Page 17 - Mobility Management, August 2017

marketing mobility By Sydny Shepard
How to Make Big Headlines
When you hear the term “newsworthy content,” I’m sure your first thought is breaking news: a neighborhood burglary, a storm brewing in the East or the outcome of a public figure’s criminal trial. Newsworthiness, however, can be defined in different ways, especially when it comes to the mobility industry.
Newsworthy content is notable, interesting, significant and important. This could pertain to new hires, product creations, charitable events, industry trade shows or even moving offices. These things could have already happened, are about to happen or be in the planning stages when you decide to write about them.
Find Your Hook...
When forming an article or press release, you want to focus on finding a piece of information, or news, to ground your story. Even further, you need to think about what this information is going to do for readers. In the media biz, we call this the hook. Without a hook, there’s no reason for a newspaper or magazine to run a
story, and there’s no reason for the reader to keep reading it.
It isn’t enough to write about a product that was introduced to the market a year ago. If you want to generate awareness for this product, you can write
a press release about how you are giving one away to a person in need, how your engineering team just announced new feature upgrades for the product, or maybe the product will be shown at a trade show. All of these story ideas include the product and focus on the product, but also give reporters and readers a hook that reels them in.
Then Reel Them In
When you’ve got your story and your hook, be precise when writing it. Get straight to the point without adding extraneous information that will just drown the news you are actually trying to get out. Stick to writing the basics, and always remember to include who, what, when, where and why, as well as company name, contact information and a person to connect with in case a reporter or reader needs more information.
A great story can do many things for a company or organization. While it creates an increased awareness for a brand, it can also indirectly promote products, people and events while allowing you to control the public’s perception of the company. You can insert personality and intrigue into otherwise boring articles or press releases. By doing this, you
give readers a way to remember you, a reason to think of your brand first whenever they might need something. Now that you know all about newsworthy content and
what it can do for you, the next step is figuring out who you should send it to. Stay tuned for next month’s install- ment of Marketing Mobility to find out to whom and how you can disperse your news. m
Sydny Shepard is a 2015 grad- uate of Baylor University, where she majored in journalism, public relations and new media with a concentration in marketing and management. She has worked with for-profit and non-profit organizations to increase brand
awareness through no-cost marketing tactics. Download Sydny’s infographics at mobilitymgmt.com.
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MOBILITY MANAGEMENT | AUGUST 2017 17