Your Media Moment & Beyond! Expert Tips for DIY Publicity

How Influential Are YOU?

Fast Company magazine is running an online promotion that has some media folks buzzing.   It's an experiment in viral social media marketing called The Influence Project.  

I learned about it from Joan Stewart in her excellent Publicity Hound newsletter.  I respect Joan and I like reading Fast Company magazine, so I signed up.

The Project is billed as an effort to identify the most influential person online but I just thought of it as fun, a marketing gimmick, not a serious test to discover who the true online "Influencers" among us are. (Heck, I know I have very little influence and had no intention of promoting my project link far and wide to up my score.  Plus getting people you know to simply click a link to, in essence, "vote" for you is more about popularity than influence, anyway.)  

Some took a more critical view.  Follow these links to sample some of the reaction here and here.

These writers and others make valid points, but in the end, I bet it will be "all good" for Fast Company.  From a publicity point of view, the controversy got more people talking.  And while the backlash may have been an unintended consequence, the additional digital "ink" increased their name awareness and will probably sell more magazines. Now that's influence.**

**Defined as the power to affect persons or events.

Next Food Network Star?

                                                                 

Calling all Foodies!  Do you dream of being on the Food Network?  

Paula Deen is looking to discover the next "Big Cookin' Star."

The famously Southern Celebrity Chef, Author and Entrepreneur is asking aspiring TV cooks to submit recipe videos for a new contest. 

You can find the details here:  http://www.realwomenofphiladelphia.com/

Be sure to poke around the site because Paula also offers tips to help make your video shine.  It's valuable free information you can use for any kind of "talking head" video you create.

Photo credit: stock.xchng/TouTouke

Edgy Brownies Needed Buzz

On Feb. 28, CBS Sunday Morning's Bill Geist featured three entrepreneurs who came up with unique ideas.

Watch the story here Big Ideas for Entrepreneurs

All three tales are inspiring, but my favorite is the third one about Matt Griffin and his brownie pan.  He was passionate about his product and worked hard to create it but NOBODY CARED about his clever pan.

What turned the tide? He got PUBLICITY and sales took off.  His website www.BakersEdge.com lists dozens and dozens of media mentions under "buzz."  No doubt he's learned how to get noticed, maximize his moment and profit from free publicity.

What about you?

Publicity Stunted?

   The media has been all over the boy and the balloon story in the past few days.  You know the one.  A family feared their six-year-old had been swept aloft in a homemade runaway giant balloon. A huge rescue effort ensued, carried live on national television, and the boy was later found hiding on terra firma all along.

Now what started out as a feel-good child in jeopardy turns up safe and sound news story may be something much less heart-warming. 

Every day since the event, there's been a steady drip-drip-drip of new facts, information and speculation, most of it suggesting anything but a feel-good saga.  Was it a publicity stunt?  A hoax?  A bid for a reality TV show?  The story is still unfolding and who knows where it will lead.

As a journalist, I am not a big fan of publicity stunts.  Reporters are in the truth business and while there's no law against lying to them, the story has to pass the smell test.  No, you're not under oath when you talk to them, but journalists usually have a pretty good BS meter.  If the facts don't add up, you risk exposure, embarrassment and in this case, where police and emergency crews got involved, potential trouble with the law.  Now the authorities are asking the questions, not just the media.

Hollywood and the entertainment world has long been famous for staging outrageous publicity stunts and they can be effective when handled well. But you've gotta, gotta, gotta ask yourself, "What's the worst that could happen?"  Keep in mind the Law of Unintended Consequences and remember Murphy's Law. Don't fall so in love with the idea of all the attention you'll get that you discount or ignore a worst case scenario.  Really think it through.

Remember the bomb scare in Boston a few years ago?  Boxes with blinking lights started appearing on roads and bridges around town.  In this post 9-11 world, the city was in an uproar all day.  It turned out to be a marketing ploy for a TV cartoon show.  Good thing nobody was hurt in the security frenzy.

What was really behind the boy and the balloon ordeal?   All we can do is stay tuned.  

Photo Credit: stock.xchng/Topsoft

It Gets Easier

Now that Labor Day is behind us, wouldn't it be great if you could put your publicity plan on cruise control? 

