Generating Publicity For Your Business:
Knowing Your "Media Market" Is Critical
by Todd Brabender
When starting a successful business venture or launching a new
product, most entrepreneurs or business owners conduct some
type of marketing research to determine the extent of their
prospective customer base. And when getting the word out to
that customer base, many entrepreneurs may turn to the media
to help generate a buzz for them. However, as detailed as their
marketing research might have been, very few business owners are
as meticulous at determining their proper "media market" – that
is, all those media outlets whose editorial profiles are a match
to a product/business profile and would be appropriate for
generating media exposure and publicity.
One of my favorite things to do is educate my clients about
their "media market." Consider this, in North America there are
more than 75,000 media outlets and almost one million reporters,
editors & producers in the entire media market. However, only a
small percentage of those may be appropriate and applicable to
your business/product. But which ones? Unfortunately, too many
well-intentioned entrepreneurs are either uninformed or
misinformed regarding what it takes to attract media attention
for their business. I recently surveyed 100 business owners and
entrepreneurs who contacted my business about a publicity/media
exposure campaign. Here's what I found:
11% - "Are Admittedly Media Market Clueless"
19% - "Have Unrealistic Media Market Perceptions"
29% - "Think Local & Large Media Are The ONLY Media"
41% - "Have A Good Grasp On Their Potential Media Market And Its
Benefits"
Here are the descriptions of these categories and the lessons I
try to teach those who fall into each category:
11% - "Are Admittedly Media Market Clueless"
These are the business owners who know their product and market
inside and out, BUT they have never thought about launching a
publicity/media exposure campaign before now. They know very
little about their potential media market or how to generate
publicity therein.
The Lesson: For these types of business owners I recommend
asking for help from a smaller PR agency or publicity specialist
who is willing to "hand hold" to get the client educated.
Research to find one who doesn't mind spending the time to
educate you about what should be included in your specific
media market and the pitch. Make sure the agency or publicist
understands the product/business as well as you do and can in
turn educate you about your media market – one that will be able
to benefit your business for years to come.
--
19% - "Have Unrealistic Media Perceptions"
These are the business owners who are CONVINCED that EVERY
newspaper, consumer interest magazine and TV show will run a
feature on their new products when they launch a publicity
campaign.
The Lesson: No product or business, no matter how big or great
can be assured media coverage in every outlet in a media market.
But you can get coverage in a good number of them given the
right media tending. Every media pitch will be weighed against
the media outlet's editorial lead-time, its available editorial
space, and availability of an editorial staff member to cover
your pitch. It is totally up to the discretion of each media
outlet as to whether your pitch makes it to the pages or on air.
It can be an uphill battle if you target the wrong media with
the wrong message. But you can greatly increase the chances of
generating those media placements with a little expertise and
media market know-how.
--
29% - "Think Local & Large Media Are The ONLY Media"
These are the ones who think of their media market in two simple
terms: LOCAL & LARGE.
LOCAL, as you might imagine, means the media outlets in their
city or surrounding geographic region -- the local newspaper, a
regional business magazine or two, a few shows at local radio/TV
stations. LARGE, on the other hand, are media outlets like The
Wall Street Journal, Newsweek, Good Morning America, Oprah or
your other favorite large circulation, trade specific media
outlet.
The Lesson: The reality is local and large are indeed part of
your media market, but not the only ones. The best media market
opportunities may well be the dozens of other smaller scale
papers, magazines, newsletters or TV/radio/cable shows that may
generate more customer interest and sales than a placement in
the big media might. Because of a lack of media market knowledge,
many business owners don't even know these smaller, more targeted
media outlets exist. This is where a PR agency or publicity
specialist can be integral in your publicity campaign. They know
the media market very well and will be able to find those media
members who will be the best for generating editorial features
on your business or product. They also have great media contacts
that can turn one feature into a syndicated story that runs in
multiple media outlets nationwide.
--
41% - "Have A Good Grasp On Their Potential Media Market And Its
Benefits"
These are media-savvy entrepreneurs and business owners who are
realistic and knowledgeable about how the media can benefit
their business. They know that they have to narrowcast their
media pitch to a select segment of the media in order to get
coverage that will increase exposure for the business.
The Lesson: Don't let a PR agency or publicity specialist tell
you they will send your pitch to 20,000, 30,000 or 50,000 media
outlets. The reality is, of the 8,000 daily & weekly newspapers,
11,000 magazines & newsletters, 15,000 radio/TV/cable stations
and 7,000 Internet news sites in North America, only about 25%
of those accept press releases from outside their geographic
area. They cover only LOCAL issues, businesses and products, and
it is a waste of time to target them. The key is researching to
discover which media outlets will be receptive to your pitch and
knowing how to parlay those media contacts into positive consumer
interest features that will educate and entice customers about
your product or business.
Just like marketing to find the right customers, one should be
equally diligent about finding and pitching the right media
market. Bottom line – whether you have a general interest
product that has widespread consumer appeal or a trade specific
business with a very narrow customer base, knowing your
appropriate media market can mean the difference between
product/business publicity or product/business obscurity.
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Todd Brabender is the President of Spread The News Public
Relations, Inc. His business specializes in generating media
exposure and publicity for innovative products, businesses,
experts and inventions. http://www.spreadthenewspr.com
todd@spreadthenewspr.com (785) 842-8909
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