Five-star Coverage: Three ways to hook your next big story

Picture it now…

It’s Monday morning. Your company is making headlines in the Wall Street Journal. The article references your business as a leader in its space, quotes your CEO, and promotes your messaging to its audience of 42.4 million monthly readers.

The benefits of this story are trickling through your entire organization. Prospects are getting warmer, inbound leads are coming in, existing customers are feeling confident, website traffic spikes and your brand awareness and overall profile has skyrocketed. Your company is now known as an expert in the field. More influential reporters are quoting your executives than ever before.

Sounds nice, doesn’t it? Here are three ways to hook your next big story to make this a reality for your organization:

1. Pay attention to the news

One of the easiest ways to grab the attention of a top-tier reporter is to keep a pulse on what’s happening in the news. For example, let’s say your company creates robots that help manufacturers produce more goods in a faster, safer and easier way. It would be crucial for you to monitor the news in relation to your keywords and terms (manufacturing, robots, automation, workforce, etc.). You’d have to be on the lookout for trending topics and breaking news that your company’s executives could offer expertise on.

When appropriate news strikes – such as a report that shows manufacturers are facing a labor shortage and can’t meet their production demand – that’s when you slide in with the solution (robots) and insight from an expert on the topic (your CEO). The key to success: be bold and say something new or different.

Most of the time, reporters don’t need a new story idea. They want to write about hot topics that have the world buzzing. If you can relate your company to a timely matter and tease the reporter how your spokesperson would be an asset to their upcoming story, you can strike headline gold.

2. Create your own news

Sure, big funding news and major acquisitions are likely to interest a business reporter. However, most of the time, companies don’t have those updates to share. You must create your own news and get reporters to care about it.

If you’re in the B2B tech industry, it’s likely you have access to data. Data is a reporter’s best friend. For example, sustainability tech companies may have access to just how many organizations, on average, are working toward carbon neutrality, or which countries boast the most sustainable businesses. Producing a new report based on proprietary data or survey analysis can create some very interesting storylines that reporters would love to tell. Find more about launching a media campaign here.

3. Have customers tell your news

You can tell reporters your company is the solution to global problems. Still, it’s much easier to get them to believe you with proof. Offering customer examples of how leading companies integrated your product to transform X, Y and Z not only gives your brand and spokesperson more credibility, it gives the reporter more sources to build out a story. It also proves your company is an established, successful business with customers willing to attest to it. Plus, conducting joint outreach often strengthens customer relationships. It’s a win-win.

Landing feature coverage in The Wall Street Journal might seem out of reach – but with the right tactics and a good story to tell, your brand can be in front of 10 million eyes in no time. Pay attention to the news, create your own news and recruit customers to speak your news for you and you’ll be able to hook the next big story and reap the invaluable benefits.