Knowing you consumer will be key to you and your brand reaching millions. In today’s ‘digital age’ people consume new messages about brands and products in a variety of ways. The newspaper and magazine market may well be shrinking but top titles still boast readerships in the hundreds of thousands. Cleverly targeting TV or radio, online news and lifestyle websites, blogs and social media sites will get your message to your audience in the right way.
When trying to reach your target market, start by thinking about your consumer, target audience or end user.
· Who are they?
· How old are they?
· Are they professional/white collar/blue collar/student/retired/homemaker?
· How do they spend their time?
· Where do they shop?
· Which social media channels are they most active on?
· How do they consume their media? Via blogs/TV/radio?
· What media do they consume?
You should know the answer to all of the above and answering the last three questions is particularly crucial in gaining coverage that counts. All of this information will contribute to reaching your target audience and achieving the relevant coverage. Knowing which type of media they consume will also determine who you approach with your brand, story etc.
Once you know who your consumer is, you can target the media accordingly. The average ‘early adaptor’ must read, hear or see a message seven times, before they act on it. It’s therefore important to target multiple mediums to give your consumer different ‘touchpoints’ to absorb your message.
I’m sure you’re thinking where do I start? Well, below is a list of just a few of the different types of media on the market.
Trade press – these are industry-related titles meaning whichever industry you’re in, there will be accompanying trade titles. Such as Transport News, The Grocer, The Hotelier etc.
Regional press – newspapers and magazines specific to your area, such as Manchester Evening News, Yorkshire Post, Dorset Echo etc.
National Newspapers
Broadsheets – The Telegraph, Observer, Guardian, Financial Times etc.
Tabloids – Daily Mail, Daily Express, The Sun, The Daily Mirror, Daily Star etc.
Supplements – You Magazine, Style, Stella, Notebook, Observer Food Monthly etc. (These are magazines inside the weekend editions of national papers.)
Women’s glossies – monthly magazines focusing on a mix of news, fashion and lifestyle such as Woman & Home, Good Housekeeping, Cosmopolitan, Glamour, In Style, Marie Claire, Red etc.
There is also online, social media, radio and TV.
For a free list of media, you can try sites such as www.mediauk.com and www.holdthefrontpage.co.uk. These contain a variety of useful information including readership stats, key staff members, personal email formatting and so on.
To do your own PR you need to be in the know, so sitting around reading magazines, watching TV, or scrolling through social media is a valuable way to spend your time. Try making notes while scouring the media such as - who are the journalists that keep reappearing, find what titles apply to your brand best and look for themes; is there an awareness day or an awards ceremony this month that applies to your business? Remember to always keep an eye on online media as well, coverage online could take the consumer to your website instantly. Once you get into the habit of doing this, you’ll never be shocked when news props up that you could’ve got in front of!
Media List
Once you are sure who your consumer is and what media you should be approaching it is time to create a media list. This should include specific and up-to-date contact information for key journalists, bloggers, social media influencers and editors across print, online, blogs, radio and TV.
Organisation is key when creating your bespoke list. Here’s some tips on what to include in your list –
· Include the type of medium – magazine, newspaper, radio etc
· Frequency – daily/weekly/monthly/bi-annual
· Readership or audience numbers
· Specific contact details for each journalist or editor and their regular slots or segments
· Job title (editor/features writer/sportswriter etc.)
· Extras - You could also include a column or tab for any other notes as you go forward, such as how and when they prefer to be contacted, recent topics they’ve covered etc.
Finding the details of the journalist can be tricky, below are just some ways you can do this –
· Look at the journalist’s name/names in the relevant publications
· Look at the credits of TV shows for researchers/producers
· Googling contact sites for specific TV channels such as ITV will give you access to valuable information.
· Response Source – with journalists continually moving around it can be hard to keep up. Response source has a ‘Media Bulletin’ segment where you can not the movement of journalists.
· Contacting influencers is great as you can usually message them directly, try their website of their social media page.
· To find a specific phone number, try calling the media outlets switchboard first, when you get through ask for the relevant journalist and gather their details from there.
Talking to journalists can be daunting to begin with, however in time it’ll get easier and you’ll find your flow. A few things to remember is that journalists are time poor, it’s unlikely they’ll monitor their voicemails, so don’t waste your time leaving a message. Keep an eye out for freelance journalists, they will most likely have their own websites and a personal email to contact them with.
Final tips and tricks
· There’s no time like the present! Start compiling your media list now.
· Don’t contact several members of the same outlet ‘just in case’ as they may think you are spamming them, and bin your email.
· You’ll find it’s easier to find contacts for regional rather than national press. There are less staff, everyone knows everyone and they’re more likely to pick up the phone and are quicker to respond.
If you’re looking for global newspapers you may find this article helpful - https://www.websiteplanet.com/blog/complete-index-of-newspapers-across-the-globe/
If you would like to find out more about how to find your consumer and create your media lists as well as how to do your own PR you can book onto our PR and Publicity Course on the 29th November at our Bournemouth offices - Sunny Bird PR, The Garden Studio, Pine Grange, Bath Road, Bournemouth, BH1 2PF
