Placing articles in media outlets is far more difficult for PR these days because many newspapers and trade journals have closed while others have laid off staff and decreased editorial space.
The solution: Create a news bureau. More PR firms and corporate PR departments are creating their own in-house news bureaus to generate solid news and feature stories that meet journalism standards for content, timeliness and objectivity. The strategy can be used to make placements in newspapers, broadcast media and trade journals. It’s not as effective for consumer magazines which prefer to use their staff writers or trusted freelancers. To implement the news bureau strategy effectively, a PR agency or department must adopt a journalism perspective and submerge promotional PR viewpoints.
The Grand Rapids Business Journal recently profiled a PR professional, Mary Ann Sabo of Sabo PR, who has embraced that strategy. Three of Sabo’s clients use her in-house news bureau either quarterly or monthly; another two use it when needed. Her firm often sends completed articles including multimedia elements to newspapers in smaller markets, where editorial resources are especially tight.
“It benefits our clients and also benefits those papers who might be interested in this story but not have the resources to cover it,” Sabo told the GRBJ. The article offers these tips:
Employ the right staff. Like many PR news bureaus, her group employs former journalists, including writers, editors and a photographer. “The media outlets (we work with) know they can expect that we’ll be on time, we’ll write according to AP style, and they’ll be getting something that’s not just a blatant advertisement,” Sabo said.
Be upfront. News organizations typically fear that material from PR firms may be too promotional. That’s why Sabo recommends PR pros to be upfront as possible when pitching to the media and to avoid the appearance of pushing overtly promotional content.
Application of Brand Journalism
The increase in PR news bureaus is part of a trend to brand journalism. Besides pitching packaged stories directly to media outlets, corporations can now reach the public directly through their own websites, blogs and social media accounts. The writers in the news bureau search out and create stories that more closely resemble objective journalism than PR. While eschewing overt promotion, the stories subtly deliver the brand message in a way that an independent journalist would employ.
Although not a new strategy, brand journalism is becoming more prevalent as brands attempt to reach customers through unbiased news and feature stories in traditional media, through owned media outlets and in social media. For successful brand journalism, think of your company and industry as independent reporters think about their beats, advises Forbes contributor Daniel Newman, o-CEO of V3B and President of Broadsuite Media group.
A good story from a corporate news bureau looks every bit as balanced and unbiased as a story produced by an independent journalist. For some PR writers that’s difficult. It’s even more difficult for the corporate decision-makers who expect unambiguous product promotion in corporate and brand stories. Including blatant product promotion will almost certainly kill the story and destroy trust the corporate news bureau has built with editors at media outlets.
To succeed in implementing news bureaus and brand journalism, Newman recommends that PR:
Think outside the box. Expand your content scope beyond marketing your brand to include other topics of interest for your audience. Focus on adding value, not making a sale.
Emphasize engagement. Digital marketing involves creating a dialogue between brand and consumer. Content should never feel like a one-sided conversation.
Mix and match content. You don’t have to dedicate a separate blog or website to brand journalism. Try to include pieces of brand journalism within product demonstrations and customer reviews.
Build trust. Companies that build trust through their content can develop reputations as reliable media sources for their audiences. If content is too promotional, the audience will perceive it as biased and untrustworthy. Do thorough research, use outside data sources, and avoid including amateur or unsubstantiated opinions in your stories.
It’s also helpful to offer an exclusive on the story to an especially influential publication.
Above all, be absolutely certain that every brand journalism and news bureau story passes the objective journalism sniff test for news and feature content.
Bottom Line: More PR pros now act as objective journalists in producing articles and other content for placement in traditional media outlets and in owned media such as corporate websites and blogs. Whether the strategy is called news bureaus or brand journalism, it is proven to be a successful way for PR to reach targeted audiences with corporate and brand messages.
William J. Comcowich founded and served as CEO of CyberAlert LLC, the predecessor of Glean.info. He is currently serving as Interim CEO and member of the Board of Directors. Glean.info provides customized media monitoring, media measurement and analytics solutions across all types of traditional and social media.