As I've written in past posts, everyone in the media is so buried with press releases and pitch calls, few pitches ever really stand out.  It just makes sense for them to ignore most of that feature story "chatter" and go after what they want, trawling the online world for interesting people and stories. 

So how can that benefit you?    Suzanne Falter-Barns has a unique approach to getting media exposure.  Her system at Get Known Now helps clients create such an appealing online presence that they catch the eye of major media outlets without pursuing any of the usual press releases, pitch calls, etc. strategies.  Now, that's easy.  (I'm not an affiliate but I do follow what she is doing and like her ideas.)

Another kind of easy comes from experience and building a reputation.  An article in the September 7th issue of The New Yorker featured the irrepressible gossip columnist Cindy Adams.  It said one wall in her home office is covered with copies of her many front-page stories.

She was quoted saying back when she had to prove herself, she went after the scoops, but not now because she doesn't have to "kill myself that much anymore."

Getting media coverage can work that way too.  Initially, you put in time and effort to up attract radio, TV and print attention, but once you "prove yourself," building relationships with a few editors, producers, and reporters, they'll likely be calling you.  

Set up an effective, easy PR system so you continually pop up on the media's radar, and you won't have to "kill yourself anymore" either.

Photo Credit: iStock/LawrenceSawyer

Know When to Bide Your Time

Earlier this week I wrote about how summer is slow in Newsland and a good time to get your story pitch in.   Because the need for news is year-round,  your pitch may get more consideration during the lazy, hazy days of late summer when many regular newsmakers are on vacation.

Although that is true, on any given day, a big story can break in a local market and believe me, that's not the day to call with your feature story idea.   The shooting at a Pittsburgh gym reminded me of this point.   Calling the newsroom with anything unrelated to that event that day would have been a waste of time. 

If the big story is in your local community or a regional story, you should be able to pick up on it by checking local internet news sites, reading the morning paper and tuning into the TV or radio news to see what they're covering that day.   Fortunately because of the internet, if you're pitching news operations outside your local area, you can generally check their websites to see what's making news with them.  If it makes the national news, it's even easier to find out.

One of the number one peeves of Newspeople is getting pitch calls from folks who are clueless about what's going on at that moment in the news and/or are ignorant of just what a particular reporter or show covers.  Please do your research on your media targets both as you prepare your pitch and right at the point you plan to pick up the phone.

You've got to bide your time when a big news story is developing and wait for the unfolding drama to die down.  Wait a few days or a week to call.    You may be able to piggyback a story idea onto the larger story later but not while it's breaking.

If you want to be on the news, you need to be aware of what's going on in the world around you.  Imagine being so out of touch that you called with a feature story pitch on 9-11?   Yet lots of newsrooms got those kind of calls that day.  When one story is dominating all the coverage, it's useless to try to get  media attention for anything else. 

News You Can Use - August

                                                                  

When government goes out of session in late summer, it's an especially good time to pitch local media and make a splash.  Summer is generally a slow news period and, with no legislative action to fill the daily "news hole," News people may be more willing to consider your feature story ideas.  

Just realize editors, reporters and producers take vacation too, so the newsroom may be under-staffed and scrambling.  Make sure your pitch is clear, quick and targeted to that specific program, reporter or news operation's needs. 

It also helps TV reporters, if your story can be shot fast, all in one location and all at once...what we call "one-stop shopping."  That's true any time of year but especially true, if the newsroom is short-handed from vacations.

Here are a few ideas.  Does your expertise fit in with any of these?

-Topical news   With Congress in recess, all the legislative initiatives left undone locally and nationally  (like the national health insurance overhaul) are ripe for discussion and debate.  What topic could you piggyback on that will be coming up for government action in the fall?  Perhaps there's a human interest story about how a particular proposal could affect groups or individuals in your community that fits your message or cause.

