Startups
7 Ways Entrepreneurs Can Get Successful Media Exposure
Today more than ever it is important for entrepreneurs to differentiate themselves from others in their space. To get noticed, you will need to stand out.
The best way to do so is to create a strategic publicity plan consisting of several ways to get media exposure for your brands and products. Make sure each step of your plan works together to help you achieve your overall desired goal.
Here are 7 ways to get media exposure:
1. Building relationships with the media
Besides having a publicity plan, building relationships with a journalist, host, and producers are very important, and will be key to your success in getting exposure. This means Googling them, following them on social media, and determining what kind of content best suits their audience. This also means following their specific guidelines that they have laid out on their sites for submission and interview requests.
2. Get good at telling your story
The media and their audiences love a great story! Going on multiple interviews and speaking to groups provides you a way to practice your storytelling as well as increasing your exposure. The more you tell your story the better you get at delivering it. You create raving fans when you can eloquently tell your story in a way that captivates their attention.
“Stories grab us. They take us in, transport us, and allow us to live vicariously and visually through another’s experience.” – Kristi Hedges
3. Podcasts and traditional radio
In the last 3 years podcasting has become a conduit for people to connect to influencers in their field, and to successfully get the word out about their brands and products. You can start a podcast of your own or be a guest on one that talks about the field you are an expert in.
Podcasts are often pre-recorded, making it more convenient for listeners to go back and listen to a show when their time allows it.
Even though podcasts have become increasingly popular, being Interviewed on traditional. AM/FM radio is still a way to share your message. Podcasts and radio stations are now working together, by using pre-recorded shows to share on the traditional syndicated airwaves.
4. Become a syndicated columnist
Being a contributing writer for a large platform will build your credibility, differentiate you from others in your field, give you access to millions of potential clients, and send traffic to your website. Which will help you build your subscriber list, and sell your products.
5. Social media
Social media is the place where you can get to know not only the people in the media but also the people who follow you and are a fan of your work. You can share your radio and podcast interviews on social media, as well as share the places you have been noted. This gives you the opportunity to engage with those following you and encourage them to share your work on platforms such as:
“Technology and social media have brought power back to the people.” – Mark McKinnon
6. Align yourself with a cause
There is nothing more heart touching than showing people how much you care about a cause. Align your business services and products with a cause that means something to you, and offer a percentage of the proceeds to be donated to the cause. The organization will often place you on their website, and even in their newsletters.
7. Hire a publicist
Not every entrepreneur will hire a publicist, but for those who do, remember a publicist role is not to sell your books and products; their job is to get you in front of audiences so that you can. No one will ever be able to sell your audience on you better than you can!
When you hire a publicist, you hire them for their ability to position you in the media, coordinate your schedule with the media and their connections and likeability, and most importantly their time.
Getting media exposure takes a lot of work, but having a publicity plan in place will give you a roadmap to follow. Eventually, people will be calling you to learn more about what you do because your name will be everywhere.