This article is part 4 of Doing More with Less, a 4-part series on public relations and marketing strategies that can be doubly effective for continuing momentum in the current, turbulent climate. Read the previous article here.
For those of us that are lucky enough to have full-time jobs, there is an expectation of productivity that, if anything, has grown as a result of the pandemic. Buyers must still buy and sellers must still sell, both for today and to be well positioned for tomorrow. Building brand awareness and cultivating sales funnels can’t come to a grinding halt; but grabbing the time and attention of clients and prospects today is harder than ever. That’s where marketing must rise to the occasion.
Doing More with Less: Media Relations
- Trade Outreach – While top tier coverage is always valued, trade publications can be a more effective platform for reaching key industry leaders and decision makers and the cost of driving this trade coverage is more efficient than driving top tier placements. We have found this to be especially true during the COVID pandemic as top tier publications dedicate the vast majority of their coverage to COVID related stories while trade publications, who provide “inside baseball” information to their readers, are publishing more diverse stories. As always, trade publications have a large appetite for industry trend stories, case studies and new product announcements. Incorporating media pitches that are trade publication specific will yield strong media relations results at a cost effective price point.
- Contributed Content – Prior to COVID media organizations have had to contend with limited budgets for full time reporters and the current environment has only exacerbated the problem. As such, news organizations increasingly rely on enterprises to deliver strong, expert content. This is true for both trade and top tier publications. Many publications will publish a bylined article at no cost. Some publications may require sponsorship to publish a contributed piece; but, based on the laws of supply and demand, the cost of a sponsored content opportunity is falling daily.
- Strategic Pitching– Every B2B vertical has been impacted by COVID and to feed its content beast, the media relies on agencies to incorporate a COVID angle into their story pitch ideas. Not every enterprise has a compelling COVID tie-in but some do, and if timed correctly and sent to the right reporter, that pitch has a good chance of resulting in coverage. It is critical to keep in mind that COVID stories will soon morph into post-COVID stories, much like the annual end-of-the-year trends pieces that explore what’s next. Publications will be hungry for new solutions, behaviors, technologies, ideas and products in a post-COVID era. Start brainstorming these pitches today, teasing them via social media and flagging them in your conversations with reporters. At some point in the near future they are sure to land a meaningful media placement.
These are challenging times for all of us. We are all being told to do more with less, which has dialed up the pressure on marketing and sales teams. We hope this series will serve as a conversation starter for marketing and sales departments that are committed, despite today’s challenges, to maintaining their standard of quality and success.
Connect with us to share tips and discuss challenges. We’re in this together.
