Brand awareness fosters trust with consumers, creates association and builds the overall perception that your brand has to the rest of the world. Needless to say, it’s critical for growing your brand. So how do you establish it? Well, it starts with finding the right media contacts that will generate press coverage and promote your brand and its messaging. Building an effective media list takes more effort than just adding random contact emails onto a spreadsheet. Because we all know, pitching doesn’t mean anything if you’re sending to the wrong contacts. Here are the best ways to build a media list that will get you press coverage and establish brand awareness.
Know Your Audience.
If you’re trying to get press coverage, that means you’re ultimately trying to get the attention of your brand’s target audience. Figure out which publications and websites your audience likes, including who they follow on social media. Learning more about the interests of your target audience will help you figure out which writers and influencers to look for when you’re building your media list.
Utilize Contact Research Tools.
Take advantage of a subscription-based service like Cision, which provides a comprehensive database and research tools that make it easy to find the target writers you’re looking for. Alternatively, free services like LinkedIn and Muckrack, or even a simple Google search, are great tools that can help you find contacts to build a strong media list.
Research, Research, Research!
The best way to find good media contacts is through good-old fashioned research. Writers aren’t going to read your pitch if it doesn’t align with their beat. For example, a writer covering a new celebrity skincare line might only cover celebrity news, not beauty. Spending that extra time to understand a writer’s beat will resonate with them, and pay off in the end.
Update Your List Frequently.
Continuing to pitch to the same media contacts looks lazy and will reflect poorly on your brand. Make sure to document the specific days you’ve pitched to contacts. We recommend waiting at least four months before pitching to the same writer again.
