How to be a Media Savvy business

Whether you have just started out in business or you are looking to grow, it is vital to use Public Relations and the media to boost your sales and brand awareness. If you’re not there’s a good chance your competitors are.

Active Profile runs tailor-made PR Toolkit courses for business owners to equip them with practical PR tools that will help to generate business results.

Experienced media trainers share their specialised insider knowledge and top trade secrets to help you drive your company's success.

Why?

Because the media needs stories about YOU!

Increasingly reporters are chained to their desks and are reliant on being spoon fed stories via press releases by people like you. An accurate, relevant and well written press release will almost always be used.

So how do you use a press release to promote your company’s key messages to the right people to drive sales and push forward your business plan?

FACT: 90% of press releases sent to newsroom are put straight in the bin.

Here’s how to make sure your press release isn’t one of them.

Active Profile’s Top Ten Tips for Press Releases.

• Tell the reporter what it is eg: This is a news story, an idea for a feature or a photo opportunity.
• Make sure you include: who, what, why, where, how and when.
• Make it easy to read and jargon free. Always write as if you are addressing an educated 12-year-old.
• Use a strong quote and make it relevant.
• Don’t waffle but give the reporter enough to go on. The average news story is only 350 words in length.
• Provide a contact number and make it a mobile so the reporter can get hold of you easily with any queries.
• Suggest an intro for the story.
• Use Notes to Editors if needed to explain more complex terms or ideas. Don’t clog up your press release with these.
• Make sure you send it to the right person. A health story should be sent to the health reporter, a business story to the
• business reporter and so on. Mug up on who is who so you send your release to the right person.
• Think photos and videos. Stories are more likely to be used if they have a good photo to go with them. Even better – think online content and give the reporter a good idea for a video clip.

Active Profile’s media trainers are award winning multi-media journalists with more than 20 years experience writing for major titles in the UK and US, for the web and producing online content for a variety of websites and news programs.

Their PR Toolkit course can show you how easy it can be.

By the end of the PR Toolkit course you will take away:

• A basic PR strategy for your company identifying avenues for news and getting it publicised.
• Your first journalist approved press release to be issued immediately after the course.
• A targeted publication list to send your releases to.
• A list of the Top Ten Tips to write future winning press releases.
• The confidence and tactics to deal with the press.
• An overview of new technology and social media that can help cost effectively promote your business

All course materials are provided.

For more information or to book a place on the next course, please email caroline.aspinall@activeprofile.co.uk or call 0151 601 8688. Alternatively please visit www.activeprofile.co.uk