Trade media: an undervalued yet powerful channel for brands

Pro-active media relations is a core activity for companies looking to raise brand awareness.

But achieving ‘earned’ media coverage is a skill, especially as competition for media attention is so fierce.

This is as much true for trade and industry media as it is for national press.

Trade media can be an extremely powerful channel for your brand and not just if you work in B2B.

It can help you reach potential buyers or partners in a much more targeted way, it can help with re-branding and re-positioning, and it can increase website traffic significantly, supporting new business generation.

Trade and industry media outlets offer numerous opportunities for your voice to be heard, ranging from news pages to features, opinion pieces to blogs, events diaries to profile pieces of key industry executives. Most publishing houses also offer paid-for options like sponsored white papers or round table events.

So, what does it take to achieve trade and industry press coverage?

First, you need to think about your strategy – why do you need this coverage and how is it going to help you achieve your objectives? For instance, if you are a food brand and you need to persuade supermarkets to stock your products, you might talk to the trade media about the point of sale material that you are offering to get buyers to those stores.

Second, what content have you got to offer? Content comes in all different forms and it doesn’t always have to be news. For instance, you might have an expert who is willing to give an opinion about something that matters to your marketplace. Your company might want to take a stand on an issue or call for changes (e.g. to the law, to the way something is being handled).

If you do have a piece of news, is it genuinely new? For instance, is it first in the market, better than all your competitors or genuinely innovative? Do you have market research or statistics to show the market need for it? Can it be replicated and repeated? Many companies and trade associations issue monthly indexes to keep people abreast of important trends in their market.

Can you see it? A journalist is much more likely to pick up a story if it is accompanied by a strong photograph. That means a creative photograph – not a headshot of your CEO. As most communications campaigns are integrated, this should be second nature to companies who need images for social media.

Third, is that content genuinely relevant to the journalist and their audience? A key skill for any PR practitioner is the “sell-in”. In other words, pitching a story or idea to a journalist. To do this, you need to understand who you are pitching to, their interests and the interests of their readers.

Lastly, create relationships. Arrange introductory meetings with journalists, offer them useful tips, stories and ideas, think about giving them exclusives and make them feel “special”. Join online communities offered by publications, attend their events and really make them feel that your company is invested in their success.

Earning trade media coverage isn’t always easy, but the benefits to your brand can be significant.