In June, LOKAL had the pleasure of hosting a webinar with Chelsea Kane from First Cup Communications. She shared lots of good public relations strategies, and now she’s written more good info to share with you.
Public Relations Strategies: Finding Your Target Audience
By First Cup Communications
When thinking about public relations strategies, one of the key considerations is finding the right audience. What type of media outlets should you be reaching out to in order to get the “right” kind of coverage? How do you find the correct contacts at those outlets?
What is Public Relations?
Public Relations involves working with press to earn unpaid mentions across a variety of mediums: magazines, newspapers, online, radio, and TV. Different from advertising, there is no monetary exchange for these media mentions, and consumers tend to be more trusting because they feel organic, like a friend giving you a recommendation instead of a big corporate advertiser trying to sell you something. There’s also no guarantee of a placement, so getting in touch with the correct audience is imperative.
Determine Your Audience
There are three key questions you should ask yourself when determining the proper audience for your press outreach:
- Where does your target consumer get their news?
- What outlets do you trust to get your information?
- Where is your competition featured in the media?
As you’re considering questions one and two, take a deep dive into each of them. Does your target consumer read the New York Times or Travel + Leisure? Is he or she looking at a print publication or just online? Do they steer clear of big-name traditional outlets, instead focusing on niche blogs? When we say “news,” it isn’t just big-picture global stories. What are they reading for fun? Do they like beauty blogs, tech forums, or cooking websites? The more specific you can be here, the better. Dive into these questions for yourself in the same way you do for your target consumer.
For question three, you’ll need to do a bit more research. You’re likely already familiar with who your competitors are; pick your top three (ideally with at least one slightly ahead of you in the market). Research them, looking at where they’re being featured, who is writing the stories about them, and what type of story is highlighting them. Some of the most common types of stories are a feature (a story only about that one brand and what they’re doing that is new or different), a quote from an executive (typically in thought leadership pieces), or a product mention (think gift guides and listicles with product recommendations).
This competitor research can be done with a quick Google search from the last month, six months, or year, depending on how detailed you’d like to be in your strategy. Keep a list of the articles you find that are interesting to you – the types where you’d like to see your product or service highlighted. Ultimately, you’ll want to email the reporters who wrote those stories, because you already know that they’re interested in the same type of business, and their readers are too.
Build the Relationship
Once you’ve evaluated where you, your audience, and your competitors stand within the media landscape, compile your list of both outlets and editors that cover relevant topics. Your next step will involve building relationships with these writers and developing thoughtful and newsworthy pitches for outreach.
Contact First Cup Communications
If you’d like help determining your ideal target media audience or moving forward with next steps, check out First Cup Communications to see how we can work together.
