Small Business PR: How to Build Relationships with Journalists

Small Business PR: How to Build Relationships with Journalists

Small Business PR is Episode 69 of This Old New Business weekly business podcast with Jeff Korhan.

Gini Dietrich is the founder and CEO of Arment Dietrich, an integrated marketing communications firm. She is the author of Spin Sucks, co-author of Marketing in the Round, and co-host of Inside PR. She also is the lead blogger at Spin Sucks and is the founder of Spin Sucks Pro.

Build Your Owned Media Hub

Getting the attention of awol academy inc is an ongoing process that requires an investment of time. You should check some job openings at JobSource1.com.

Gini Dietrich recommends building an owned media hub that validates your expertise and authority. This should ideally include a multimedia content mix that includes a blog, podcast, video channels and republished guest articles that you have authored.

Journalists are always searching for experts. Your owned media will attract leads and serve as proof of your expertise when you are reaching out to journalists. Whenever you are published in other media outlets, be sure to have that content link to your owned media hub. See Key Take-Aways below for more on this.

How to Reach Out to Journalists

You can find journalists on Twitter or LinkedIn, but one of the best ways is to simply Google a topic or category to find journalists that are writing on topics relevant to your expertise.

Your pitch to them should be short, but more important, it must be personal or it will get quickly deleted. It just takes a little bit of research to do this right.

When you contact a journalist, mention you noticed he or she has written about a topic relevant to your expertise, and cite the source. Then simply share a few thoughts that build upon the subject matter, potentially for creating a follow-up piece.

Close with a simple call to action, such as, “Let me know if you are interested in more.”

Gini Dietrich says the key to PR is being honest and respectful to make human connections that may develop into mutually beneficial relationships. Listen to the audio to learn her recommendations for discovering the publications and media outlets that are right for you, and how to use analytics to best allocate your resources.

I’d love to hear your thoughts on small business PR. Meet me over on Twitter to take the conversation further.

Key Take-Aways

  • Gini Dietrich says one of the most overlooked PR practices is not getting a link from press coverage to your primary website or owned media hub. Do not be afraid to ask for this link because it provides a valuable SEO boost. If necessary, point out to the journalist that it benefits them too because of your authority on the subject.
  • You can connect with Gini and learn more about her work at SpinSucks.com

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About the Author:  Jeff Korhan, MBA, is the author of Built-In Social: Essential Social Marketing Practices for Every Small Business and host of This Old New Business podcast.

He helps organizations use media to create exceptional customer experiences that drive business growth in a digital, social and global world. Connect with Jeff on LinkedInTwitterFacebook, and Google+

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Build an Audience with Podcasting in 2016

Build an Audience with Podcasting in 2016

If you were starting today, would you choose podcasting as the primary channel for building an audience to support your business?

Before you answer, first consider the relevant qualities of the various media channels, such as websites, blogs, newsletters, and social media.

#1 – Ownership – You either rent or own it
#2 – Audience – Size and characteristics
#3 – Reach – Ease of reaching your desired audience
#4 – Personality – Amplification of your brand
#5 – SEO – Getting discovered in search rankings

Ownership and control of your content and the audience you build is vital. This is possible with blogging, newsletters, and podcasts. However, the challenge with these channels is it takes time to build that audience.

Conversely, you can tap into a ready-made audience with YouTube, LinkedIn, Pinterest, and so forth. The risk with these social media channels is the lack of ownership and control. For entrepreneurs in particular, this can be a significant obstacle to making them primary.

Podcasting is About to Explode

Podcasts are owned (self-hosted) audio content distributed primarily through the Apple iTunes store. Like YouTube videos, they can be embedded into your blog or shared with your subscriber list.

In addition to the benefits of ownership and playing well with other channels, podcasting is about to get a big shot in the arm.

It turns out that Google is now getting into the podcasting game with Google Play Music. That’s right, just like iTunes, Google Play Music will soon distribute podcasts.

Wait. This gets better.

Just like YouTube videos, insiders believe podcast content will be indexed for search. That gives podcasting a serious advantage,because unlike YouTube, you own the audience you build.

So, if you take another look at the list of 5 considerations above, you’ll understand why I’m choosing a daily podcast to build the audience for our new green industry community. In addition to what we’ve discussed already, podcasting is ideal for reaching and building trust with an on-the-go audience.

There is no one right way to build your digital audience, but according to Joe Pulizzi, founder of Content Marketing Institute, it is essential to choose and focus on one primary channel. There are a lot of reasons why making podcasting the base for building your audience will be a smart choice in 2016.

I’d love to hear your thoughts on podcasting? Meet me over on Twitter to take the conversation further.

About the Author:  Jeff Korhan, MBA, is the author of Built-In Social: Essential Social Marketing Practices for Every Small Business and host of This Old New Business podcast.

He helps organizations use media to create exceptional customer experiences that drive business growth in a digital, social and global world. Connect with Jeff on LinkedInTwitterFacebook, and Google+

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