Improve the pick up rate of your news release by applying these tips

By Yan Lim 
CEO of iOli Communications Sdn Bhd
(yan.lim@ioli.com.my)

The pandemic took a wrecking ball to many of us. For the past few months, we received many requests from startups to help them get media coverage. While we do provide one-off news release dissemination service, we have quite the limited resources to do this. It is actually more complicated than it sounds. One-off service like this means we don’t really know the Client and this means, we still need to do some ground work and put our strategic thinking hat on in ensuring the newsworthiness of the news release. This can be quite a chore for a small amount of money.

So, instead of sayin no numerous times (which we really hate doing), we figured, we could help you for free! We have put together these simple tips to help improve the pick up rate of your news release.

IMPROVE THE PICK UP RATE OF YOUR NEWS RELEASE BY APPLYING THESE TIPS

1. Ensure that your news release is newsworthy and not syok sendiri

The problem about DIY’ing your own release is that you tend to appear a little syok sendiri. Avoid that. Think - is this something the media would find interesting? Would the public find this worthy enough to read. Is this information too premature to announce? Is it conclusive enough? This process involves a lot of asking yourself these questions. Quite a syok sendiri process to be honest.

2. Acknowledge and understand the different role and job scope of media practitioners - editors, producers, writers 

Different journalists perform different types of reporting with different amounts of manpower. Broadcast, print & online reporters are structured based on their respective beats, which include current news, politics and lifestyle. An example; the lifestyle desk, which covers topics such as fashion, medical, technology and personality, has the largest number of reporters next to news. And then, there’s business desk who does both ad-hoc and exclusive (planned) pieces. Basically, every desk, every publication may have different sets of practices (similar to any other organisation) so it is important to understand them.

Important to remember - Sending the news release to the right personnel is vital in securing the media coverage. Therefore, usage of a third party digital PR platform might not help you achieve this. Unless it is specific and customised.

3. Pick the most suitable time

TV Media - Depends on the program. Avoid timings that are close to deadline especially for different programs / talkshows. Study the programs you are targeting.

Online Media - 24 hours (but you should get yourself familiar with the editors’ shifts in order for you to get the most suitable time. Afternoon is best)

Newspapers - morning to afternoon, before 5-6pm (if its a breaking news, contact media 1 hour before deadline / cut off time)

Weekly Magazines - Usually midweek (depends on the publication’s editorial roster. Afternoons and evenings are preferred)

This is just a basic guideline. Do consider the editorial deadlines / cut off time for weekends when you send your news release on a Friday evening or during the weekend.

4. Be considerate to the media

It is always a good idea to accommodate the media's needs and wants. In times of Covid-19, providing remote / virtual interview opportunities (should they need additional information) is one of the better ways to secure buy-in from the media.

5. Enhance news releases with multimedia elements 

Naturally, we humans would respond better to visuals and audio compared to text. According to survey, high-resolution photos, short videos and infographics appear as the top three multimedia elements that journalists prefer to use in their articles. It is super important to provide high-resolution images along with the news release (but make sure the files aren't too big). Some media would also prefer to incorporate videos in their stories especially for broadcast journalists. They tend to look out for images, videos and audio materials when evaluating if they should pick up the news release.

And since the publishing industry today relies quite heavily on their social media platforms to raise traction on their stories, it would be a good idea to provide them with eye-catching multimedia elements, especially infographics and short videos because they tend to get re-posted on the media’s social media accounts (more traction for you!).

6. Consider providing soundbite for radio stations

Instead of just a typical text news release, consider preparing a short soundbite when disseminating news releases to the radio stations.

We hope you find these tips beneficial. And of course, if you still find it difficult to do it on your own, we are able to pull the magic - at a cost :)

iOli Communications is a female-founded & led PR agency based in Petaling Jaya, Selangor.
They are an Integrated Communications Agency that leverages on integrated approaches & story-telling technique to tell each and every of the brand’s voice while creating its own market appeal. iOli Comms offers a range of consulting services from public relations, media relations, strategic communications, social media campaigns to on-ground activations -- all designed to help their clients reach their desired communications outcome – whether they are freshly baked or already out there running. It does not matter if you're looking for a small tweak or complete overhaul of your brand's publicity, iOli have you covered. Their services are available a la carte so you can get precisely what you need.