How Your PR and Media Niche Can Build Your Business

Gaining exposure using public relations for your business is a fantastic idea in order to drive sales. Although advertising constantly may not be the most cost effective way to achieve your goals.

When it comes to pr though, most people who are new at the game believe that you simply pen an effective release, send it out to the print media and wait for success. But when the requests DON’T come in, maybe you would make a couple of call to the newsroom with little to no success.

Marsha Friedman, CEO of Event Management Services Inc, a full service national PR firm says, ” That’s a lot of hard work down the drain.”

So what’s your first ‘media marketing’ step? Simple. You need to find the media ‘niche’ that best suits your message.

When it comes to effective PR, Marsha Friedman says, “Take a look at your message and see if it can be tied to the news. Is it timely?” Is it consumer related? Is there a financial income I’m targeting? The answer to these questions will help you determine the correct medium.

First Up? Television.

Whether a morning, noon or evening newscast, they communicate to their audience through pictures. It’s all about the pictures! Producers are searching for topics that can be communicated to the audience in a visual and entertaining way, while being informative at the same time. “So if your topic doesn’t lend itself to visuals, then I would think again about using television to communicate your message”, says Marsha Friedman.

“My firm had a life insurance agency as a client and they really wanted television exposure for their Chief Executive Officer. What we did was to create a pitch about a segment featuring how women can protect themselves from the pitfalls of not understanding how life insurance works.”

Marsha Friedman continues, “Sounds boring right? Wrong! What we did to make the segment really terrific is that we told our client to create large, colorful graphs in order to really create a compelling and visual story. In the end it was a very successful interview for our client!”

All newscasts are directed to a specific demographic. For instance , early morning news shows are usually watched by working adults and families getting ready for school. Lunchtime shows are aimed for housewives and retirees. Late night news is usually targeted for younger business people.

Now, how about talk radio.

Talk radio talk to their audience through words and not through pictures. Marsha Friedman says, “It’s conversational, so you need to have a message that lends itself to a conversation. What’s more, many radio shows love local angles. Can you tie your topic to a news story that is hot in your area?

Like TV, radio talk shows vary from morning to night. Morning shows, as you might suspect, generally have shorter interviews during ‘drive time.’ With news, weather sports and traffic, talk show hosts don’t have time for 30-minute interviews. Midday shows, really cover an array of topics across the board as now many people tune in at their office. Today, you’ll find lots of business shows airing during the work hours. After work is the second ‘drive time’ of the day. “You will find longer interviews here as the audience of listeners are more relaxed and susceptible to longer interviews”, adds Friedman.

Let’s not forget about the overnight shows! Think no one’s listening? Overnight shows are heard by a hoard of people that have a different schedule from the norm.

Now, why not get your name in print!

The print media are similar to talk radio and television because they are suckers for hot, entertaining, news stories. They are also similar to television at times as they like to have visuals every once in awhile.

Marsha Friedman says, “If you have a story about a gourmet food product, make sure to include a delectable dish photo.” Whenever appropriate, photos can help you make the grade. If you would like to learn more about gaining national or local media attention for your company, product or service, without the financial burden of monthly retainers, Marsha is here to help . Feel free to contact her directly at mfriedman@emsincorporated.com or visit her firm online at http://www.emsincorporated.com. As a PR expert Friedman has the ability to get the media attention that you desire without breaking your budget with costly monthly retainers .

Marsha Friedman has been a leading authority on public relations for nearly two decades as CEO of Event Management Services, Inc (EMSI). If you would like to receive her free Ebook “How to Be a Great Talk Radio Guest” visit http://www.emsincorporated.com.

- Marsha Friedman