15th May 2014 by Samantha Walker

10 Yetis Insight Blog - 9 Tips For A Regional PR Campaign Targeting Local Media

Depending on the type of clients you have, there may come a time where you need to create a regional PR campaign, across one or more regions, and target that regions local media. Here are 9 top tips on how to execute a successful regional PR campaign...

Come up with an angle/story that's somehow relevant to the region your targeting
It doesn't matter how random the angle is, as long as it appeals to those within your chosen region and you can somehow tie it back to your client within the press release.

Include a list
If you can include a top 5/10 or a bullet point list - fantastic! If the journalist is interested in your press release but unable to use the entire release, there's a good chance they may use the list as a NiB.

Create a list of the media outlets you want to target
Now you've got your story, you can determine which media outlets it will be relevant for. Whether your release is for consumer, lifestyle, fashion, health and so on be sure that you're only planning to send it to outlets that may be interested in the story. e.g. you wouldn't send a celebrity story to a trade magazine.

Don't just stick to one type of media
There's nothing wrong with contacting print, online, radio and TV media outlets - the more relevant outlets you send your release to, the greater your chances of coverage. The more coverage you get, the happier your client is going to be - win, win!

Create a list of journalists
Once you've decided what media outlets you're going to contact, you need to determine who you're going to contact from each - it's usually quite easy to figure out who is who and what they do just by their job title. Don't waste your time by contacting journalists who aren't going to be interested in the story because it's not relevant to their role, and it's probably best not waste their time either.

Get straight to the point in your email
Journalists get hundreds of emails per day with stories that may be of interest to them - they typically read the first paragraph (if it's small) to see if the story is of interest to them, so if you haven't got straight to the point then chances are you've lost them. Another good tip is to avoid the introduction of 'How are you? I hope you're well' because let's be honest, you don't know them well enough to care and it wastes 5 seconds of their time.

Get straight to the point in your follow up call
I don't advise trying to call every single journalist that you've sent your press release to - you'll be there forever. Decide who the most important 20 or 30 journalists are and give them a call. But again, don't waste their time by reading out the entire introduction to the press release - just be straight with them; "I've got a story that might be of interest to you, it's about how 1 in 3 Britons is a cat person" (bad example, I know - but you get my point). 

Schmooze the journalists
If you're targeting your own local region, it doesn't hurt to make some time in your diary to take the journalist for a coffee. Making friends with a journalist, or even just building up a good rapport, can give your story precedence over other stories that they receive, increasing your chances of coverage.

Be patient and watch the coverage come in
*hopefully*

Get the Know How

Get the latest thought leading industry comment and information from our “no sales” newsletter.

Want to work with us?

hello@10yetis.co.uk