Our world is inundated with news. With a 24/7 news cycle, easy access to online outlets and social media, and even push notifications alerting us to major breaking news, it can feel like there is a never-ending flow of news. This is especially prominent as we prepare for the 2024 Election with debates, campaigning, and the potential outcomes and impacts of the election comprising a good portion of what is being reported.
As this reporting increases, it can feel difficult to break through the noise – especially as the number of news outlets and reporters continue to decrease, making it even harder to get story ideas placed. But nonprofits are doing great work and they have stories that deserve to be told. Here is some advice – from folks who generate positive media attention for nonprofits every day – to keep in mind when announcing news during these noisy times.
Include people with lived experience
Whether it is someone that a nonprofit serves, a boots-on-the-ground volunteer, or an employee, real people and their stories provide the human-interest angle that reporters seek. Providing the human element to stories not only increases the likelihood of obtaining media interest, but it also helps audiences better understand the need and the impact the nonprofit is making. While leading into a story with a person is a key facet of nonprofit storytelling year-round, doing so is especially important in a busy news environment.
Know when to newsjack
One upside to a busy news environment is that there are more opportunities to newsjack, or leverage timely news to generate media interviews for your organization and its leaders.
The nonprofits we work with fight to overcome the challenges of clothing insecurity, food insecurity, wage inequity, and the climate crisis – issues about which legislation is created, and around which campaigns are won and lost. Following the news and offering reporters knowledgeable organizational leaders to be interviewed or submitting op-eds and letters to the editors from your organization’s leader are great ways to leverage the organization’s work and to become an expert voice in the news conversations that are taking place.
It’s important, however, to ensure that the news is relevant. If it’s not, you run the risk of coming across as tone deaf. Providing impactful insights with clear ties to broader topics is fundamental to successful newsjacking.
Use the right communication mediums
In our interconnected world, organizations typically have multi-platform communication strategies. To be successful, communications leaders need to know the target audiences for each story, the mediums that reach their intended audiences, and then how and when to solicit the right reporters and influencers who can get the job done.
When announcing something in a news-heavy time, identify your best story as it relates to already important news issues and then determine the best outlets through which to share your organization’s important information. Can you achieve your organization’s goals by going to trade outlets rather than national media? Can your news be announced on owned media like social media platforms that can then be reshared organically to a broader audience? These are just a couple of questions that teams need to answer while formulating an announcement strategy.
Do you have a story that you want help telling? We would love to help – get in touch!
