As a business which is part of your local area and community, or as a business which trades in or has an affect on a specific area or region you already have therefore a chance of raising your profile via the local / regional media. The local / regional media today generally have an online and offline presence, and many of their stories and features turn up in both places.

Although making the headlines nationally for positive reasons is something most companies would very much like to do, firstly it is not always that easy to do without some PR experience, contacts, or something particularly newsworthy and current, and or raising your profile locally / regionally could lead to an increased chance of raising your profile nationally. It’s worth remembering that local / regional journalists are obviously always looking for stories based in or connected to their area. So what sort of things should you be thinking of in order to get some local / regional exposure in the media and what are the likely benefits?

1. Study the local / regional media and get a feel for the type of stories they like to run, and whether there are any existing / long running news stories which are of particular interest in that area. By studying these things you will:

• Get an idea of how best to build and angle your own story.
• Discover opportunities to ‘piggyback’ on an existing story or issue. By highlighting another angle to the story or by making intelligent and / or interesting and new comment on the story as an interested party, industry expert / commentator, and / or as a local business owner you can raise the profile of your own organisation and keep the story running. This coud provide further opportunities for yourself in the future of the story.

2. Find out when the local / regional business section comes out and make sure your story is highlighted to the right person enough in advance.

3. Find appropriate journalist’s names and email addresses / contact details via previous stories and build up your own list of and information about them. Find telephone numbers of editors and don’t be afraid to call them and try and convince them that your story is worth running.

4. Find areas of positive publicity within your own company and highlight them to the local / regional media e.g. staff taking part in charity events.

5. Try to create a new / original angle for your proposed news story.

6. Consider making newsworthy comments on issues of local / regional interest. Submit an article to the appropriate journalist about it, and follow up with a phone call.

7. Consider positioning yourself as an ‘expert’ voice locally in your area of professional expertise. This could lead to regular publicity as local / regional journalists will think of you the next time a similar issue needs a comment / opinion.

8. Learn to write press releases or employ an organisation / person who can write them for you. Make sure that all press releases are followed up with a phone call to offer any extra required help but NOT to ask if the journalist received the press release.

Some of the Benefits to You and Your Organisation

Being featured positively and regularly in the local / regional media can:

• Increase awareness of your company, brand and associated values which could bring new sales leads, business and / or offers of beneficial alliances.
• Increase the chances of further publicity in local / regional and other types of media.
• Motivate your organisation / staff, and improve positive perceptions of your company in your local area / region.
• Save the opportunity cost of potentially expensive advertising to achieve a similar result, which may not even be as far reaching in terms of lasting positive benefits.
• Bring good online publicity and high quality incoming links to your website, thereby potentially leading to higher ranklings in the search engines for appropriate key phrases.

Your local / regional media have a strong influence online and offline, and regular, good online PR campaigns from you could bring about some very positive and long lasting benefits for your organisation online and offline.