What I learned from a bucking bronco
When I was just starting out as a newspaper reporter, a man from the advertising department came into the editorial room and asked me if I’d write a story about a new mechanical bull that a local bar had installed.
These devices were attention-getters for bars eager to follow the latest fad to attract patrons. You sat on a large device that was not much more than a saddle, chose the level of bucking intensity, and away you went.
I entered the bar with notepad in hand. After my story was published, complete with photo, the man from the ad department thanked me. Then it dawned on me that he must have acted on behalf of a paying advertiser in the paper. I have to admit that I should have known better.
This is one example of the efforts of various parties who do what they can to get good coverage in the news media. Validation from what is perceived as an objective third party is a real boon. As you may know, reporters have little time to do research on their stories, or find out what’s interesting, so they rely on public relations efforts for their news stories. The squeaky wheel wins.
Importance of good PR
Your home care agency is faced with greater competition for PR nowadays. Fewer people are relying on traditional media such as newspapers and TV than before. Personally, I think the trust factor in the mainstream media is dropping, and people look look askance at the groupthink of the “media bubble.”
All in all, the number of those who rely on the internet rather than TV is growing, according to a 2017 Pew study. Forty-three percent of Americans say they get their news online, while 50% often get news on television, according to the Pew Research Center. The gap was 19% in 2016, which is quite a change.
Direct marketing expert Bob Bly talks about a dwindling number of journalists. He says that nearly a quarter of jobs in the news industry have vanished in
less than 10 years. “And with the decline in the number of professional journalists, PR pros now outnumber journalists by 6 to 1.”
The answer, he says, is to “customize your pitches and tailor your messages to the specific reporter you are targeting.”
Also, in addition to local newspapers, community papers, and their online versions, you must find blog writers who address the topic of senior care.
Nine steps to get good PR
Here are nine steps on how to work with a reporter to get good news coverage:
- Find which reporter covers issues related to your home care or senior care services, or which they like.
- Make sure they didn’t carry a similar story of yours recently.
- If you call them, make sure they are not on top of a deadline.
- Find a “news hook,” which is some angle on which to hang your story. For example, your take on a national issue.
- Write a press release in an objective way, like a news story, so they can use it as is. (Don’t put your company name in the first few paragraphs.)
- Keep up with this reporter, offering comments on their stories.
- Keep your nose clean. You don’t want them to uncover some scandal. Then the whole thing backfires.
- When you get favorable coverage, thank the reporter.
- Blow your horn among your own audience when you get good coverage.
You can get good coverage that lasts a long time if you know the basics of how to approach the news media.
Did you like this story? Read how our company, TreeFrogClick, got coverage for one of our clients on the world’s biggest religious broadcasting station.
If you’d like to talk about getting good PR for your home care agency, call the number at the top of the page, or contact us.
