Trade shows are always a great way for your company to generate attention for possible media coverage. But the question is how do you identify the relevant publications that may want to write about your company’s new products or news developments? And once you do that, how do you secure media coverage?
Here are a couple rule of thumb tips you may want to heed:
1) Investigate and take special note of the editorial deadlines of your targeted media. There is nothing more frustrating or annoying for an editor or reporter to deal with than to be pestered to death by a PR person wanting coverage when it’s long past the deadline for that publication. Please, folks. Plan a lot of lead time beforehand and give your targeted media plenty of notice to cover your company at the trade show.
2) If you’re introducing a new product, please include a press release on it in the press kits you’ll be distributing to your targeted media at the trade show. Be up-to-date on all company news you present to reporters. And make sure you have plenty of copies of your press kit on display in the trade show pressroom.
3) Most trade shows run under the auspices of a host publication that also puts out a special trade show publication coinciding with the event. Explore opportunities to advertise in this publication. Perhaps your company can do a trade-off.
4) Start promoting your company’s presence at the trade show in your publication and on your Web site as soon as you can. Constant promotion is key to building industry awareness, which thus engenders press interest.
5) Don’t just limit your targeted media to the same old standbys. Check out the local or regional publications where the trade show will be taking place. Also, if your company has executives that have ties to the community, leverage that into a story with a regional newspaper or business trade. This also applies to all local broadcast outlets as well. Cover all leads.
6) Check out your competition and see where they’re exhibiting. Also, take special note which media outlets are covering them. Nothing like a healthy sense of rivalry to get those creative juices flowing in your veins.
Source: BusinessWeek