When planning a public relations campaign for your business, it’s important to achieve a happy medium between quality and quantity in regards to coverage. While it’s natural to want to go big and have your brand being talked about on every TV and radio station, it’s also imperative to ensure that your coverage is of a good quality and fully comprehensive.
There is a time for trying to achieve mass exposure and top tier coverage on prime time national slots, but there’s definitely value in getting your voice heard across lots of different platforms and mediums, which can be more targeted and relevant to the demographic your trying to reach. Similarly, in the same breath, the quality of your coverage is important—you need to ensure that your key messages are being heard loud and clear. Not all TV and radio stations are the same, which is why a well thought out and targeted media strategy will help you reach the business objectives of your brand.
This is where a good broadcast PR agency can help and, in the below post, we examine how to achieve the perfect winning combination of quality and quantity when it comes to your coverage.
National vs. local PR
Your coverage will ultimately depend on your objectives and factors such as whether you are running a local or national campaign and who you are trying to reach.
If you’re running a local campaign, then your potential coverage and audience reach is likely to be smaller—but it can be much more targeted and relevant.
If you’re embarking on a national campaign, then you will be aiming for a much bigger audience. As well as there being a wider range of platforms available, there are also more people watching and listening to each medium. However, in the same vein, it may be that a smaller more targeted media outlet may be more relevant for your target audience. Despite a wider reach, you may find yourself with a relatively less successful campaign (when looking at circulation vs leads).
It all depends on the campaign and its objectives. Quality should always take priority over quantity, but there is certainly value in getting your message across a variety of platforms and securing mass coverage as this can be a highly effective way to grow business.
Prepare well
The more programs your spokesperson appears on, the more they will need to prepare, as each one will require something slightly different. Preparation is a key part of any PR activity, and it’s always a good idea to do your homework before you go on a radio or TV show. What is the host like, and what kinds of questions do they usually ask? What types of interviews usually go over well with their audience?
Appear more genuine
One classic bit of media training advice is that interviewees should have a clear plan of what they want to say. This helps their messaging stay focused and on track, and prevents them from getting too off-topic in their replies.
It’s important to ensure that your chosen spokesperson appears genuine and sincere when being interviewed, if lots of opportunities have been booked for a particular campaign.
It’s always worth bearing in mind that most members of the public don’t necessarily know how PR appearances get booked. Nine times out of ten, if you see a businessperson in a broadcast interview, it’s because they contacted the station and asked to be on. To many people, however, it would appear that they were actually invited because of their superior industry knowledge and expertise on the subject at hand.
Securing lots of broadcast coverage is a fantastic way to build your brand, share news and become an authoritative figure within your industry. The more your spokesperson is featured, the more recognizable they will become and the more your brand will grow.
Don’t be too pushy with commercial messages. You need to strike the right balance of offering genuine insight on a topic whilst clearly demonstrating this expertise comes from representing the brand you are part of.
With good quality media training, your spokesperson will strike the perfect balance.
Real human connection
Part of the reason to do public appearances in the first place is to put a face and a name to your business. By forging a connection with a real person, you can show the public that you are not just a corporate logo, but a group of people with discernible values and qualities.
Securing lots of good quality broadcast interviews is a fantastic way to build this brand personality, by ensuring your spokesperson has the correct tone of voice and brings out the best characteristics of your business.
If you take the time to approach each broadcast appearance with the respect and attention it deserves, you can help your spokesperson to give a much better impression in every interview, and really be themselves on the air.
Selectiveness can be a good look
It’s not necessarily a bad thing for brands and spokespeople to seem a little choosy about who they talk to.
Think very specifically about who you want to reach, and how you plan to do it. If your business’ PR campaign will mostly apply to one or two groups of people, you can target the shows that they watch at the right times to get your message across.
In the world of public relations, it’s important to ensure a high level of quality for every interview and piece of coverage you are offered. Make sure every opportunity is given the time, energy and effort it needs to maximize its potential, even if that means turning down a smaller opportunity alongside that might take precious time and resource away.
However, the more good quality coverage you can achieve, the better. Striking the perfect balance between good quality and high quantity is the perfect way to achieve the optimum coverage that your campaign deserves.
