Public relations is often viewed as a “nice-to-have” element in your marketing program. If the budget is available, a company may invest in PR around a product launch or other initiative.
But building – and maintaining – momentum requires more than a once-in-a-while effort.
The trouble is that, if a company doesn’t have a new product to announce, it may be unsure of what to share.
Many businesses only announce new products maybe a few times a year—some even less. If you view PR as something to engage in only when you have a new product to announce, you may be missing opportunities to stay out there in front of your audience consistently.
Why is consistency important?
Staying out in front of your audiences matters. If potential buyers are searching for solutions and your company pops up, they may take note, even if they’re not ready to buy. But if you engage in PR only occasionally when you have news to share, that can hurt you. When the customer IS prepared to buy, you may not be top of mind, unless you’re consistently out there.
Backing this up are statistics like this one: More than half (54%) of buyers surveyed by Edelman said a solution provider “that consistently produces high-quality thought-leadership content has prompted them to research the organization’s offers or capabilities.”
Another reason to invest in PR is that it keeps you visible and builds trust. With search of any kind (traditional SEO or AI-driven/GEO), the more recent mentions are the ones that are pulled from. So, if you landed earned media coverage two years ago when you launched a new product, chances are those articles may be too old to show up in AI search summaries.
Large language models (or LLMs) scan for patterns. Think of LLMs as a new audience segment: business-to-machine (B2M).
As Gini Dietrich of Spin Sucks puts it, “They’re not just scanning for keywords. They’re scanning for patterns:
- Is this brand mentioned often?
- Is it mentioned consistently?
- Are those mentions coming from trusted sources?
- Do they reinforce the same ideas?”
Pay attention to the words used here – “often,” “consistently,” “trusted sources.” As in, your brand should show up consistently in trusted sources. Earned media outreach (a key component of an effective PR program) helps you achieve that.
Issuing a press release or pitching news just once in a while won’t cut it.
What to pitch when you don’t have news
So, your next question may be, “But, WHAT exactly should we be pitching when we don’t have any news?”
Start thinking about what may be happening at your company that’s of interest to your audience:
- Customer stories: Highlight how happy customers are successfully using your product or solution.
- Industry trends: If you follow industry news, you’re aware of what stories are grabbing the headlines. Share your perspective in a blog or LinkedIn post.
- Contributed thought leadership articles: Your leaders have insight to share. Why not come up with articles sharing their thoughts? These can be ghostwritten, as executives and subject-matter experts are often too busy to write articles. Pitch these to trade publications. They’re often looking for experts to contribute.
- Editorial calendar opportunities: Your media list should include trade publications. Often, they publish an editorial calendar outlining what they plan to cover in the coming months. If you pitch well in advance of a story on the calendar (say, three months), you may be asked to comment as a source. This strategy has worked well with my clients. Editors learn that they can turn to the client for input and proactively ask them to contribute to articles.
- Glimpses behind the scenes: Give your audience a peek at what happens there. I work with manufacturing clients who have a lot of compelling material for this type of article or video.
- Employee or HR stories: We often see companies in the news because their employees are doing something interesting. Or maybe the company has instituted an innovative HR policy that’s newsworthy.
- Tangential content: Are there topics related to your industry that you have thoughts about? This can be an effective way to reach a new audience.
- Charitable efforts and donations: Supporting a cause or organization or sponsoring a local event can be newsworthy.
- Frequently asked questions: Maybe you’re seeing the same questions come up repeatedly from customers or followers. Address those as short-form posts.
Get creative. No idea is off the table. Put together a list to discuss with your PR provider. They can help brainstorm and determine which ideas might be best to pitch to the media.
Keep in mind that while not every idea will work as an earned media pitch, these could be published as owned media on your site and/or as shared media on social platforms. For B2B, that means LinkedIn and probably YouTube (yes, video content continues to perform well, especially when coupled with earned media).
Create a story bank and a calendar
Create a story bank to organize all your ideas. Once you’ve decided which ideas to pursue intentionally, add those to a spreadsheet so you can create a calendar.
First, add news and announcements to the calendar. Include any annual events you participate in, like trade shows. That way, you can see where the gaps are.
Then, plug in the ideas you want to use. Schedule accordingly. Some ideas may be faster to execute while others may take longer. For example, customer stories that need approval can take time as the customer runs them through their legal department.
Other stories may be a better fit for certain times of the year. One example: I once worked with a client who gave away turkeys and hams around the holidays. We were able to get the media to cover the giveaways at local food pantries.
You’ll want to allow time to create the content and to place it. Also, remember that publications won’t accept some content as earned media if it’s been published elsewhere. Often, you’ll want to pursue the earned media placement first, then review the guidelines for repurposing the content to publish on your own site. It’s always better if you can do both, but be sure to understand the parameters.
Repurpose Your Content
Once you have a piece of content, you’ll want to get as much mileage as you can out of it.
For example, I recently worked with a client on a project that started with a speaking abstract:
- I wrote the abstract and submitted it on the client’s behalf.
- The client was accepted as a speaker at the industry event. The abstract was turned into a presentation.
- After the event, I turned the transcript into a ghostwritten article.
- I pitched the article to a trade publication. They ran the article.
- Then, the client published the piece on its site as a blog post.
- Finally, it was dissected into multiple LinkedIn posts for the company, its parent company, and the executive who spoke at the event.
That’s A LOT of mileage from one piece of content.
Keep the momentum going
The more you’re mentioned in the media, the more likely you are to be contacted as a source for other stories. Once you get the momentum going, it can continue to build.
Just as you can build momentum, you can also lose it. Don’t lose the traction you’ve gained through PR and earned media coverage by stopping abruptly until you have another product announcement.
The more you practice keeping an eye out for ideas that can be leveraged for PR, the more of a habit it’ll become.
Do you struggle with what to pitch when you have no news? How do you maintain consistency and avoid the once-in-a-while PR trap?
I’d be happy to chat. I offer free, no-strings-attached 30-minute consultations. Book yours here.
Learn more about my public relations services here, or buy my book, B2B PR That Gets Results.
About the author: Michelle Garrett is a B2B PR consultant, media relations consultant, and author of B2B PR That Gets Results, an Amazon Best Seller. She helps companies, especially those in manufacturing and technology, create content, earn media coverage, and position themselves as thought leaders in their industry. Michelle’s articles have been featured by Entrepreneur, Content Marketing Institute, Muck Rack, and Ragan’s PR Daily, among others. She’s a frequent speaker on public relations and content. Michelle has been repeatedly ranked among the top ten most influential PR professionals.
100% of this blog post was written by me, the human.
Featured image is courtesy of Adobe Express.
