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How To Determine The Best "Media Niche" to Promote Your Product
Five hundred press releases is the average daily number delivered to the New York Times every day. When you get to major metropolitan daily newspapers, the number drops to about 250, and 100 for community weeklies. Most local TV stations are in the 200 range and radio is around 100.
Per day.
So, with competition like that, how do you make the most of your PR promotions and campaigns, and not get lost in the shuffle? Well, the first step is to know how to pick the right media for your message. The better you target your media, and match your message to the medium, the better your chances of getting noticed and rising above the din.
You first need to look at the message and ask yourself a few pointed questions. Is it newsworthy? Is it consumer related? Could it have a local twist? Is there a visual aspect to it? Is it a topic I can have a long conversation about? What age group am I targeting? Is there a financial income I'm targeting? The answer to these questions will help you determine the correct medium.
Let's Take TV First
Whether it is a morning, noon or evening newscast, TV communicates to their audience through pictures. It's all visual. A producer is looking for something "camera-worthy" that's also newsworthy, entertaining, informative, or a "how-to." But if you don't think your message can be visual, think again.
We once had a life insurance agency, who wanted us to arrange local and national TV appearances for their CEO. The headline for our pitch was "Can You Afford to Survive without Your Spouse?" and the interview discussion was about the need for women and children to be protected financially due to the death of their husband.
For a visual, we had our client prepare big, attractive graphs showing the mortality rate of women versus men, which told a powerful story. It wound up being a very successful interview for our client as well as the media.
Each newscast, believe it or not, is written specifically for a targeted audience based on age, profession and income. For instance, early morning news shows are usually watched by working adults and families getting ready for school. Noon shows are aimed for stay at home moms and retired individuals. Late night news is usually targeted for younger business people.
Matching Up with the World of Talk Radio
Radio talk shows, in contrast to TV, communicate through words rather than pictures. It's conversational, so your message should lend itself to a discussion about the problem your expertise can address.
Like TV, radio talk shows vary from morning to night. Morning shows, as you might suspect, generally have shorter interviews during "drive time." With news, weather sports and traffic, talk show hosts don't have time for 30-minute interviews.
Midday shows, now run the gamut of topics since so many people listen to the radio at work. Today, you'll even find lots of business shows airing during the work hours.
After work is the second "drive time" of the day. Listeners are more relaxed then, and it's more conducive to a longer interview.
And don't discount those overnight shows. Think no one's listening? You'd be mistaken. Evening and overnight interviews reach a broad audience of listeners, including 2nd and 3rd shift workers, public service employees, truckers and many people who work overnight.
Getting Yourself in Print
Magazines and newspapers resemble radio and TV in that they're looking for the newsworthy, the entertaining and the informative as well. Providing valuable information for a publication's readers, especially in the form of tips - can often land placement. As well, certain segments of the print media also like visuals.
For example, if you're pitching your interior design firm or custom jewelry collection - send photos with your pitch. Or, if you have a cook book, make sure to include a delectable dish photo. Whenever appropriate, photos can help you make the grade.
About the Author For 20 years Marsha Friedman has been a leading authority on public relations as CEO of EMSI. Go to http://www.publicitythatworks.com to claim your free "Power of Public Relations" video today!
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