Ask An Expert: How do I tell my brand’s story to the media?

We recently welcomed a special guest into Viva HQ – he told us how getting the attention of the media with your brand story has changed in light of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Although there were lots of top tips the team already knew about selling in, I thought I’d share these insights to help your business get some column inches in the press.

• When you’re looking to get a story into the media, the quality of the content is meaningless if the editor doesn’t get past the subject line. An editor will get hundreds of emails a week so make the subject line punchy, and get to the point in the first paragraph.

• The perfect story is noteworthy and newsworthy. It should be interesting and new. If a story covers the obvious or unoriginal, nobody is going to read beyond the headline. Find a new angle on a story and make it fresh.

• You should only use factual superlatives – Lancashire’s first… The tallest… The quickest… etc.

• Prove it. If you’re stating a fact, back it up with evidence. Ambiguity is useless to a journalist.

• Bear in mind the audience of the press release. What’s of interest to them? The copy should be aimed at them – it’s not somewhere to cram as much about your business in as possible that’s not relevant.

• Try to beat the crowd on obvious angles – such as annual events like Valentine’s Day. Get your story written, with a new angle, and sent to the media before they’re inundated with stories.

• Include high quality pictures with your email. After all, a picture paints a thousand words! A good image can be the difference between the story being used and it sitting in the inbox.

• There’s mixed response over whether to include a press release in the body of the email or as an attachment. Hedge your bets and do both to appeal to as many journalists as possible.

• As a result of Covid-19, many journalists are still working remotely rather than in central newsrooms. You have to find a balance between hounding them on the phone / social / email and following up on your releases.

Daniel Flynn
Junior Account Executive