National media coverage expands a company’s reach exponentially. Landing a story in a national media outlet increases your business’s visibility and subsequent prospects in terms of clients and revenue.
At Omni Public, we have been fortunate enough to work with some amazing companies, government agencies and executives. We have worked with companies such as Tesla Motors, Hyperloop Transportation Technologies, Bird Rides, Ford Motors and have consulted for our clients and landed various placements and mentions in publications like TechCrunch, The Wall Street Journal, Fast Company, Grit Daily and so on.
New and emerging tech industries create a plethora of stories just waiting to be covered. You want to stand out — like our work with crypto serial-entrepreneur Jeff Sekinger, founder of Orca Capital. But before you pitch, here are some ideas to approach this endeavor with authenticity and in good faith, showing the best side of your company.
1. Don’t send a random pitch. Find a specific journalist and research what they cover.
It’s important to know what beat a journalist covers so you pitch to the right person. If you have a blockchain startup, you’re going to want to find a journalist who covers blockchain and crypto. Blockchain and crypto are congruent beats considering blockchain technology enables the existence of crypto. Go further than that, though.
Look at the journalist's past articles. What is their latest tweet? What are they critical of? What aspects and angles of blockchain do they cover? This ensures they will even be interested in what you're talking about. Take a step back and picture yourself as someone else — would you want to read about what your company is doing?
2. Be brief.
Get to the point. Journalists are busy. While you could talk about your company all day, a journalist is looking for the meat and potatoes — the parts that will catch a reader’s eye. If you can’t get your point across in five sentences and attachments, rethink and rework. If you’ve spent a lot of time editing the pitch yourself, have someone from your team take a look at the final product before sending it.
3. Have materials and talking points ready before you interview.
Before you schedule an interview, make sure you know whom you will suggest as your company’s representative, and that they are well versed on exactly what the story is trying to convey. Keep in mind that just because a journalist interviews you, they still may not cover the story. The pitch may become relevant later though, so it is still valuable to maintain a positive relationship with the journalist.
4. Have your press kit ready.
A good press kit is invaluable. Journalists do not want to search far and wide for past media coverage, executive team bios and quality photos — these should be easily accessible on your company’s website at all times. It is especially important to have horizontal high-resolution images because they look good on thumbnails for sharing on social media.
5. Don’t be afraid to follow up.
Tech reporters are busy. If you have not heard back about your pitch within a week, send a slight nudge. Keep it light. Ask if there’s anything else you could send over that would be helpful for the story. If it is a time sensitive piece, convey that clearly but gently.
The pandemic has affected pitching practices. It is no longer taboo to pitch directly to an editor and it’s OK to pitch any day of the week, but afternoon may be best. Journalists need juicy, relevant content because people have been spending more time scrolling since many jobs are still remote.
If you have any questions about how to pitch to national or local media organizations, feel free to check out some of our case studies and/or reach out to our community affairs team cm@omnipublic.global.