Keeping up on the latest headlines is a key component of a knowledgeable PR pro. It helps you stay current on what is happening in the industries you are working in, but it can also present opportunities to insert clients into trending conversations. Typically, company and product news don’t drive large news cycles, but pitching into existing trends with opinion and unique perspectives, if done well, can yield great reward.
We’ve had the opportunity to represent BoldIQ, an operations optimization technology provider. Essentially this means that its technology provides organizations with an actionable plan to manage constantly changing resources to meet demand in real-time. For example, a trucking company could leverage the technology to manage its staff, trucks and demand, taking into consideration if a driver is sick, a truck breaks or a delivery is canceled. BoldIQ’s technology can help many industries more efficiently manage changing resources within seconds.
By paying attention to trending topics like drones, driverless cars, on-demand ride service apps and transportation cuts, we’ve successfully positioned BoldIQ’s CEO as a thought leader in the role of technology in a more efficient and on-demand world. He has been featured in Federal Computer Week, InformationWeek, and VentureBeat.
Here are some of the great results we’ve secured over the past few months by playing into news cycles:
- Federal Computer Week; Send in the drones
- VentureBeat; Driverless cars are cool, but the network layer that will run them is even cooler,
- InformationWeek; Big Data Debate: Do Analytics Trump Intuition?
- IT Business Edge; The Modern John Henry: Why Executives Are Wrong to Favor Intuition over Analytics
- WIRED Innovation Insights; Driverless Cars Hit the Streets – How Do We Prepare for the Network Effect?
- Seattle Business; How Lyft, Uber and Taxis Can Share the Road Without Adding Congestion, Fuel Burn, and Pollution to Seattle
- InformationWeek Government; Domestic Drones: 5 Non-Military Uses
Here are a few tips to get you started:
- Carve out time. This might sound like a no-brainier, but to successfully pitch into a news cycle, you have to carve out time each day to stay up to date on current events. Look at key publications and see what is making news.
- Work closely with your spokesperson. Make sure you collaborate with the company spokesperson to determine topics they feel comfortable discussing. Additionally, it helps to brainstorm ideas a few times a month. We’ve had success floating ideas via email in real-time to determine if it is a story line we want to pursue.
- Don’t be afraid to revisit topics. If there is a topic that you’ve had success with, don’t be shy when it comes to revamping the pitch and revisiting the topic with reporters, especially if there is a new hook.
- Offer something new. When pitching into news cycles, avoid the “me too” approach. If a reporter wrote about a topic, but quoted another company, it is unlikely they’ll redo the story to include your client. Make sure that you are offering a new and interesting angle for consideration.
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How do you make the most of a daily news cycle? Leave a comment below, or tweet us at @RHStrategic with the hashtag #RHetoricBlog.
RH Strategic is the PR firm for a hyper-connected world, delivering integrated media, social & digital strategies for technology, healthcare, and public sector markets.
