How This Top Financial PR Firm Keeps up with the Ever-Changing Media Environment
It’s no secret that the race for media attention is as competitive as ever. For financial services firms in particular, media exposure is a means to differentiate themselves from their peers, win new business and keep clients on board, among other advantages.
However, as impactful as a robust media presence can be for your business, the ever-changing media landscape makes it difficult to harness its power. If you’re out of sync with the ever-present changes, such as reporters switching beats or moving to another outlet, new sites springing up or the latest controversy captivating the reporters you want to be in front of, you’ll be left in the dust. For instance, did you know that Fortune and Money split up with CNNMoney last summer? They’re two totally separate entities now, but if you weren’t aware of their breakup, you’ve been missing out on twice the amount of opportunities to share your thought leadership or discuss the newest investment products that should be on everyone’s radar.
No longer are the outlets worried about stepping on each other’s toes – they are now fierce competitors chasing the same stories.
So how can you keep up with an ever-evolving media industry, while at the same time coming up with fresh and innovative ideas to grab positive press attention? Here are four tips to not only keep up with the media, but to engage with it:
- Social Media: Social media is where news breaks – period. Whether it’s the NASDAQ hitting 5,000 or a reporter announcing she’s moving on to another outlet, the media turns to Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, etc., first to share what’s on their minds. At the very least, financial firms should be tracking social media to find out the trends and latest news. In an ideal world, you should be actively involved with social media and use it to further relationships.
One of our favorite tools at Gregory FCA happens to be TweetDeck. With its customizable interface and live column streaming capabilities, this service helps us streamline what we’re looking for and stay organized.
- Bloggers: The media industry loves reporting on itself. After all, aren’t we all interested in the goings-on of our peers? Several blogs and websites are dedicated specifically to gossip and news about, well, the news. Some of our favorites are com, Talking Biz News, and Poynter.
- Relationships: It’s a case of the chicken or the egg, but oftentimes we are given advance notice about media transitions from our contacts. By consistently being a helpful resource, members of the media are more apt to let you follow them to their new gig.
Want to know how to cement meaningful relationships? Check out this post from our Gregory FCA colleague Jimmy Moock: Media Relations in 2015: How to Win Friends Coverage and Influence People
- RSS Feeds: k.a. “Really Simple Syndication” – and really, it is that simple! RSS feeds help us track our must-read websites in real time by letting us know as soon as they’re updated. The best part, however, is that even though RSS operates in real time, we can read up on things on our own time, and well, who wouldn’t love that?
These are some of the ways we stay up-to-date with the latest media goings-on at Gregory FCA. It certainly takes some effort, but we see time and time again how getting a leg up on our competition allows our clients to stand front and center.
Editor’s Note: This post is a collaboration between Lauren and another member of the GregoryFCA team, Leah Katsanis.