7 Steps to DIY Earned Media

When it comes to earned media—the new way to describe public relations, speaking opportunities, awards and such—every business seems to envy their competition’s wins. As the principal of a marketing communications agency, I get calls from prospects all of the time that go something like this: “My main competitor has great PR; they seem to be in every publication and blog I read. What do I need to do to achieve similar success?”

This question is dependent on a range of factors, such as the clarity of your go-to-market messaging, budget, business priorities, focus, and creativity. Utilizing the expertise and reach of an agency can also help, but there are as many companies that do a great job on their own. Today’s businesses—ranging from bootstrapped startups to established companies—have ample opportunities and an array of cost-effective tools and techniques to connect with key influencers and garner awareness and attention. Here are a few that you can take advantage of today to start earning your media stripes:

Tell a Story

The proverbial elevator pitch was designed to communicate your company’s message assuming you needed to deliver it when traversing a building vertically with an important prospect—usually in less than a minute. Earned media requires the same approach; be sure to offer a compelling story, including in-the-trenches examples, metrics, and talking points that support your business model, differentiation, and market positioning.

Develop a Media List

Take notice of all the reporters and bloggers who cover your market, product or service. Like the military, I frequently refer to these as high-value targets, or HVTs. Create a list of HVTs and develop a strategy to personally “touch” them on a regular basis, by commenting on a story and offering feedback on a topic they frequently write about. Employing the “less is more” approach, keep your company and product pitches to a minimum.

Get Social

If you are not leveraging social media, now is the time to get started. Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook and Google+ offer unique channels to engage with customers, prospects and HVTs. By following key reporters and influencers, you can learn about their interests, engage with them, and “socialize” their articles across your network of friends and followers.

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Blog Your Thoughts

As an entrepreneur, you have passion. You also have a unique perspective on your business and how it helps solve specific problems within your industry. Position yourself as a resource by sharing your knowledge and experiences via a blog. As people find value in your posts, they will share it with others. This will improve your professional credibility, and can be useful when reporters are sizing you up based on your body of work.

Give Your Two Cents via Comments

All reporters and bloggers relish feedback; commenting on their articles is a great forum to interact. Offering a compliment or debating an alternative position on a specific topic (provided it is done tastefully) can help get you on that author’s radar and provide an entry point to strike up further dialogue, online and off. When you comment, don’t forget to share the article via your social circles.

Lights, Camera, Action

Today’s video shoots don’t need expensive lighting and cameras. Your smartphone can suffice, offering a powerful tool to articulate opinions, approaches, and pitches. Use video to capture your thoughts and integrate them into your blog, social media and HVT outreach initiatives. Web services such as Hello There provide the capability to deliver personalized messages via email with video with other online content. This is ideal for PR as well as business development and customer communications.

Show Business

As mentioned above, technology and tools allow us to connect with people digitally. While this is extremely efficient and convenient, there is nothing better to establish personal connections than through in-person discussions. Industry events, conferences and meetups provide forums to meet reporters and bloggers, especially if you have the opportunity to speak or participate in a panel discussion. Identify the speaker coordinator at events and get on the call for papers list to submit ideas for future events. The podium provides a platform to elevate your message and connect with key influencers.

While these tools and techniques can help you garner earned media, keep in mind reporters and bloggers are inundated with hundreds of pitches each day.  In order to earn their attention and respect, you need to do your homework, invest the time to be a compelling resource, offer insight and perspective, and most importantly, respond immediately when they call upon you.

This article is part of NY Report's Accelerate 2012 series. To read more, click here.