If you own a business that relies on local customers, you may believe your business will benefit from local media coverage. For instance, if you run an auto parts store, an article profiling your business in the local newspaper can raise awareness and bring customers to your door, or perhaps your website. The question you may have, though, is, “How do I get local news coverage for my business?” If you don’t want to do the work yourself, you will be in the market for a top media outreach firm for local businesses. This article explores what’s involved in finding such a firm and how to evaluate whether your needs match their capabilities.
Let’s start by questioning an assumption that many local business owners make: Does local media coverage help your business? Generally, the answer is yes, but as with any business decision, the cost-benefit has to pencil out. For example, if you are the only tire store in a small town, then everyone already knows you are there and will probably come to you first for tires. Spending money on public relations is probably not a good investment of time and resources.
Also, the connection between media coverage and revenue growth is indirect, at best. In the old days, if you got written up in the local paper, new customers might hear about you. Today, success is mostly from only presence. A favorable piece of media coverage will usually help with local search (local SEO) rankings, which will help put you ahead of competitors.
How do you get media coverage for your local business? This depends somewhat on the size of your media market. If you are in a city with one news site for the whole metro area, getting coverage might be as simple as calling up the site editors and pitching a story about your business. The person you talk to may already be your customer. In a larger media market, you may require the services of a PR firm that works with local business clients.
The challenge in both cases, however, is to have a newsworthy story to share. Media outlets tend not to cover local businesses unless they have a reason to do so, e.g., a heart-warming holiday charity giveaway or something like that. Remember: Media companies make money by selling advertising, and local businesses are often a big source of revenue. If you expect a news outlet to profile your local business as if it were a free ad, you’re going to be disappointed. (At the same time, if you are an advertiser already, you might find the “editorial” side of the house surprisingly interested in covering your business. No one likes to talk about that, but it’s very real.)
There are firms that specialize in public relations for local businesses. In some cases, this might be a marketing agency that does PR as part of its portfolio of services. Many boutique PR firms offer this service. Even large PR firms can focus on local coverage, but they usually do that for clients with many branch locations or franchisees.
What do PR firms for local businesses charge for their services? In general, they follow the standard industry pattern. Some require retainers, e.g., $12,000 per month. Others work on an hourly basis. Comms Factory offers local PR service on a fixed-price, pay-as-you-go basis.
The best PR firm for local businesses is one that has proven experience in the category. The firm will understand the nature of localized PR, which is different from, say, entertainment PR. They will know how to craft a compelling pitch that gets you out of the advertising trap.
lack of local media can be a problem for businesses seeking localized press coverage. In much of the United States, for example, local newspapers and news sites have downsized or gone out of business. There may be only a handful of TV and radio stations covering the area. How can you get coverage?
Well, you may be out of luck. However, there are still ways to get attention. The media in the nearest major metro area could be a venue for local coverage. Like, if you’re 50 miles from Atlanta, the Atlanta TV station may do a segment about your business if you’re in their coverage area.
Local media coverage is just one element of a broader local marketing mix that may include search engine advertising, local advertising, special events, and so forth. Done right, local PR will support and amplify these other efforts.
Finally, keep in mind that you can have a local business impact through PR without actually getting local media coverage. This is possible through press release distribution. You can write a press release that features your key phrases, e.g., “Best tire shop in Peoria,” and syndicate it using a service like King News Wire. This will help with Google indexing for your local SEO—and, there’s no need to get the local news to be involved.
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Comms Factory is a new kind of public relations firm. We serve the unique publicity needs of entrepreneurs, small businesses, medical practices, non-profits, artists, authors, and musicians. Unlike retainer-based PR firms, we work on a pay-as-you-go basis, with fixed-price gigs for press release writing, distribution, and media outreach.
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