For journalists, it’s much more interesting to write about your company if others are talking about it. And the more recognized the person is, the more attention they get. It can help legitimize the hype about your service and the trend it exemplifies – and it helps give perspective to press stories, increasing the chance of media coverage.
In journalism, we talk about cases and experts – two types of sources that should ideally be included in your press efforts to maximize their impact. If you have a company, the case is typically one of your satisfied customers, while the expert is someone with industry or professional knowledge who can put your company’s delivery in a larger perspective with an independent, neutral comment in relation to an existing social trend.
The easiest wins you can get are by involving your existing happy customers, who are often easy to get to give a positive review of your company if you give them exposure in the press. Because in a press effort, they will often be the main focus and mouthpiece for your company, while you can take a back seat. The more recognized your customer is in the industry, the bigger the splash in the press.
Read how a company that provides a communication tool for the construction industry is praised by a recognized major contractor in Børsen.
While it’s usually relatively easy to find good cases, good experts can be harder to get on board.
The impartial expert
In PR, you don’t usually have to pay to get people to speak as many are interested in the prospect of being quoted in the media as experts. But it has to be done in the right way, and many often have reservations about their position that need to be taken into account.
First, find a few possible candidates and a trend that your company is a symptom of. For example, if you sell organic, low-calorie chips, it might be helpful to get a dietitian to talk about how your product is a good example of the changing market for organic light products.
If you have a product that helps improve the quality of drinking water, a statement from an NGO, a researcher from DTU or a politician can help put into perspective how we see more examples of Danish technology helping around the world.
Find your trend
For some companies, it’s easy to see the trend they’re part of, while others have to look a little harder. If you either can’t immediately see what trend you’re part of or if that trend isn’t mentioned very often, you can go hunting for one.
First of all, take a look at what contexts your company or your competitors have been mentioned in the past. Be careful not to get caught up in too broad trends like digitization or apps. At the same time, apps for North Funen stamp collectors might also be too narrow a trend.
The contacts
Once you have the trend in place and have found the relevant expert, call them and tell them you’ve made contact because you can see that they are an expert in their field. You can talk about your background and what your customers have achieved by using you – and you want to know if they can see a connection between your service in relation to the industry and similar services/products. – Finally, ask if you can quote them on what they have said in a press event.
If you’ve done your homework so that the expert’s agenda fits perfectly with yours, they may be so excited to be involved that they even want to be the author of a post.
Read how a transportation company based on a sharing economy concept has teamed up with DI Transport to comment on the consequences of the Uber exit.
New studies are almost always a good starting point to get an expert to talk, as it provides a relevant topic to talk about that is not directly related to anything commercial.
Read how a social media management company monitored Scandinavian coverage of the Tour de France and got a comment from Tour host Henrik Liniger.
When they say no thanks, there may still be a way out
But while there are good examples, sometimes sources also say no. They may understandably have reservations about being part of your press effort, which you need to take into account before they will join in.
Unless you know the person personally, it’s often easier to get people to agree to give a quote if you can weave in the aforementioned societal trend than if it’s a pure product review.
Some sources balk at the idea of being included in a company’s public press release because they don’t want to risk being seen as being in the pocket of the corporate world – even if they are very sympathetic to your news and company.
Often you can still get a perspective quote by asking if it’s okay if a journalist calls for an interview. Now that you know the source’s opinion, you can then explain to a journalist over the phone that you know an expert who is willing to give their opinion.
A good contact
I wish you the best of luck with your efforts. It’s often a good way to establish contact with key sources so that they are aware of your company and your starting point – whether they can join your effort or not.
