What’s the story? How to Get Media Relations right for B2B brands

In today's saturated market, B2B brands face many challenges in trying to stand out amidst a sea of competitors.

Effective press work can be the key to cutting through the noise and reaching your target audience, particularly if you’re a small team with not much budget.

The central aspect of success is remembering that the first thing any journalist is going to ask is: “What’s the story?”

After all, it’s literally their job to write them, so why else would you bother getting in touch? I mention this because many people get confused about what a media story actually is … more about that in our next blog.

Here, in the meantime, are FIVE KEY TIPS on getting started with your press work:

1.        Understand your audience

It sounds simple, right? Harder than you think if you’re a smallish company who just wants to get things moving. The hard recommend is if you’re niche – be niche!  Make a lot of noise in one area and leverage this in broader titles as the business grows. Conduct thorough research to understand pain points, interests, and the type of content your ideal customer consumes. Focus there. 

2.        Build your knowledge of what journalists actually want

Journalists and editors are inundated with pitches daily. To stand out, build genuine relationships with them. Follow their work, engage with their content on social media, and provide value without always asking for something in return. When you do pitch, make sure it's tailored to their beat and offers a unique angle.

3.        Get your story straight

Your story needs to be more than just a product pitch. It should offer a real story that resonates with the current trends and challenges in the industry. Position your brand as a Thought Leader by sharing insights, data, and predictions that can help tech and business leaders navigate their landscape. Do it in a way that’s not boring because stories are MEANT to be entertaining.

4.        Leverage data and humans together

Tech and business publications love data-driven stories. Use statistics, research findings, and case studies to back up your claims but give it a human edge with video and photographs. This adds credibility to your pitch but also provides journalists with concrete information they can use in their articles AND interesting humans to showcase it.

5.        Use multiple channels to ‘newsjack’

Newsjacking in this multi-channel world is important to getting eyes on your story in as timely a way as possible and can result in good ROI. This approach is not for press releases. Instead use a mix of channels to reach the journalist with any and all content you have - esp fast media like video and infographics to harness the power of NOW (which is as good, if not better an edge as NEW). Only downside to this is being super responsive but it pays off when it lands right.

And a last word on measurement

Tracking is necessary to understanding the performance of your media relations efforts. Use metrics like media coverage, social media engagement, and website traffic to gauge the effectiveness of your strategy. Be prepared to adjust your approach based on what’s working and what’s not. If your client or board is not that media savvy and you want to keep it simple, focus on authority of publication, how the message has landed and audience reach as key metrics.

Good luck!

We have spent 20-GASP-SIX years working in the media with a range of brands and publications. Get in touch for a chat - we're always happy to help sarah@ricepr.co.uk 🙌🏼