I’m going to start this blog by asking a couple of key questions:
1. Do you have happy customers or clients who by using your product/service feel that you’ve made a positive difference to their lives?
2. Would you love to see a story about your business on the news site/TV or Radio program/ radio show/magazine most watched/read/listened to by your target audience?
If you ticked yes to both, I’m pleased to say that you have just stumbled upon a perfect angle to pitch to the media.
A good example of a case study story that most people have likely come across at some stage is the weight loss story. Pages of glossy magazines are dedicated to telling the stories of individuals who have lost a significant amount of weight and how they did it. The stories are complete with before/after images and the weight loss business is talked about in glowing terms. This would appear far less credible and powerful if it was the founder of weight loss business talking about how they transform lives of their clients and it would be far less interesting.
To help you think about how you could apply this to your business, below are a few examples of how we’ve used case studies to achieve great media exposure for our clients.
Box Brownie
Box Brownie is revolutionising the real estate industry with its digital editing services. It is a cloud-based software system designed to make image editing fast, easy and affordable. It offers a wide range of services including photography retouching services, floor plans, 3D rendering, copywriting and more.
We felt that the best way to talk about Box Brownies’ benefits was through one of its happy customers. Mark McGill is one of the top agents on the Sunshine Coast and was awarded Real Estate Institute Queensland Salesperson of the Year in 2014 and 2016. He was happy to state that using Box Brownie has dramatically increased his selling turnaround time, saved him money and allowed him to showcase details he was not able to before.
This resulted in an article in Herald Sun which was syndicated across all related titles. You can check it out here.
Dental Boutique
Dental Boutique is a boutique dental practice based in Melbourne. Their focus is on transforming their patients’ lives through cosmetic procedures. They have many happy customers who are truly grateful for their new smile as through a dramatic increase in confidence they are able to live to their full potential. One such patient is Terese Loverso, a Real Estate Agent. Not only was she extremely self-conscious about her smile but she was terrified of the dentist which led her to avoiding the dentist for many years, resulting in severe gum disease. Therese was happy to talk to the media about her story which resulted in a great segment on Today Extra.
Meditation Revolution
Our client Meditation Revolution offers meditation workshops to corporates and entrepreneurial organisations. One of her clients Kim Liddell is the Founder and Managing Director of Non Destructive Excavations Australia. As the name depicts it’s a rather stressful industry not to mention the struggle with juggling business and family life. Kim started meditating herself and then brought the practise to the accelerator program for whom she is a coach, within Entrepreneurs’ Organisation. The media loved the story of how Kim used meditation first hand and then helped others develop the practice to gain more balance in business.
So how do you go about finding clients who would be prepared to talk to the media? Sometimes it’s not as easy as you think it might be. You may have many happy clients and great testimonials but they may not be thrilled about having their story published for all and sundry to see or to have their face in the paper/online or on TV.
Here are several ways of improving your chances of finding great media case studies from your clientele:
– When clients sign up to use your service, ask them from the outset if they’d be happy to be featured as a case study in the media if they were happy with your service
– Emphasise that they are helping others by spreading the word of how your service has helped them and how it can help others
– Thank them by offering them an incentive in the form of a discount for a period of time or free month etc
– If they are in business, make sure they realise that their business will be gaining great publicity through sharing their story
Once your client has agreed to be a case study for you, it’s great to give them a set of guidelines on how to manage the opportunity. If you’d like a copy of these guidelines, shoot me a message through LinkedIn and I’ll email you a copy.
If you want to discuss getting your business in the headlines contact Monica Rosenfeld monica@wordstormpr.com.au or 02 8272 3200
Monica Rosenfeld is the Founder of www.phpstack-743985-2500073.cloudwaysapps.com which she started in 2000 after working as a producer for A Current Affair and learning how NOT to do PR. Monica is a key note speaker and workshop presenter. Her team offers a range of services in the area of media and communications including customised Media Training workshops.
