WSI Internet Franchise Blog

Many business owners struggle to get media coverage even although they realize that it can be hugely beneficial in bringing new visitors to their website. Here are some tips that should help you to get local media coverage.

1) Be newsworthy

You must be newsworthy. That’s not as difficult as it might sound since there are literally hundreds of small business stories published every week in the media. Look out for these stories and try to understand how they happened. If you read them carefully you will be able to pick out what made the journalist write about the business.

2) Target and Distribute

Write a great newsworthy press release and distribute it to a targeted group of journalists. You need to cover the following aspects since every good press release has as a minimum -

• A headline that says exactly what the story is about
• A great summary paragraph of the story
• Quotes from various sources
• A link to a relevant page with more information on your web site
• Contact details
• Editor notes

3) Research

You need to find journalists who write about your industry, make yourself available. Try this approach -

• Search Google News using some of your industry’s popular keywords to find which journalists are writing about your industry.
• Take a great story in the past and look how it has been covered.
• Browse your through industry trade press and see who’s writing about what
• You can also buy a contact lists of journalists is necessary

4) Stay Current

You need to time your news story carefully. Try to be current and capitalize on major news stories of the month. One of the keys is to coordinate everything with major current news stories. Good stories in mainstream media sometimes do happen by accident, but if you plan and follow a clear strategy then your chances of success will be so much better.

5) Go Social

You need to be involved in social media to get the word out – that means actively participating! When you do get a news story published make sure you capitalize by posting on Twitter, Facebook and other channels to extend the reach.

There are many more tips and strategies to incorporate into your business’ digital marketing mix. Contact your local WSI Digital Marketing Consultant to learn how your company can gain even more online visibility.