19 June 2024

PR-talk: How to get media attention when you have no news?

Journalists always have ears for a good story. But what if you just have a well-run, drama free business where nothing special happens? You want media attention, but you have no hard news and can’t think of anything newsworthy. In any case, it’s not a good idea to send a sales flyer text that is poorly disguised as a press release.

Here are 8 tips what you can do:

• Have a market survey done on a topic of interest in your business and share the most striking figures

• Encourage employees in all departments to think PR-minded and hold regular meetings of what’s trending. Often employees who are not related to the marketing department unknowingly provide info that is truly newsworthy.
• Hook in or comment on existing news stories and trends on social media. It can be interesting for a journalist to hear the story from a different angle, add a new salient element to the discussion or have an expert like you speak up to provide context.
• Opinion articles are a good way to publicize your (unique) approach in B2B press.
• The origins of a company or a milestone can be interesting. Dig for stories about how the company may have once started in pub x on the back of a coaster or just by chance.
• If a story doesn’t have enough power and news value, it might still be useful for use on your owned channels in the form of a video or blogpost with appropriate tags. With any luck, you’ll get noticed by an editorial researcher when something important happens in your industry.
• Capitalize on big events or theme days and come up with a funny and original PR stunt.
• Consider being a key note speaker at major industry events, panel discussions or seminars and talk about new trends in your business. Often these are also attended by journalists and this is how you get into the picture indirectly. Remember, authenticity, transparency and credibility are key in any media strategy.

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