Identify your news stories
It’s seven weeks until Seawork 2016, so now is the time to start thinking about your big story for the show. Capturing those ‘news’ gems and knowing what journalists want doesn’t have to be a headache with the following handy tips – this is what you need to look for:
- New product developments/services/technologies – when you write these up it’s important to focus on the overarching problem you are trying to solve
- Look for large, unusual or unexpected project wins that might make good headline stories – make sure you include one or two BIG stats
- Be prepared to show off your knowledge with some thoughtful insights into emerging markets, industry challenges or surprising trends and if you have the data to back up your opinions, use it!
- If all else fails – talk to your accounts department to see who you are invoicing as every invoice is a potential customer story.
Look after your target journalists by providing:
- Exclusivity
- Project specific stories
- Information on new products/services which clearly demonstrate a USP
- Access to subject matter experts who have a strong opinion
- Good quality photography (at least 300 dpi) – high quality images provide a stronger opportunity for substantial column inches, as opposed to a NIB (News-In-Brief).
Get specific:
- Irrelevant information: make sure your distribution list is targeted, updated regularly and sent to a named contact. Journalists’ biggest bug bear is receiving press releases which have no relevance to the topic(s) they cover
- A follow-up call – if they’re interested in your news release, they’ll either get in touch or they’ll publish it.
