Ultimately, every brand or business needs viable marketing solutions in order to gain exposure and grow their audiences. While a litany of marketing options exist today thanks to search engines, email and social media, more traditional forms of media can also still be immensely influential in driving traffic, sales or attention to your website or store.

Earned media in particular is very beneficial, but it is also hard to earn in comparison to other forms of online organic exposure or paid marketing. However, generating major media coverage might be easier than you think – if you use the right tactics and approaches.

Today, we will explore a few tips that can help brands from all walks of life garner mentions, attention and fame through major media coverage.

Target Local Markets with a National Message

The single-biggest tip any brand can use to generate attention for themselves is to create content that provides meaningful, relevant news. For mentions on television or network media websites, providing content that is directly relevant to local audiences is essential. However, some brands have discovered that pinging users with content that targets multiple local markets as part of a national message can generate buzz in a variety of major media markets.

One example may be ranking the cost of living in each major media market. Not only does such a project provide rankings and details for the country as a whole, but it gives local media outlets a factoid with which to run your story and provide your brand with coverage as a result.

There are a litany of potential rankings or content offerings where multiple local markets can be ranked or assessed in relation to a broader national message or theme, so get to brainstorming!

Focus on Content Design

Another important factor in ensuring that you can properly pitch content to media outlets and be recognized is how it is designed and presented. News outlets are far less likely to run your data on the evening news or publish your infographics on their website if the content is bogged down with unruly details or overly-complex data-sets.

As such, ensuring maximum potential in content means designing your data, facts or findings in an easy-to-digest format that minimizes the excess use of your brand logos, design elements or even text in general. Only include what’s needed to drive the point home – especially when using various forms of multimedia as your key promotional content.

Be Personable and Develop Relationships Where Possible

Last but not least, it is crucial that you learn how to pitch your content to writers and reporters through traditional media. In some cases, cultivating relationships with reporters beforehand can pay dividends, such as through helpareporter.com. You can also provide your contact information to various reporters if they have any questions about your particular niche, helping to periodically get mentions and references as well.

By building such relationships and being personable in your pitches, you can more effectively ping users on television and other major media outlets via your shared content.

Major media coverage requires work and dedication to generate consistently, but targeting local markets with these tips can make the process much more simplified and effective.   This is a must even for the best brands on social media.