What is publicity and why should you want it? For the purposes of this blog entry, publicity equals news coverage. When a reporter from a newspaper writes an article about you or your business, that’s publicity. If a radio or TV station interviews you and the interview runs as part of the newscast, that’s publicity too.
Publicity is not paid advertising, regardless of whether it’s print, radio or television advertising, or even a personal appearance on a radio or television show offered to you as an advertiser. You may hear people refer to publicity as free advertising, but that’s misleading and a little insulting to the news media outlets that cover you.
News coverage has certain benefits that paid advertising does not. It not only increases your visibility, but your credibility as well. A good news story is a third party endorsement since it’s someone else saying good things about your farm. An ad, in contrast, is you saying good things about your own business. A successful publicity campaign can reach a wide audience at low or no cost.
Publicity should be only one part of your marketing plan, however. Since there are no guarantees in trying to get news coverage, publicity should complement, not replace, paid advertising.
The bottom line is good publicity is good for business. Good publicity is also good for the agriculture industry as a whole because it increases public awareness of local agriculture. Every time your farm is in the news the public is reminded that agriculture is an important part of the economy and your community.
Just like in farming, you have to use the right tools to get publicity. Your most important publicity tool will be a news release. A news release is like a news article that you write about your own business and send out to the media. Although it is intended for publication, many reporters will simply use it for background in writing their own news story.
A news release is not an advertisement, so it shouldn't sound like one. Be subtle with self-promotion in a release.
A news release is not a letter to reporters or editors. Write the release as if it were a news article. Your audience is the reader of the newspaper. Assume that whatever you write in the release will be printed in the paper.
There is no guarantee that your news release will be used. You have sent it unsolicited to a newspaper, radio station or television station and you are not paying for the space or airtime. They don’t have to use your release if they feel it’s not newsworthy, relevant or timely.
A professional looking news release has more credibility. The standard news release format is designed to make it easy for writers and editors to grasp the news quickly, edit it easily and know whom to contact if they have questions. Use letterhead and always include a contact name, a date and a headline.
A solid base of good contacts is the cornerstone of successful media relations. Seek out contacts at the local, regional and national level. Include newspapers, television, radio, wire services, cable TV, trade publications, and magazines. Be sure your list includes food, business, garden, environmental and travel writers.
Having a good relationship with a reporter can increase your chances that they will be receptive to writing a story about your farm. Getting to know a reporter also means that you’ll get to know the type of stories they like, or are assigned, to cover. You can pitch your story accordingly.
Be proactive and creative in your approach to publicity. Send out regular news releases, write letters to the editor or opinion pieces for the local paper on community issues, or call a reporter with a story idea or to offer a farmer’s viewpoint on an issue.
Plan events with publicity in mind. Don’t be afraid to do something a little off-beat. Gimmicks can work in getting publicity. Making the world’s largest apple cobbler and offering samples to customers will surely turn out a photographer or two. And if, as they say, a picture is worth a thousand words, think of how much you would pay for that much advertising space.
Copyright 2003 by Diane Baedeker Petit
This article originally appeared in the October 2003 issue of Growing magazine.
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