Pitch to the press and influencers

BootCamp RESOURCE - Session 5 Pitch to the press and influencers How can you engage with journalists and online influencers to pitch for coverage and secure visibility and promotion opportunities for your organisation? In this fifth session, we learn tips from Simon Francis at Campaign Collective and Sabrina Nordlund at Arctic Sabrina to find out the Dos and Don’ts of engaging with press/media professionals and social media influencers.

Craft your re lease

utreach Focus your o

Building good relationships with advocates takes time and it’s always best to tailor your message and focus your efforts strategically.

Here are some key points to consider before you start reaching out with a press release:

Draft the copy for your press release master, this will feature an overview of all the key information and news you want to get featured, then you can look to tailor it depending on the media contact you’re reaching out to.

• Which target audiences are you trying to influence? What type of media would be the best fit to get in front of them: national, local, sector, consumer, online, social or broadcast?

• Consider the news hook - when is it relevant, why is it newsworthy and who is it of interest to?

• Do some research within your chosen media titles to find stories on similar topics and identify the journalist, producer or influencer who created the content. Build a contact list with their name, email address, social handles and key notes and links to related articles.

• If you work with a PR agency or freelancer, they’ll likely have access to updated media databases, which can be useful to save you time for larger campaigns, but you can still look to develop a media contact list if you’re working on a small outreach or have a longer timeline.

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• Write your release in the style and tone of voice of the media outlet you are contacting.

• Include hyperlinks in your copy as journalists might cut and paste sections into their story.

• Include relevant quotes, data and sources, as well as images or media that you have permission to use. This will make your story more appealing and give it a higher profile.

• Include information on what your business does, why you created it, who it benefits and why the coverage will help you. Add your contact details (phone and email) at the end and proofread all the copy.

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BootCamp RESOURCE - Session 5

Contact influen

Pitch your news story

Some stories are time-sensitive and tied to a particular date or event but, if possible, try to avoid busy news periods to give your release a chance to stand out from the competition and ensure you will be available for interviews and follow-ups if journalists request it.

• Speak to journalists and media contacts in advance to ascertain their lead times. Some will be working to deadlines weeks or months in advance - for instance consumer press editors plan their Christmas content in July and August.

• Let your chosen media contacts know you’re a reliable source for comment or opinion on particular topics ahead of asking them to share a release. This is a good way to raise your profile and cultivate a two-way relationship with them.

• When you send your pitch, don’t copy/paste your release into the email. Send a short email with a clear subject line, header and overview paragraph, and attach your press release to the email. You can use an embargo date to prevent your story being published before a launch.

• Consider providing short film clips for broadcast, online and social. This can be helpful for media outlets to use in their stories at times when camera crews are busy at different locations or unable to operate as normal. Add your images and videos to a Google Drive or Dropbox folder and include the link in your email rather than attaching all the assets.

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As for journalists, identify the social media influencers and content creators that will be relevant for your brand and for whom your offer to collaborate will be interesting, based on the content they already share with their followers.

• Build your influencer list by searching for keywords through social media biographies, hashtags, or pay for a monthly paid pass for an online tool such as influencer database Heepsy.

• Establish how you can make the relationship with influencers mutually beneficial: can they trial your product or service? Are you happy to offer them a sponsored fee for them to create original content that you can reshare?

• Depending on the above, approach a small number of influencers you’d like to work with and email them with an offer to collaborate.

Attach your press release and share any key information about your content needs, your budget and your ideal timings for a feature.

• Discuss with them how they can promote you: through a simple shout out, a detailed review, a giveaway, attending an event, or creating original photography and video content for you?

• Agree on the assets to be produced upfront, how they will be compensated for their time and influence, if there’s an approval process, how the collaboration will be disclosed and which stats you will need to be sent afterwards.

Contact the speakers: simon.francis@campaigncollective.org arcticsabrinabusiness@gmail.com

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