-Back to School -  News organizations will consider all kinds of feature stories with the start of the school year looming.   Whether it's coping with first day jitters in kindergarten or sending your college freshman  off to an out-of-state school , Newzies know parents and grandparents are reading, watching and listening for useful advise.  The range of story angles is nearly unlimited but here are a few to get you thinking:

• Food and nutrition - eat right on the go, easy family meals, packing healthy lunches, snacks
• Fads and fashion - what are the must-haves for back-to-school?
• Health  - school safety, medical check-ups and vaccinations, freshman 15 weight gain, fitness
• Technology - new gadgets and gizmos students love
• Social and emotional issues -making new friends at a new school, peer pressure and bullying

-Health Observances - find out what health topics might be hot in August and the months ahead here. 

Happy Pitching!

Photo Credit: stock.exchng/Horton Group

Follow the News

                                                                  

When a big story hits like the death of Michael Jackson, it pushes every other news item off the stage. Radio and TV news organizations go into overdrive.  They look for every angle imaginable to keep the story front and center day after day, as the details unfold about the main news event.   It's called a feeding frenzy and everyone is scooping up every shred of information as fast as they can.

If your expertise is relevant, it's an opportunity for you to pitch yourself to your local and regional, maybe even national, news outlets.   Piggybacking, coat tailing, a sidebar feature, call it what you will - a tie-in to a big story or topical news event is one of the most powerful ways to get media attention.

If you want to be on the news, you've got to watch the news, study it, figure out who is talking to whom about what.  Then get your pitch out there fast.  

Since the Jackson story broke, I've seen and heard interviews with all kinds of experts - doctors, psychologists, lawyers, pop culture, celebrity reporters, show business, music and many other experts.  Some talked specifically about him - Jackson's musical legacy, his financial woes, his plastic surgeries and self image, his family dynamics, his big comeback plans, the scandals he was involved in.   Other experts were interviewed on more general issues, using the Jackson story as a springboard to talk about heart health, cardiac arrest, prescription drug addiction, custody issues, wills and trusts, pop culture, the nature of celebrity, etc.  The list of topics seems endless.

Even if you weren't on it right away, get your pitch in right now.  This story is still unfolding and stations are probably collecting various ideas and contact information for ongoing and future coverage.   They'll want to beef up their rolodex so they're ready to go with fresh angles, no matter which way the news surrounding Michael Jackson's death turns. 

Happy Pitching!

Photo Credit: stock.xchng/ilker

Basking in the Glow of Hoops Hype

People looking to pitch a story often think too literally.  Putting your own spin on what everyone is talking about can attract media attention, even if it's way outside your field.  

One example is March Madness.  Every year newspaper advertising, radio and TV commercials are sold to car dealerships, furniture stores and the like to promote their March Madness sales.  In the same way, News people look for various story angles to tie into the sports mania.

One business, Ursula's About Phace Makeup Studio, got free publicity by positioning itself in the moment to "cash in" with a free event.   According to an article in the Philadelphia Inquirer, the salon owner offered to use her expertise to reduce a woman's own makeup bag clutter down to the essentials, which she dubbed "the elite eight" or "the final four."   Get it?   

Her company drew the media spotlight by piggybacking on the popularity of the March Madness basketball championships, even though the salon has nothing to do with basketball or sports. 

A fast pitch right now might work to get you some coverage.  Or just watch what others do, and tuck away some ideas today to come up with a little madness of your own next year.

The Power of Image

It's interesting how one negative photo of Olympian Michael Phelps has quickly unraveled his positive publicity.  The impact of bad news on a stellar image can be profound.

There are lots of issues to debate surrounding his fall from grace and the fallout from the photo continues.  I just want to point out how easily the glow from his Olympic glory faded.

Phelps and his managers worked hard to capitalize on his athletic accomplishments...to maximize his media moment.   He's been in commercials, done TV guest appearances and won sponsorship and endorsement deals.  Then one candid photo changed everything.  

Now despite all his achievements, this incident will be noted in any future media coverage  - positive or negative.  As they say in school, it's part of his permanent record.

Can he weather the storm and regain his lost marketability?   Opinions vary.  He making the right moves.  He's taken responsibility and made a public apology.  But his image will take time to rebuild. 

As a student of DIY publicity, take note of his next steps.  How will he resurrect his damaged reputation and get back into the public's good graces?