The single most powerful technique for getting media coverage is speed.
When an attack, a data breach, a new vulnerability, and other cybersecurity stories break, you can raise awareness of your company and build thought leadership by offering insight into what’s happening, why, and how.
I’m talking about rapid response or newsjacking. And when a story breaks, you only have 30 minutes to respond.
There are three ways to take advantage of these opportunities:
1) Make sure your PR firm is monitoring for breaches.
Using deep research tools to find hacks and breaches before they hit the media’s radar, your PR team can gain you precious minutes to contact media with your expertise to further the reporting.
2) Know the media.
It’s essential to have established media contacts and systems in place to get in touch at a moment’s notice with the reporters who will cover the breaking news.
3) Spin up your own content.
Craft an on-target response and publish it immediately on your blog and social media. Point reporters to the insights, graphics, and data in your content — that’s often all the convincing they need to get you on camera.
We’re constantly looking for ways to leverage current news happenings and insert clients into the stories of the day.
Some topics will be right in your wheelhouse. Others you might have to stretch a bit to bridge back to what your business does. But don’t try to stretch too far.
- If you only have vague, canned quotes that don’t specifically address the story being reported on, don’t waste reporters’ time. Wait for the next opportunity, which might be a better fit.
- If you want to be the go-to expert for reporters, start with smaller opportunities. Learn how to give a good sound bite.
- When you’re a good resource, able to analyze events in your space, reporters will remember you and seek out your opinion.
Once you land these media opportunities, how do you make the most of your on-camera appearance? That’s what we’ll talk about in our next post.
Until then, let me know how I can help you improve your newsjacking for breaking cybersecurity stories.