Clients regularly ask us, what makes a good B2B PR story? It’s a question we have blogged about before, but we thought it was a good opportunity to revisit this as it’s relevant to so many B2B businesses.
The importance of timing
First things first, you need to ask yourself: Did the story happen recently? Getting the timing right is essential. If it’s a story about an event that you exhibited at a month ago, you may have lost the interest of the local media. However, with the trade press and their longer lead times, it may still be interesting to them. The rule of thumb is to get the press release ready and approved before the event. Then we can send it out once the event has finished to ensure the best chance of success.
The type of publication
Secondly, consider very carefully is it something that a particular magazine would run? If you’re not sure, buy or subscribe to the newspaper or magazine. Take a look at the business section and what type of stories they cover. Are there any that sound similar to yours? Human interest stories are well picked up in the local press. More serious business stories in the regional and national press. But the opposite can also be true too!
Also, common sense will tell you that product stories are not interesting to local press. Most people will understand this. For example, if it’s a story about a new plumbing tool it could be very relevant to a magazine such as PHAM News. It’ll be far less interesting to a regional or national newspaper.
With product stories, you have to accept that many trade magazines will see them as commercial stories. Therefore, they will ask you for a colour separation budget (particularly in the construction trade press). This covers the cost of running a colour photo with the story. It’s a way that the magazines can leverage cash to continue publishing their magazine. Be prepared for this and don’t automatically dismiss a magazine.
6 tips for a good B2B PR story
Once you have decided a story is newsworthy, then check out our tips for getting the best out of your B2B PR story.
- Follow all the rules for a great press release
It needs a stand-out headline. Plus a powerful first sentence which explains, the who, what and when clearly. Don’t forget to include a quote from the company. This might sound obvious, but it’s surprising how some people use a quote which is nothing to do with the story. Instead, it’ll be more trying to big them or the company up, which the editors will see as being too commercial.
- Use a strong, relevant subject to the email
Editors are really busy and often won’t read beyond the subject of the email. Don’t call the editor to discuss a press release or story unless it is BIG news. They won’t thank you for wasting their time on a story that really isn’t suitable for their publication. If it is, they will call you if they need more information.
Remember for local or regional media, you should use the location in the subject header to increase the chance of it being used.
- Offer an exclusive
Look at the angle of your story and think of how you can offer an exclusive. Are you launching a product, announcing a win or sharing about a project completion? Offer it to a leading construction title as an exclusive, first, giving them a couple of days to run the story.
You can even ask the editor if they would like to run an exclusive interview with the company’s Managing Director. If so, it would be worth asking the magazine for a list of questions. This will allow you to prepare some responses.
- Include a good quality photo
Make sure you send a quality photograph. If it’s for local or regional press, you need to send a people photo. For trade press, a people and factory, or people in situ shot works well.
Attach a photograph to the email when it is sent out to the editors, but get the sizing right. Don’t send a photo above 2mgb and below 1mgb (unless it’s purely for online purposes)
- Get the timing right
Check the magazine or newspaper’s deadline before you send out the story. If they go to press on Weds lunchtime, then sending them the story on Weds morning could be too late. The same with magazines, they usually work to mid-month or end of month deadlines, so send them the story well in advance of their deadlines. Similarly, if an important story is on its way but not quite ready, but the deadline is coming up, just let them know.
If it’s a B2B story that you would like to get covered in the national business magazines or national newspapers then it is very important that it is carefully tailored to a) the editor b) their audience c) and make sure they get the exclusive. Make sure you draft a personalised email and have checked out the editor’s credentials on a media system, like Mediagility (which we use) before you start.
Don’t add the story to your own news pages for at least a week (extend this to 1-2 months if it’s a trade magazine), the newspapers in particular will ignore a story that they have seen appear elsewhere, particularly if it’s on your own company website.
Send out news stories to your main local regional daily or weekly publications first before the online publications. By holding it back a day or two from the purely online publications, you can give the printed press at least a couple of days to get it covered in print, before it appears online.
Don’t expect editors to let you know when a story is going to run. Sometimes editors/reporters will come back with a couple of questions and some may even send you a link to the story when it appears, but they are busy people and can’t be expected to let you know.
- Ask for a backlink
Backlinks are very important in enhancing a company’s Google ranking and overall site performance. If the publication gets back to you, then it could be worth requesting a backlink, although some do charge for this, so consider if it is a worthwhile publication.
Try connecting with the editor on LinkedIn and some allow you to follow them on X. We have had particular success with contacting journalists on LinkedIn when it comes to inviting them to events.
Good Luck!
We hope these digital PR tips and advice have been useful in helping you to secure even more success in the media. We understand how time consuming it can be to generate media or web content – and we’re the experts at this!
In the meantime, have a very Merry Christmas and we look forward to working with you in the New Year. We are still open on the pre-Christmas week and things aren’t quite as busy, so please drop us an email and we can arrange an introductory call to discuss your requirements, or send us brief details and we will respond on hello@dragonflypr.co.uk.
