Where messaging and engagement converge – building a successful brand story for the media
Is there a magic key for unlocking media coverage? Is there a secret formula that will get your brand, product, organisation or cause into the contested space every time and on-demand? It’s a question that’s troubled communicators since the printing press was invented, and we’ve been giving it a bit more thought. Again.
This is what we came up with…
Simply put, all business communication starts with a story, and getting the story right – a good story, a real story – is the key to securing interview opportunities and earned media coverage.
The media is a business like any other, selling its content to its audience. Earning media coverage requires a compelling story that a journalist (or blogger, vlogger, podcaster, or influencer) who decides what’s going to be covered knows will be of interest to their readers, listeners, viewers, or followers.
It is very much a ‘contested space’, with hundreds, if not thousands, of stories competing to be told by a limited number of outlets all with limited time and resources.
Broadly speaking there are two types of story:
- General news stories about stuff that happens in the world – in areas such as politics, crime, health, education, economy, business, entertainment, the environment.
- ‘Commercial’ or ‘branded’ stories that are created by businesses to get into the contested space, where the things they want said are endorsed by a third party through (free) coverage.
Most journalists know the difference between the two and prefer the former. They would rather their work not be seen to be delivering the messages of a business or brand.
However, such is the media’s appetite for content that ‘commercial’ stories are commonplace – so long as they contain some of the ingredients of a general news story.
A successful ‘general’ story relies on human interest. It needs to be current, and the audience should be able to relate to it. It needs to be relevant to them, so that they will share it with others, and, above all, it needs to be engaging.
A successful brand story must have all of those qualities and more. It needs to be aligned with the purpose of the business, relevant to its operations, supportive of its narrative, positive for the business, and backed by the organisation’s own data, experience and expertise (‘inside the wire’).
If a story can combine both sets of characteristics, it sits in a ‘sweet spot’ where it is most likely to be of interest to an audience (followers, readers, listeners, viewers) AND also be a successful vehicle for business messages.
Use this Venn diagram to assess your story. What characteristics does yours contain? Give it a score out of 10. Anything less than 10, go back to the beginning.
Get in touch if you’d like to know more about the way we think – or even if you want tell us we’re wrong.
