Mobilizing the masses to find interest in your online brand or business is a challenging task. With so many competitors and choices for consumers to select, how can one easily make a single brand stick out above the rest? Whether it be in direct sales, brand recognition or simple marketing strategies, generating buzz is a key component for most brand success stories.

While organic marketing efforts such as SEO and social media – along with paid marketing strategies – can generate attention and awareness for your brand, earned media is pound-for-pound the most valuable commodity for many small brands and businesses.

Today, we’ll discuss how you can generate earned media/press for your online brand and reap the benefits in the process.

Convey a Story with Meaning

To generate tangible press for any brand, you need to tell a story. Many businesses make the mistake of issuing press releases and notifications that are devoid of story-telling ability or emotion. While there are certainly instances in which sticking to the facts and nothing else makes sense, generating press and publicity requires inspiring not just media outlets, but those who read what they publish.

As a result, you’ll just be pinging noise at people if the publicity you’re trying to generate is generic, sterile and bland. Find a concrete way to incorporate stories from your employees, customers or the brand itself into each media push: by doing so, your target audience(s) will be more likely to engage with the content they’re presented.

Master the Art of the Press Release

While relatively generic, the press release is the key to entry-level press generation. In any given community, media market or metropolitan area, there are very few who know how to properly use press releases to generate attention and publicity for their brands. Likewise, a litany of online press release platforms allow brands to syndicate their announcements and generate a sense of professionalism surrounding their brand.

By mastering the use of the press release, brands and businesses can accurately convey information about events, accomplishments, promotions and more. Especially when used in the context of story-telling, press releases can be a powerful tool in reaching audiences via television, newspaper and beyond.

Cultivate Relationships with Reporters

It becomes substantially easier to generate press and attention for your brand when you have preexisting relationships with those in the media. Are you doing everything you can to cultivate these relationships?

Many reporters and journalists are constantly looking for information on local events or major business trends: by positioning yourself as an authority on the matter, you can provide legitimate information that makes these individuals’ lives easier. When the time comes to promote your brand specifically, giving them the heads-up can result in a nice write-up or published piece on what you’re planning. This can be invaluable attention, especially in local communities where your efforts aren’t as likely to result in pinging noise into the great beyond.

Media and press attention are paramount for brands of all sizes. While many online entities do not utilize this to its full potential, that just means there is more opportunity for you to take advantage. Consider these tips and make the most of them to promote your brand in a meaningful way!