HOW ALL OPTIONS EQUAL EARNED MEDIA COVERAGE
In creating a PR survey, there are a whole host of options one must consider, many of which we’ve written extensively about in the past.
There are decisions to be made regarding topic, you have to hope for a great brainstorm, come up with creative answer choices to ensure results are worthwhile, and then take care of disseminating your findings, whether that means in writing a press release or just an executive research summary.
But those are considerations contained to the survey itself—there’s more to do if you want to garner results that are sure to thrill your client and interest the populace equally. Even the greatest survey, if standing alone, may not see the pickup you had hoped for.
Enter “the rest of the package,” which requires a team that can do a bit of everything to push your result over the edge of glory and into homes across the country. Here’s how we recommend you make your survey stick:
Make a Graphic
Did you garner some sweet insights? Is there a stat you’re so proud of you can’t wait to share it with the world?
Then take our advice and make a graphic to send to news stations across the country. There are a whole host of benefits associated, but at the top of that list is this: You’re making the lives of every single person in that newsroom easier, which is where earned pickup begins.
Not only that, but the creation of a graphic for a client means you have an opportunity to present the stat on-message, just how it was meant to be—and maybe you can throw in some good branding. Everyone wins.
Write a Suggested Script
When a client wants survey results to be presented in a certain way, we never blame them. At 4media, we do the research—but our clients own it. So when they latch onto a stat they’re particularly proud of, we make it our duty to see that presented as accurately as possible, on brand and on time.
The easiest way to give clients that quality assurance is to take an extra step and produce a suggested script for anchors or reporters to read. Even if they don’t use it exactly, the script can be a great jumping off point, giving the client extra comfort and confidence, and ensuring your hard-earned research results are presented the right way.
Cut and Deliver Some Good B-Roll
Anyone who has been a member of the media, whether as a journalist, a producer, a photog or whatever else understands the enormous power of imagery. Even the best script or the most clever V.O. can be offset, or even misinterpreted, against a backdrop of bad imagery or video.
The way around that is easy. Cut some b-roll that you like, and the client approves, for delivery to stations. And if you’re pitching magazines and newspapers, the answer is as easy: Just grab some cool pictures to make sure you’re sharing information and imagery that backs up your results and research instead of distracting from them.
The Full Package
A piece of advice we give everyone who asks us how to garner earned coverage is this: Create great content, and then put in the work. There are tons of creative agencies for which content creation is no issue—but for some of them, it stops there.
At 4media, we put in the extra work because we believe in the strength of our results and the possibility that they create truly phenomenal coverage. By packaging a PR survey with graphics, a suggested script and strong b-roll or great imagery, you can give yourself the best shot at securing earned coverage—a win for you and your client.
Now go forth, and earn it.