By the way, it's easy to forget radio and television, but you shouldn't. We reprinted that Forbes article and sent it with a pitch letter to many radio and television shows, and we were able to obtain network coverage for our client -- and for his client -- on this subject. Properly presented nostalgia can be very appealing. Thus Point #2: to reach the broadcast media -- especially if you have a good visual angle -- it helps first to reproduce stories that have appeared in print media, and then circulate them to the TV people. For the broadcast media, this gives your pitch more credibility.
There are other important ways to obtain a write-up in a publication read by business people. One especially useful approach that we have employed for clients over the years involves helpful hints. That's Point #3: provide "tips" to readers. The trick is to suggest just enough tips to whet the reader's appetite, but not quite enough for the reader to think he or she can do without the firm you're publicizing. Result: the reader says, "This person seems to know what he (or she) is talking about; maybe I ought to call."
I'm not saying that getting your firm into the Wall Street Journal or Forbes is a snap; far from it. But, with some forethought and hard work, it can be done. With that in mind, let me allude to a category of media closely related to the business press: the general news media -- i.e., important general publications read by business people and other audiences important to you.
This leads to me to Point #4: be courteously persistent. This advice helped us get an architectural client written up in Time magazine. Significantly, this episode began badly. The magazine had overlooked our client's contributions to a particular project in an earlier story. We brought it to their attention -- persistently, though courteously. Thus when Time was doing a year-end round-up on unusual design, they called us to insure that our client was properly represented. And, in keeping with the theme Clients First, it would be hard to imagine a nicer piece for a client than a Time photo roundup on well-designed projects.
I often denigrate the value of press releases. Too many public relations people think that sending out a release is enough, when they should instead be writing selective letters or making intelligent phone calls. But -- Point #5: sometimes a mere press release can pay off, if it is well-written and has something to say. For example, we sent a release on behalf of a construction company client to The New York Times, concerning completion of a building in Manhattan. As it happened, a Times reporter was doing a piece on construction, and he called us. Not only did our client get quoted, but so did two other clients of ours, both architects. (And the article was beneficial to our client's client, who owned the building.)
We've spoken about general heavyweight audiences. But you also want to reach decision-makers in specific kinds of industries. Such people -- whether in manufacturing, development, advertising, computers, or whatever -- read not only the business and general press, but their own trade media. Accordingly, Point #6: is that trade media must be part of your public relations program.
That's why we approached a real estate magazine for an architectural client which wanted to develop new business in the real estate brokerage community for its interior design division. We wrote an article which suggests ways for a real estate brokerage firm to make the work environment as productive as possible for people working there.
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