9 ways B2B businesses can get featured in the media (without paying for coverage)
Getting featured in the media can provide a lot of visibility for your B2B brand and, when done right, shows off your expertise and market authority, as well as builds trust. After all, this is the perfect chance to have a journalist or publication talk about your work on your behalf and, as it’s cheaper than paid-for media coverage, earned media coverage really is an important step in building brand awareness and credibility.
But doing this requires the right angles, content and market awareness to create stories that are newsworthy and relevant. You’ll also need to find the media opportunities which will get you featured in publications that make the most difference to your brand.
So, what are the best ways to increase your chances of exposure?
1. Conduct research
This is big in B2B markets - new studies and data show off market trends, industry shifts and industry professionals’ interests/concerns/priorities (all things that news outlets are looking for). Brands that use research to show this demonstrate expertise over their sector and, when combined with relevant advice and commentary, find the perfect way to show off thought leadership.
In some publications, conducting research is a particularly important tool in getting featured. In the HR media, for example, we found that 55.7% of stories include research, data or statistics, so presenting interesting stats can increase your chances of coverage.
2. Show off a new company initiative or product
When your company launches a new initiative or product, it’s always a good idea to create a news release to highlight it.
Understanding the core publications in your industry is key here - not all will be interested in covering new launches. Research which publications cover stories of this kind so you know where you stand a good chance of increasing exposure - and how to weave your story into their angles.
3. Respond to news events
Sometimes there are events that will shake up your industry (e.g. The Budget, government elections, or policy changes to name a few) that you can use to turn into your own coverage opportunities.
It’s possible to take these events and react to them, adding in your brand’s own opinions or insights to demonstrate industry expertise. This process is called newsjacking and understanding how to do this effectively can result in some great brand visibility.
4. Respond to other organisations’ research
It’s not just events that you can newsjack, but other industry research too. Make sure you understand how to newsjack other people’s research ethically and appropriately before using their work to highlight your own. Respect is key.
5. Pitch in expert advice
Often, businesses have incredible advice from experts in their team. While standalone advice doesn’t always make a strong enough news story, it can make for a good article that certain publications could be interested in featuring. Typically, advice pieces often come in the form of ‘How to’s’, “Why’s” or ‘X Reasons for…’ for example.
There are a few key things to remember before pitching, however.
Firstly, the advice you pitch must be timely and relevant to broader trends and events in your industry - it must satisfy reader interests, not just your own desire to tell your advice (if you forget this step then there’s a high chance you won’t catch a journalist’s attention).
Secondly, you must find relevant journalists and publications to pitch the story to. Your advice won’t be applicable to the readership of every publication. Doing your research before pitching is essential to increase the chances of presenting a pitch that is timely and in demand.
6. Create interesting client case studies
Client case studies are a great way of showing the credibility of your brand.
Like product launches, client case studies won’t be featured in all publications. However, there are certain ones that are particularly keen to hear about client initiatives. In the HR media for example, Employee Benefits Magazine is often interested in finding stories on clients that have made positive changes to their organisations from different benefits services.
Other industries have similarly niche and extremely targeted publications that will really benefit your levels of exposure in front of the right audiences.
7. Repurpose marketing initiatives
Sometimes, it can be hard to think of ideas for new press releases or pitches. But often, many businesses have ready-made material to hand. Taking information from your blogs, infographics, webinars etc. and repurposing it for the media can help ensure you make the most of your current marketing initiatives.
It’s key, however, that you don’t repurpose marketing messages that are too salesly - journalists want educational content for their readers so let your expertise and not your promotions shine.
8. Respond to journalist enquiries
Sometimes journalists are looking for specific pieces of information or commentary from specific types of businesses. Looking out for and responding to these opportunities is key to boost coverage. You could respond with insights from a company spokesperson, data from recent research, or advice from an expert - it all depends on what the journalist is looking for.
Being hot off the mark in this space is essential to get your work to the journalist before they are inundated with information from other brands. Using a service such as ResponseSource can be a great way to find and quickly respond to relevant journalist enquiries.
9. Use social media to your advantage
Most ways of becoming featured in the media require you to email journalists or publications with your news releases or ideas. But if you are savvy on social media, this can really work to your advantage.
Staying vocal on social media can be an excellent way of grabbing a journalist's attention - if you respond to the right stories, at the right time and with strong enough insights, you may get noticed by a journalist online.
Or, a more direct way of communicating with a journalist on social media is to look up ‘#journorequest’. Journalists will often ask for comment, case studies, ideas and angles on their social media accounts and will use this hashtag to reach out.
To discover the best tips and tricks for becoming featured in the HR Media specifically, download our HR Media Report 2021.