Local media is a fantastic way to stay up to speed with Raleigh development. Before a story goes to print, one of the many local journalists that cover our city has to discover, research, and write about each newsworthy story.
If you are looking to get press coverage for a project, be a resource for the local journalists, get quoted as a market expert, or pitch ideas for stories that should be covered, this article is for you!
The Roundup
To get the insider scoop on local journalism, I went to the experts. I reached out to my network and spoke with a public relations expert and several online and print journalists.
The pros include:
- Billy Warden of GBW Strategies
- Jeffrey Billman a freelance journalist
- Lucille Sherman and Zachery Eanes of Axios Raleigh
- Anne Tate of RALtoday
- Chantal Allam of The News & Observer
- Caleb Harshberger of Bloomberg Industry Group (formerly of the Triangle Business Journal)
Keep reading for some recommendations on what to do and what not to do if you want to get the press coverage. Some of the comments are edited for clarity and conciseness.
What To Do
The overarching theme here can be summed up as “dig your well before you’re thirsty”, which is also the name of a classic networking book by Harvey Mackay that I have never read.
If you have a project coming out of the ground or a story to pitch and you are reaching out for the first time, it’s probably too late.
Caleb, Lucille, Anne, Chantal, Jeffrey, and Zach each independently mentioned that relationships are critical.
Anne advises to simply “reach out directly to news outlets”. In my experience, genuine outreach is always the best place to start.
For Chantal, a less direct approach can also be effective. You can “cultivate a presence on social media to promote updates on projects” she says. An online approach also works for connecting with journalists. Most journalists have an active Twitter presence. Links to the Twitter handles of the contributors are at the bottom of the article!
Zach warns, “Reporters can be hard to pin down for a meeting but I find if you genuinely are trying to make a connection to learn more, or offer ways that the meeting can help both parties, reporters will be more likely to take a meeting.”
In addition to building relationships, Billy recommends that you make it easy for the journalists to tell your stories. He suggests that you provide images (or renderings), details, and a spokesperson the journalist can follow up with.
At RALtoday, they try to make it easy to pitch. Anne says “[we] have an email inbox that’s always open for story pitches.” But, she adds, “Be sure to include what makes the project newsworthy, who’s involved, and a timeline (if possible).”
Lastly, make sure you follow through. Caleb urges everyone to “keep up that relationship after the story publishes!”
What Not To Do
As you think about how to get media attention for your project, story, or idea, it’s also important to stay away from certain activities. The media experts all had thoughts on activities to avoid.
Remember that you are the real estate expert and know more about your profession than 99.99% of the world. Don’t assume others will understand your jargon or understand the overall context of a project or real estate trend.
Zach goes further to say “Don’t assume a reporter will know why your project is important. Make a case for it. There are a lot of projects that are being pitched to reporters… so sell the story to us as well.”
When it comes to sharing your ideas to reporters, don’t spray and pray. Make sure the right stories and ideas are getting to the right reporters. Also, don’t share stories or pitches that aren’t important.
Reporters get a lot of inbound pitches. So don’t share too many pitches or projects, and when you do share, make it count. Jeffrey says “When there’s too much noise, it’s hard to find the signal.”
When communicating with the media – or anyone outside of your industry for that matter – using plain language will help you get your message across. Billy recommends that real estate professionals “Don’t choke your story with insider-y jargon. Don’t bury your story in flowery, self-aggrandizing language. Don’t leave holes in the narrative regarding location, partners, timing and other specifics.”
Lastly, remember that the media has a job to do. They want to inform the public and tell great and impactful stories. Their job is NOT to act as free public relations machines for real estate professionals.
When sharing your story with any reporter, remember, their main concern is likely W.W.I.F.M (What’s In It For Me). Always seek to help your media contacts understand how your story or insights help them do the job they want to do!
Caleb puts it this way, “There’s definitely a minority of folks that think of reporters as free PR machines. Don’t do that. Some will go along with it to get some content for the day, but the good ones won’t, and those are the ones you want writing your story. It will turn out better and readers know which reporters they trust the most and do the best jobs.”
Final Thoughts
If you’ve made it this far, you might like some final thoughts from my media contacts.
Billy wants everyone to know, “how important renderings can be. The visual element of a project is very important for reporters when writing.”
As they say, a picture is worth a thousand words.
Jeffery points out, “most journalists don’t specialize in development issues, so be patient and willing to explain things that might seem basic.”
When it comes to getting hold of journalists, Lucille says that “texting and calling is best! And feel free to keep bothering if I don’t get back to you.”
And, Caleb reminds us that a “reporter relationship is like any other relationship in that it helps to put in the work early and often for best results. The better the relationship, the more you’ll know what you can and can’t say and how to communicate the subtleties in your story, and the better the story will come out.”
Next Steps
Hopefully this article gave you a bit of insight from the media professionals about how to help get your stories out into the world. Real estate has the “Three L’s” of location, location, and location. Media seems to have the “Three R’s” of relationship, relationship, and relationship.
With that, my recommendation is to start building a new media relationship today. Reach out to a reporter and invite them to meet for coffee. If you don’t know who to ask, pick your favorite recent article from The Top Five, and reach out to the author!
If you think a coffee meeting is too big of a step to take, email the journalist and let them know you appreciate their work. Start a conversation!
Contributor Websites and Twitter Handles
- Billy Warden – GBW Strategies – @billywarden
- Jeffrey Billman – Freelance Journalist – @jeffreybillman
- Lucille Sherman – Axios Raleigh – @_lucillesherman
- Zachery Eanes – Axios Raleigh – @zeanes
- Anne Tate – RALtoday – @_AnneTate_
- Chantal Allam – The News & Observer – @chantalallam
- Caleb Harshberger – Bloomberg Industry Group – @calebharshbergr
