If you’re the owner, manager, or PR director of a business, chances are you’re always looking for ways to get your name out there. While advertising is a great start, enhancing your advertising with advertising creates a perfect marriage of exposure for your business. What is the publicity? It is unpaid communication to promote your company in a positive way using media such as television, radio, magazines and newspapers. Through advertising, you build mutually beneficial relationships between your business and the public on whom its success or failure depends.

When it comes to advertising, most people think they can write a press release, send it to a TV station, radio station, or newspaper, and just wait for the flood of phone calls. But time passes… and after they realize there are no reporters knocking on their door, they make a few phone calls to the newsroom and discover that no one read the press release. All that time and work goes down the drain. You are back to square one and start again, but to no avail. So how do you end the vicious cycle of disappointment?

Research can make or break your speech

Research. Plain and simple, you need to know your audience and know your media market. And research is the key to both. So, first and foremost, you need to take a look at your message and ask yourself a few questions: Is it newsworthy? Is it related to the consumer? Do you have a local touch? Is it a visual story? What demographic am I targeting? How old is my audience and what is their target household income? The answers to these questions will help you design your ‘presentation’ and determine which media outlets to target.

While most people look for the saturation effect, they look for radio, television Y print media simultaneously, the reality is that your message may not be suitable for all mediums. That brings us back to the research table. Now it’s time to do a little homework and figure out where your message has the best chance of attracting media attention.

How do I get on TV?

Television news communicates with its audience through images and conversations. Producers look for newsworthy topics that are visual and entertaining or informative “how-to” segments. They want compelling conversations and images that grab viewers’ attention. They don’t want a ‘talking head’ rattling off statistics or brazenly publishing a new book.

Are you worried that your message is not visual? Try This: Ask yourself how you would explain your message to a child. Did that help you think of images or simple words that fit your message? Those simple images or words can be translated into graphics for a television story. We once had a life insurance agency that wanted us to arrange local and national television appearances for their CEO. The tone we created featured discussion interviews the importance of life insurance and why it is vital for women to protect themselves for the future. Sounds like you can sleep all the time, right? But we offered something more than the interview. We had the client prepare graphs and bullet points with short snippets of information showing the death rate for women versus men. TV stations turned them into graphics and voila, it became a very powerful visual story that was successful for our client and the media.

Also keep in mind that the morning, noon, and evening newscasts target a different audience. Morning shows are often watched by working adults and families getting ready for school. Notice how news formats change to more of a talk and lifestyle segment that is peppered with news “updates” after 8am, when most commuters have already left for work?

Say your piece on Talk Radio

Radio talk shows engage their audience through words rather than pictures. Most radio stations turn to local angles for interviews. Therefore, it is important to find out if your message has a local link or if it is important to your community.

Because radio doesn’t require visual props or photos, it’s great for just about any message, as long as you can talk about your topic for a good 30 minutes. Because what you’re really doing is having a conversation with listeners, you need to be well-versed in your topic and be able to handle a lot of questions. Your message must also be topical; something people want to talk about at the office water cooler or over coffee.

Radio talk shows, found primarily on the AM dial, also vary from morning to night. Morning shows have shorter interviews during this “drive time” to work. Talk show hosts don’t have time for a 30-minute interview because morning shows are packed with news, weather, and traffic updates.

Before, it was known that the midday programs were aimed at women, but that has changed because many people listen to the radio at work. Now, you’ll find many business shows airing during typical business hours of the day. After work, you will find the second “drive time” of the day. Unlike in the morning, listeners are more relaxed. They’re on their way home from a long day at work and there’s more time to air a 30-minute interview.

During the night, it’s a mixed audience of people listening from home. And don’t discount the scope of overnight interviews; While you may think no one is listening, think again! Late-night talk shows (midnight to 5 a.m.) are hugely important because of the night jobs that draw listeners: second- and third-shift factory workers, utility workers, and many other industries that operate all night long. night.

get yourself in print

Print advertising includes magazines and newspapers. Although they are two different vehicles, their requirements are similar to those on television. Your speech should be newsworthy, entertaining, informative, and in some cases even visual. Newspapers work to tight deadlines, so make sure you don’t wait a week after a hot story is published to offer your expertise or an interview on the topic. Magazines, on the other hand, usually have a delivery time of 30 to 60 days. Research the publication you want to contact and make sure they have a reporter covering your topic or message. It is also useful to offer quality images. For example, restaurants offering a recipe, a gym offering tips for a firmer tummy, even the latest jewelry trends, can all be accompanied by photos to back up the story.

I’ve narrowed down the search, now what?

Once you know the types of media you want to target, how do you know which TV stations, radio stations, or print publications are in your area? You can always subscribe to some kind of media list, but why would you do this when the Internet is full of free media information? Some websites you may find helpful are www.radiolocator.com, www.usnpl.com, www.newspapers24.com, www.mondotimes.com, and www.newslink.org. You can also use a basic search engine and search for your city + media, for example, type “Tampa Media”. You’ll find a complete media list at your fingertips.

Now that you’ve found a list of media contacts, you’re well on your way to creating a Power Publicity campaign to drive business to your company. Now that you understand why finding your media niche is so important, next in our series, we’ll focus on creating a powerful message. To be successful in advertising, you need to craft your message specifically for your target audience, and then find the best media vehicle to drive your message home. That’s why promoting those standard press releases didn’t work for you in the first place.

About Marsha Friedman:

METERArsha Friedmann is the CEO of EMSIncorporated, (EMSI), a leading advertising firm that has represented many well-known clients, including Motown’s Temptations, Teamsters Union President Jim Hoffa, Jr., National Security Advisor Robert McFarlane, Bristol Myers Squibb, financial TV personality Jim Rogers. and Dr. Barry Sears.

About EMS Incorporated:

EMSI is a nationally recognized advertising company that specializes in arranging interviews on radio shows across the country, appearances on local and national television, and obtaining editorial coverage in newspapers and magazines..