Archive for category Media

This is a guest post written by Saint Louis PR expert David Craig.

If you can use PR (Public Relations) to land coverage on TV or in the newspaper, the cost is generally much less than the cost of an ad buy. Media do not charge for news coverage. Media charge as much as they can for advertising buys.

A newspaper feature or a TV interview also comes with an implied endorsement. The paper or station is giving some of its valuable space or time to you and your product or service. Even if the interviewer or writer does not say glowing things about you and your stuff, the fact that they have featured you gives you credibility. And it allows the audience to see and hear you or read about you, perhaps in more detail than an ad would permit.

An advertisement on TV, radio, newspaper, magazine, the internet or other medium is obviously something that an advertiser has paid to have in that space or timeslot. We all respond positively to certain ads, but are sometimes skeptical because we know the reason that the ad is there—because the advertiser paid for the space or airtime.

That ad does let you the advertiser control the message completely. You also have some control over when and where your message appears, depending on the rate you are paying. A newspaper or TV feature story is controlled by one or more individuals (not you) who may edit out the content that you feel is most important. Sometimes media coverage goes off on a tangent, focusing on some goofy sidebar instead of your main message points.

In most cases, the media coverage has a longer life on the internet than the advertisement does. Whether you are part of a newspaper or magazine article or a TV news interview, that media outlet is likely to archive your story on its website for a certain period of time. Your half-page ad or 30-second commercial can live on via Youtube or your own website. But an advertising buy for print or broadcast media typically does not include placement on their website (unless you make a deal to do so going in).

Media coverage begets media coverage. An interview on channel 5 news can lead to a feature in the Business Journal. An item in St. Louis magazine can lead to a segment on Y-98. A story in the Post-Dispatch (and on stltoday.com) can result in numerous bloggers writing about you and your product or service.

Everybody has a story to tell. Get yours out there and benefit from media coverage.

Hear David Speak

David will be speaking at the Market Saint Louis Conference on October 7th.  Tickets are still available but seating is limited.  Come hear David and a host of other St. Louis professionals teach you how your business can thrive online.