How to Make News if There's Nothing New to Say
June 19, 2023
Some companies seem to generate news more naturally than others. If you’re Apple and you’re releasing the next iteration of the iPhone, you’re going to get tons of press without hardly trying. But if you’re a company that produces products that don’t change often, or your product is one small part of other more recognizable products, or you’re a service organization with no products at all and you don’t have a huge or fervent public following, it can be tough to pique the interest of journalists at news organizations.
Tough. But we didn’t say impossible.
Flipping your thinking
Our recommendation is to flip your thinking on its head. Don’t start by asking how you’re going to make your product or service newsworthy. Start by asking what’s already being covered in the news and how you can augment that conversation. In other words, treat your knowledge and insight as a newsworthy commodity for the reporters who are doing stories on subjects you happen to know a lot about.
Let’s say you’re a business law firm, and along comes a news story about a high-profile altercation on an airliner. If you have some folks on staff who are experts in handling these kinds of cases, or in aviation law more generally, have them share some of their thoughts on the best ways companies can prevent and handle such incidents. Perhaps that intellectual capital becomes a pitch to reporters who may choose to publish your thoughts verbatim or, at minimum, include your thoughts in an industry round-up piece. Even if your pitch is not immediately picked up, the reporter may likely keep you in mind as a resource when a similar incident arises again in the future.
The point is, if you have some insight into topics that emerge in the news or trends and issues that people are already talking about, those are perfect occasions to insert yourself into the news stream. Make sure that what you have to say is timely, relevant, factual and attention-grabbing while being easy for the journalist and public-at-large to understand.
Adding value with expertise
There’s value in being an expert. But a word of caution. Apply this tactic judiciously. There are too many examples of companies that have inserted themselves into discussions where they really have no place to be.
One of the worst offenses we’ve seen was when DiGiorno’s Pizza joined a conversation on social media following an incident where an NFL player was caught on security videotape hitting his wife on an elevator. There was a stream of conversation happening on the hashtag #WhyIStayed where women were talking about why they stayed in abusive relationships. Needless to say, the pizza company got into hot water when it joined the conversation with this post: #WhyIStayed You had pizza.
There are always opportunities to make news. The key is knowing how to time the pitch and to be aware of how your product or service or area of expertise fits in with trending issues and news-making events.
Take the time to listen to what’s going on around you — locally, nationally and internationally. And then keep an eye out for topics you can lend insight to that would help people understand the topic a little more deeply. If you focus more on educating instead of promoting your company, your chances for success and positive publicity will increase significantly.
Ready to refine your PR game and take a stab at becoming more newsworthy? Contact Falls & Co. and let’s explore the possibilities.
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