While social media has made journalists more accessible than ever, and a well-crafted email pitch can secure phenomenal media coverage for your brand, there’s still no substitute for meeting face-to-face with a journalist to share your story.
Do you have a great company story, product or service for which you’ve struggled to get media coverage? Here are four reasons why a media tour might make sense for your brand:
You have a product or service to demo.
Some products and services are more challenging to get attention in the media simply because they aren’t convenient for a journalist to try out for themselves. Many journalists are hesitant to tell their readers about a product or service unless they have experienced it firsthand. This means you can drastically improve your chances of obtaining media coverage by bringing the product or service to them, providing a brief demo and answering their questions. Not to mention, you’ll receive valuable feedback that you can incorporate into future versions of the product or service.
In-person meetings establish you as a trusted source for future stories.
If you regularly produce research that journalists can use in future stories, or you are willing to go on the record to comment on industry news and trends, then an in-person meeting offers a great venue for you to explain the type of information you can provide to them that would appear in their stories. When these journalists need information from outside sources for their stories, you’ll be top of mind to them and asked to contribute your statistics or perspectives. Your company name will be cited in these stories, which only further establishes your credibility amongst your target audience.
Video enhances your brand’s story.
If a picture says a thousand words, then a video is worth a million. For products or services that benefit from a demonstration as opposed to a still image, there’s no better place to be than filming an in-person studio interview with a media outlet that reaches your target audience. Video is one of the most popular storytelling formats around. In fact, the average U.S. adult spends more than 10 hours each week watching videos on digital devices.
Your enthusiasm for your company story, product or service is infectious… and way more effective to hear in person.
There’s nothing that can match the power of your presence to capture the attention of journalists. Email pitches and social media outreaches can, in no way, convey the passion you have in your voice when you talk about your company, product or service. The right pitch, delivered in person, can effectively convince a journalist why you have a great story, product or service that their readers should know about.
We recently conducted a media tour in New York City for our client Redux, a device that brings liquid-damaged smartphones back to life. The meetings we scheduled have already resulted in coverage in Mashable and New York Magazine, and there are still several pieces of great media coverage to come. Could your brand benefit from a media tour? If so, let’s talk.
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