Tailoring your goals for visibility and success.
B2B brands are constantly seeking innovative ways to enhance media coverage, but there’s often a struggle to gain media attention in industries perceived as less exciting than B2C.
This discrepancy can be attributed to their niche focus, but that doesn’t have to limit reach, said Martin Waxman, associate director at the Future of Marketing Institute.
“The goal is not to just be mentioned, but to be discovered by the right audience,” Waxman said.
In forming your outreach strategy, there are a few tools to help B2Bs get more eyes on their products or services through media coverage, he said.
These include:
- Find the right journalists and set realistic expectations: Journalists today aren’t necessarily beat reporters or experts in what they’re covering, especially with the diversification of media, but it’s important to find out whose voice is influential and begin to build a relationship, Waxman said. While you can’t build these relationships overnight, you can foster a connection by reaching out to the right journalists whose reporting can benefit from your insights. Talk to them often, build on your connection and keep them aware of what your organization can offer their reporting.
- Make your pitches media-specific: Generic pitches won’t cut it today, Waxman said. B2B companies should be providing valuable information and your pitch should offer something that will help solve a problem or achieve a specific goal. “Find out who the journalists are, what they’re covering and how you can give greater insight and inform their publication,” Waxman said. “Understanding what resonates with specific journalists can allow companies to craft more compelling pitches.”
- Offer insights: Discuss trends and what your company can provide to journalists’ work. Personalization is key here, he said. “Ask questions about what they’re hearing and see where your content fits,” Waxman said By engaging in a conversation now, a journalist may think of you down the road when they’re covering something relevant to your organization or brand, but you have to be patient, he said. Another way of sharing insights can be through B2B influencers. “If I’m working with a specific kind of oil and I see an influencer whose focus is on sustainability, maybe I reach out and have a conversation about are we sustainably producing this? Is this product being farmed in a sustainable way? Can this work with what they’re already (highlighting) on their channel?” Waxman said. Accessing media coverage through more unique channels can establish a greater presence as well, he said.
- Use AI tools to help build contacts: Build curated lists of journalist profiles with tools like ChatGPT, CoPilot and Claude. Establishing a media list of journalists can offer quick insights into what news outlets or journalists you should be engaging with. Likewise, AI can assist with customer persona profiles so your organization can shape what kinds of news or topics are important to your specific audience, he said. “AI can be integrated into communications strategies to help B2B brands understand their audience better,” Waxman said. Keep this list updated and monitor cultural or political trends to stay informed of where your content can be useful.
- Focus on business goals and quality content over headlines: Focusing on business goals rather than headlines can attract the right journalists for the right moment, he said. Create high-quality content that can be shared with news outlets or niche publications looking to learn something. Think about what innovative solutions your company offers that would be valuable to news sources or journalists.
“B2B is still a people-to-people situation because (organizations) want to reach their customers,” Waxman said. “It’s about enhancing, not replacing, the creative process to build relationships and trust in a crowded (media) marketplace.”
Courtney Blackann is a communications reporter. Connect with her on LinkedIn or email her at courtneyb@ragan.com.
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