in: Public Relations
by: Sabina Hitchen
The key to long term PR success is creating regular stories that the news can use. They want to see you as a source of awesome stories that their readers or viewers or listeners will want to hear about, and that their audience will get some take-away from! This means you'll have to come up with more ideas for potential press stories beyond "Look at me! I'm such an interesting and cool product, service or expert!"
"TREND STORIES"
What is one angle that the press loves hands-down at nearly any national or local outlet? Trend stories! A "trend story" is a story talking about a hot trend in anything from food to fashion to fitness classes. Whether it's an internationally recognized trend or one that you come up with on your own, if you can show it's a trend or becoming one, you can land a great story.
EVERY TREND STORY MUST INCLUDE THIS
Every trend story has to have more than one business taking part in it - hence the trend! If only one person is doing whatever it is you're talking about, then it's not a trend because other people or businesses aren't also doing it. If two, perhaps three or even four people or businesses are doing it (whatever "it" may be), you have a trend!
MAKING A TREND STORY WORK FOR YOU
Think about people in your industry or niche that are doing something similar to you. Perhaps they are servicing the same type of customer, filling the same need (though in different ways), or even offering a similar approach to a common problem. Start to connect with that business. See if you can offer your shared stories and concepts up for a trend story to the press. By connecting with others like you instead of competing with them, you're going to be able to open new possible doors to stories you can only access as part of a team...a trend. The press also love trend stories because they are automatically less like a commercial for one business.
EXAMPLE OF A TREND STORY PITCH IDEA
Here's an example below of two businesses that would be perfect candidates for pitching a trend story to the media. If they were feeling really motivated, they can even find a third or fourth brand that would work with their trend story, though it's also just as possible to email the press about a story with just the two businesses.
Meet BizBubble and Dot Girl. BiziBubble is a monthly, personalized delivery service for a gal's feminine hygiene needs. Oh yes ladies, "that time of month" just got a whole lot easier! Dot Girl is a kit that helps parents teach and prepare their daughters for their first period. Both are similar enough to turn come up with some concepts to turn themselves into a trend story! Any studies or reports or other businesses that can support the trend story angle they are pitching to the press just adds support to their story!
I love the idea of co-pitching because of something I mentioned earlier in this article, which is also a big part of the Tin Shingle foundation: working together. Community. Instead of competing PR-wise, this is a great way to work together on your PR campaign, which can lead to exponentially better PR results, with the added help of a partner! Hello: new ideas and energy straight into your business!
I challenge you to think about trends your business is a part of, whether on a big or small level. Could any other businesses support this trend idea? Reach out to them, and get those PR wheels in motion!
