The PR Cascade After You Make News
Success! Your PR campaign has attracted news media attention about your organization’s product launch or event or other big announcement. Your media relations efforts targeting and contacting journalists at news outlets with hundreds and even millions of subscribers is bearing fruit. You’re also getting your company or nonprofit’s news in front of potentially millions of online followers.
Use Your PR Campaign to Expand Your Media Footprint
Here’s an example of our how our Chicago PR firm client used content marketing tactics and one news story to won exposure before hundreds of thousands of readers, visitors, listeners and followers. The audience multiplication benefits of targeting mass media in the digital age are impactful — leading to increased sales, store visits, likes and shares, as well as friends’ and relatives’ comments like “I saw you on the news!”
The public relations consultants at Damico Communications have close relationships with a wide range of journalists — we’ve followed their beats and frequently offered client experts to talk about a trending topic or share a newsworthy anecdote. Recently we secured a live interview with CEO Todd Schultz of Restoration Ministries on WGN’s Wintrust Business Lunch about how $2 million in revenues from the nonprofit’s thrift stores transform the lives of hundreds of men and women recovering from heroin, cocaine or alcohol addiction.
When we get one media outlet interested in your story, we then make sure other journalists learn about it, so an audience multiplying effect takes place. We shared online links with select TV news journalists. We stressed the great visuals of racks and isles full of recycled clothes, furniture, decor and appliances found at the Restoration Ministries Thrift Stores.
Audrina Bigos from CBS2 Chicago was the first to respond to our media outreach. Her first question: Has any other TV station recently covered this news? She was happy to be the first media outlet to report on our communications firm client.
While our first radio station interview focused on a national business trend — trends in thrift store shopping– we emphasized the local community-impact angle with CBS2 Chicago.
Closely Working with Journalists
After spending more than two hours on the scene, here’s one of her reports. CBS2 Chicago’s news editors were impressed by the human interest angle of this story, and aired multiple versions of the story on weekday and weekend news shows.
Plus, our client enjoyed an even greater online audience that viewed the reporter’s two live tours of the massive thrift store on CBS2 Chicago’s Facebook page; here’s one off Facebook live stories.
And remember, the TV report lives forever on the CBS2 Chicago website.
Public Relations’ Snowball Effect
Our PR strategy ended with our intended snowball effect: One radio report, led to one TV report, which led to two Facebook Live reports. Our client’s potential audience is near 1 million, including:
- A TV news segment that aired on at least three different newscasts over multiple days to hundreds of thousands of TV viewers
Facebook Live tour airing on CBS2’s and the reporter’s Facebook pages, reaching 300,000+ followers and gaining astounding levels of engagement.
- 2,700 view
- 35 comments
- 84 reactions
- 33 shares
- Additional Video Content for Restoration Ministries to share in their email campaigns and other marketing collateral.
What are the key PR Results?
- Know your possibilities are endless! Interest from one media outlet proves others will also report your news.
- Customize your “pitch” or “news hook” based on your target – radio and TV outlets will have different interests.
- One size never fits all! Team MDC found a relevant business hook for business radio and the human interest angle for TV.
- Give all journalists TLC! Provide all the facts they’ll need, quickly respond to their emails, and keep them happy.
- Shout out their great work! THANK THEM via social media and get the attention of their followers.
- Share placements on your social media channels – before and after your news airs.
Want to learn more about how our communications firm in Chicago can multiply your newsmaking efforts, not just locally, but nationally? Let’s talk!