• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Home
  • About
  • Contact

Daily Business Magazine

A magazine complement to the Daily Business website

  • Life, Arts & Leisure
    • Creative
    • Festival
      • Festival Reviews
    • Film
    • Food & Drink
    • Stage Shows
    • Life
    • Leisure
      • Rio Recommends – dog walks and cafes
    • Homes
    • Style
    • Travel
  • Opinion
    • Bill Magee
    • Craig Alexander Rattray
    • Karen Harvie
    • Keith Anderson
    • Russell Dalgleish
    • Terry Murden
  • Interviews
  • Notebook
  • Working Life
    • Careers & Management
    • Finance and legal
    • Technology
      • Tech Talk
    • Well Being
  • Daily Business News
    • All Content

Targeted PR is a vital route to the US market

July 4, 2021 by a Daily Business Contributor Leave a Comment

The media can open up the US market (pic: Nik Shuliahin)

Raising your profile in the US means planning your media campaign, says Michael McCuish


As Bill Gates famously said “If I was down to my last dollar, I would spend it on PR”.  It is hard to underestimate how important a targeted and effect media relations programme is when you are looking to be successful in the US market. The difficultly is, like most industries, the US media has been smashed and battered by the pandemic. 

The US media market was already ever-shifting and at times challenging to read and predict, but there was at least a tested structure which could be relied on. 

The pandemic led to many publications being starved of advertising funding, so editorial inevitably suffered.  Contacts, which had been built up over years, were no longer employed – many excellent media were sadly out of work.  Journalists were required to cover the pandemic, so other stories were put on hold. Many of the best ways to create connections with influential media such as in person events and meetings, were not an option.  The journalists who were still working were inundated with pitches and stories: Companies and PRs were finding more emails going unanswered.

So, now as the industry starts to recover, what can you do to ensure you have an effectual US media relations campaign?  The first is to pick your media targets very carefully.  Publications like USA Today have a massive readership, but if the demographics of the people who read it do not match your business’ target consumers, any achieved coverage is not likely to result in a strong RIO. 

Good media coverage should raise awareness and create agency. Ultimately, it should lead to an increase in business.  The best way to ensure this happens is to makes sure you are in the right media outlet at the right time. The US press landscape is vast; take time to make sure you are toiling to get covered in the right outlet.   Niche, bespoke, and targeted are all very good things when it comes to public relations. Furthermore, you are far more likely to make a strong, positive connection with media if you pitch them with relevant, specific information.

The next step is to make sure you have something newsworthy to say before you consider making contact with a journalist.  Is what you are saying new? Is it unique or especially interesting to the specific readership, listeners, viewers of that media outlet?  If not, it is prudent to spend some time thinking of why your business is special.  In short, why should anyone in the US should care what you have to say?

It is important to make sure that your press outreach is specifically tailored to be of interest to US consumers.  Often the easiest way is to talk about how your target reader or viewer can get involved – what can they do to interact with your business.  Linking it to an appropriate holiday or existing event is always useful.  The media will be looking for stories around most big US holidays and events; if you can find a way to make your business relevant, then it is more likely to be covered.

When you do achieve coverage in a US publication, it is important to remember that this is only half the job done.  To make the coverage as effective as possible, your business should be shouting about it, posting and sharing it as much as possible. 

At the end of the day, just like anyone else, a media outlet wants as many views as possible.  If you can show that you are a willing partner and that the coverage of your company will help attract people to that publication’s website, they will be far more likely to cover you again in advance. 

It also helps to raise the journalist’s profile.  Often, they will be freelancing and looking for more work – if covering your businesses is a big win for them (as well as you), it is likely to make that professional relationship stronger.  It is also important to thank the journalist – it sounds simple, but often businesses forget that there is an actual person behind this work.  Editorial is earned and bought through trust and skill – that should be celebrated with gratitude. 

Michael McCuish is a public relations director and consultant in New York and formerly worked for Visit Scotland

Share this:

  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)

Related

Filed Under: Scottish Business Network, Working Life

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar



Editor’s Pick

Struan Stevenson

Holyrood must get a grip on the bad bets

Struan Stevenson

… [More...] about Holyrood must get a grip on the bad bets

Bill Magee

Crypto needs rules to rein in volatility

Bill Magee

… [More...] about Crypto needs rules to rein in volatility

Terry Murden

Pay claims still driven by the ‘us and them’ grievance

Terry Murden

… [More...] about Pay claims still driven by the ‘us and them’ grievance

Reston Station

Reston back on track after half a century

Julena Drumi

… [More...] about Reston back on track after half a century

Advertising



Footer

  • All Content
  • Site Map
  • Privacy Policy
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Email
  • LinkedIn
  • WordPress

Copyright © 2022 · Design by jPAD Consulting · Magazine Pro · Genesis Framework

We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies.
Cookie settingsACCEPT
Manage consent

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
CookieDurationDescription
cookielawinfo-checbox-analytics11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checbox-functional11 monthsThe cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checbox-others11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
viewed_cookie_policy11 monthsThe cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
Functional
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
Performance
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
Analytics
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
Advertisement
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
Others
Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.
SAVE & ACCEPT
 

Loading Comments...