The other day I talked about tracking the results of your press release. Obviously, before you can track a story of yours, you have to get the story in the media. Does your company have a story? This helps to brand your company with your identity.
How did it start? Who does it help? How are you able to help your best customers solve their problems?
If you don't have a background story for your business, product or service, its more difficult to get someone interested in writing about it. That's usually one of the early questions in an interview. "Tell me about yourself and background." A business story or a product story is no different. Why does it exist?
You don't have a story about helping anyone? Maybe now is the time to start crafting your story. Problem. Solution. Results. Who else has that problem?
So, assuming you have your story, how can you use your story to build awareness?
1) Hashtags can be like breadcrumbs. Sometimes posting a link on Twitter or other social media with #hashtags helps reporters find something that is trending. It is often wishful thinking that they will actually contact you, but if they are looking for a story and need a source, it helps them to find you. Don't forget LinkedIn.
2) Become a source -I follow a service called HARO (Help a Reporter Out) and get 3 emails daily filled with topics that different reporters want to write about. I look for topics that my clients are experts on so that I can recommend the client. It is a service for journalists and for sources.
3) Newsjacking sounds bad, but isn't. PublicityHound.com (run by Joan Stewart) is one of the best publicity "how to" websites and she offers lots of ways, depending on what you're trying to accomplish. She thinks like a reporter and usually recommends something called "newsjacking" where you tie your story into a current event (like an impending hurricanes or 9/11 connection or changes in the fall weather or whatever local angle to a current topic that a reporters is working on to write a story.) This is how your story becomes the example in their story.
She has a great article " Don't Abandon the Press Release " which is particularly good about going after the press release slant - lead - angle to make it work for a particular media.
Have you had success with getting your story out there? What worked for you the best? What didn't?
Leave a comment below to let me know.
3 Ways to Use Your Story to Build Awareness
