Bored of seeing your competitors lauded in the media time and again? Well, here are 11 very simple story ideas guaranteed to land you coverage in your target trade publications or in the regional business press.

Outlets thrive on news, and that’s the key thing to remember – if it’s new, then it’s probably newsworthy.

Did you download the press release template I sent last month? If not you can still get it here and use that in conjunction with the below.

News releases are a useful tactic and form part of most PR strategies. Keep in mind that the kind of news you release will inform the public persona of your business. Use it to manage your reputation but don’t give away your secrets.

Align with a good cause

Everyone loves a good bit of corporate social responsibility, by allying with a worthy cause you can not only do some real good, but also communicate a lot about your company values and practices.

Consider supporting a charity by launching a Trust, or a scheme which gives workers days off for volunteering. Announce that you’ve set a goal for fundraising – and then you get to make another announcement when you’ve smashed it.

It’s going to be a long time before anyone forgets the day Altrincham FC wore their rainbow shirts.

New Business Win

Have you won a competitive pitch? Have you landed a large contract? Started working with a well-known brand?

New business wins per-se are news fodder and will get you a mention. However, if you can tie it into company expansion – i.e. you’re hiring more staff as a result or it is the result of a change of sector focus, then include all the relevant numbers and financials and you have a much better story.

See here how we announced a global rebrand of Egyptian Cotton, for Salesworxs

New Premises

Are you moving into new premises? Have you recently? Again, this is news fodder, but you can build it into a bigger story if you have created an interesting space, if the new space has built-in sustainability or you’ve teamed-up with an interesting designer or design concept.

Remember the slide installed by UKFast

New Hires

Have you recruited a major player in your field? Brought in some director-level talent? Or expanded the workforce to meet renewed demand?

All good stories for business media, with the added benefit of showing growth and trajectory for the business.

Capabilities

Has new talent or systems expanded your capabilities? Have you increased production or reduced waste? How does this translate into financials?

If what you’ve done can offer insight, then it’s useful and newsworthy.

Expertise

I’m sure we’ve all heard the term ‘thought leader’ bandied around. Horrible isn’t it.

Sharing expertise in a way which can help a publication’s audience is a great way to establish credibility and become well know in your sector. This increases trust and can help with everything from business development to recruitment.

Our long-standing client Phil Stewardson, of Stewardson Developments, appears weekly in the Daily Telegraph answering questions from property investors

Business data reveals….

You have data in your business which might reveal interesting trends in your sector or region. For instance, an insurance company might spot an increase in a particular kind of claim – it can stay general so no GDPR issues – that kind of data is PR golddust.

You’ve launched a new product or service

If you’re expanding your portfolio or aligning to focus on a different market sector, new is always newsworthy.

Make sure to focus on the new.

Ena Shaw gained great coverage across trade and business media when they launched a new brand called Tru Living

Acquisitions, partnerships

Forging a strategic alliance? Acquiring a competitor? The act of partnering is a news story, but you can develop this into a larger piece by talking about the objectives behind the alliance.

End of year financials

Had a great year? Beaten your sales targets and boosted profits?

That’s great news – literally. Business outlets like to write about growth, not only in sectors, but in regions as well. This is a great story to tell if you’re setting up a paper trail for exiting the business, or if for some other reason you need to show growth.

Castlefield Recruiting did a great job of using their financials to broadcast their core business focus and projections

Won an award

Believe it or not, awards aren’t always big news. The reason for this is simple – pretty much every B2B publication does its own awards (which some charge a fortune to enter) so they’re loathe to write about others.

That said, the business news section of your local/regional newspapers and lifestyle magazines will use this kind of story – and it’s great content to share across your social.

An anniversary?

Twenty years in business? Raise your glasses and cut the cake – longevity is to be celebrated, especially after challenging trading conditions. Can you extract some key learnings from the past 20 years? That could turn into a nice expert/education piece as well.

There are many, many more ways to secure coverage in your target media. But these are some sure fire, tried-and-tested tactics to get you started.

Remember, PR and marketing communications are designed to achieve a business objective. Make sure you have that objective in mind before embarking on any communications.

If you need any help, you know where we are. Give me a call for a free 30 minute brew and a chat.