At this time in 2008, arguably the largest story in the headlines may be the crisis facing Detroit's "Big Three" auto makers, General Motors, Chrysler and Ford. Each and every day, there are more stories coming out about the situation facing all the companies - which may have now banded together to try and get public funds as a bailout to the industry.
Although we could spend hours talking about this issue, we will instead turn our focus on what you, as your small business owner, can get in the headlines and join the conversation to get your company some publicity. First, you have to work out how you squeeze into this picture. Are you currently a car dealer? A parts supplier? A second company that utilizes the healthiness of the automobile companies and/or car workers? Where can you fit in? This really is critical to then developing your "angle."
Next, to put it simply together a press release talking about how this issue affects you. Here's the important part, though. You should locate a newsworthy angle, otherwise your opinion is merely an opinion - and definitely not news. So execute a poll, discuss some actual trends you're seeing, or include some stats about your historical sales compared to your projected sales given the outcomes of the bailout trend press wire. Reporters want to generally share stats with their readers or viewers. Look at your company's stats to see if any coincide with trends being discussed by the media.
When you have your release drafted, you would want to do some research where reporters are doing stories with this topic. Perform a simple Google search to locate these stories. On Google, click news at the top to filter out companies. Get the contact information for these reporters and send them your release while letting them know you are more than happy to be always a quotable resource because of their future stories. Reporters are usually looking for a good quote.
John Sternal is an expert public relations professional with increased than 15 years experience serving clients in many different industries on the agency and corporate sides. John has caused members of the national media to develop stories that serve their readers/viewers in an effort to educate on topics that benefit his clients/employers.
John has received the great opportunity to work with sets from sports marketing to natural gas pipelines, and high technology to the planet of automotive.
His experiences in PR span a wide variety, including media relations, spokesperson duties, media training, corporate communications, event management, and strategic thought leadership. John has written many articles that have been published in magazines and newspapers around the world, and he in addition has served as editor of two media publications for a national sports team.
John says his favorite PR moment was when he helped the NHL's communications department during the 1997 Stanley Cup Finals. He was on the ice working with photo journalists during the Cup presentation in front of a packed Joe Louis Arena.
Originally from Connecticut, John spent my youth in Tampa, Fla., and currently lives in South Florida. He enjoys golf and bicycling, and although he lives in Florida, John still considers hockey his favorite sport to watch. He's also started to use up sailing as a hobby, and enjoys researching fine wines from different parts of the world.
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