themselves up to be well placed to take maximum advantage of the changing trends and needs of the community.
6.Have a good look at your business. You need to understand exactly what your business does. And what it sells. Then ask yourself whether your customers know what your business does and sells. If your business is like most, the answer will probably be no. Which items are the most profitable? Is there old stock that really should be moved? Are there products or services that only some customers know about and not others? How can you tell them? What does it mean to them?
7.How does what happens in your business affect others? The bottom line here is ‘what's in it for them?' Why should they care that you have just formed an alliance with your largest supplier? Or that you have been in business for ten years? If, on the other hand, you have decided to stay open till ten at night so working mothers can shop after work, then that may be of interest, especially if none of your competitors will open late.

Follow these rules and you will be on the right track. Resist the urge to put out a media release just for the sake of putting one out. Editors hate nothing more than irrelevant media releases cluttering up their system and wasting their time. If you have nothing to say, then say nothing. But when you do have something to say, say it well.