Creating Newsworthy Stories
Companies that want to reach both media outlets and their own target audiences can greatly benefit from creating their own news stories. There are plenty of ways they can go about that, such as involving employees, creating a weekly or monthly newsletter with updates, partnering with others, and more.
These strategies are all great ways for businesses to develop their stories, share their opinions on current industry events, and promote their products as valuable and reliable resources for consumers.
Email Newsletter
Companies that are able to should start their own weekly or monthly email newsletter. When a company has its own outlet where it can share content, it can share stories about it a lot more frequently.
To create an effective email newsletter, companies can set a schedule and stick to publishing more frequently. However, it’s important to note that newsletters should never become too promotional.
They should be used as the company’s medium or platform, where the business can engage with the target audience. Even employees can be encouraged to contribute to the newsletter.
Involving Employees
Businesses are never solely run by a single person – it takes a group of people all sharing a common goal for a business to successfully serve its consumers. Sharing stories about the company’s employees can make consumers feel more empathetic towards that business, especially if those stories have a strong human interest element to them.
That can mean stories about what the company is doing to improve the work-life balance of employees. OR showing how the business is helping everyone become more productive, or even what it does to help team members pay off their debts.
All of those types of stories are a part of the company’s own story, and they should always be told from the perspective of the employees. When a company is able to involve its employees in any communication opportunity, it can attract more people to that business.
Associations
A great way for companies to promote their messaging is to become members of local or regional associations. There are plenty of associations that practically any business can join, which provide networking opportunities as well as ways for companies to promote their messaging.
All it takes is to have someone who represents the business establish their credentials as an industry spokesperson and then to join an association and attend events.
When the company’s spokesperson supports the events and other businesses, the company will be recognized by a lot more potential consumers, and can generate more media coverage too.
Partnerships
Finally, companies can exponentially grow the size of their target audience by leveraging someone else’s influence. This is a very effective PR strategy for companies whose business operations depend on strong connections with local communities.
Partnering with other businesses gives companies a great opportunity to engage with the local community, reach a larger number of potential consumers, and generally improve brand awareness. When looking for partnerships, companies should be connecting with other like-minded businesses and should find ways that they can jointly promote their products or services.
As Co-CEO at 5W Public Relations, Dara Busch oversees 5W’s Consumer Practice, which includes Travel & Entertainment, Apparel & Accessories, Non-Profits, Home & Housewares, Health & Wellness, Mom & Baby, Beauty & Grooming, and Consumer Packaged Goods.