The Secret’s in the Sauce: How to Land Tier 1 Media Coverage

Reading Time: 3 minutes

By Scott Samson

One core differentiator at SamsonPR is our focus on Tier 1 media, and our unique approach that allows our clients to generate this level of media coverage.

Step 1: Identify what is considered tier 1 media (which will vary for every company).

To be considered tier 1, media outlets should have strategic reach and/or be widely read to give your company both substantial validation and credibility while also reaching a big audience for you; including business and tech publications such as TechCrunch, Insider, Bloomberg, CNBC, WSJ, as appropriate.

It’s important to remember that trade publications are critical to the equation. In your industry, there may be 10-15 trade publications. While many of these we may classify as tier 2 or 3, there are typically 2-3 major trade publications in your industry that are highly read with a very specific audience that you’re selling to. It’s critical to be in these publications while also going “bigger.”

Step 2: Determine what each media publication covers and the appropriate writer(s) for each.

Out of the gate, it’s important to understand which writer at each publication covers your space. There may be a number of different writers that could be great to connect with, remembering that each writer has a very specific “beat” that they write on. For one writer, it may be covering one major tech company. For another, it may be a specific vertical or subject within a vertical.

One question we hear quite a bit is “how come a certain publication won’t cover this particular news?” Each publication and writer have things they cover, and things they don’t. This is not something you can change. However, you can tailor your approach based on what they actually cover and may be interested in.

Step 3: Build a relationship.

Seems easy enough as a concept, but one of the most overlooked steps.

With sales, cold calling can be challenging. The same goes for the media. If you don’t have a relationship, every time you want to approach a writer – it’s like starting from scratch. Building relationships with key writers is critical to the long term success of any PR program.

And over the course of a year or two, it’s a complete game changer for both your company and your personal brand.

Take the time to connect with a target list of 20 or so writers. Have a great conversation. Get them up to speed on your latest and greatest. Understand the writer’s needs and what they may be looking for. Keep in touch periodically. Be personable and accessible.

Step 4: Be a resource.

The best way to get tier 1 media coverage is to stop pitching random stories and company news to important writers – essentially asking and expecting them to do something for you. What have you done for them?

A relationship goes both ways. Instead of pushing your news out, check in and find out how you can be a resource for a writer and let them know what you can offer – i.e. exclusive data insights, intel on the broader industry and trends, etc.

You may be surprised that if you stop asking for something, and start offering to help, they will take you up on the offer!

This is how so many of our clients at SamsonPR see big media results.

These are four steps that can help land bigger and better coverage for your business, and the approach we take at SamsonPR. Building this foundation for a PR program, combined with building a disruptive story will be a formula for landing tier 1 media coverage!

(PS, stay tuned for an upcoming blog on how to best build a disruptive story…)

Here are some of our recent TV interviews and coverage for our clients, to inspire and show what is achievable if you take the right approach!

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/videos/2023-05-08/how-to-discern-a-reliable-ai-company-video

https://finance.yahoo.com/video/top-things-look-investing-ai-212411572.html

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/videos/2024-01-29/amazon-aims-to-turn-tvs-into-shopping-carts-video

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The Traditional PR Agency Model Doesn’t Work Anymore – Here’s How and Why We Changed It

Reading Time: 3 minutes

By Scott Samson

Time and time again, we hear from new clients: “We want senior people on the team. We were burned by a previous PR agency that sold us up front, and then pulled a bait-and-switch. Ultimately, we found ourselves working with a big team of inexperienced PR folks fresh out of college.”

Yikes!

The SamsonPR take: If you’re a founder/CEO, it’s your business. We believe you should take that very seriously, and push to have the very best helping to grow your business. You want an A-team (and only an A-team) that delivers big results.

Traditional PR agencies won’t provide that for you, unfortunately. Many clients have come to us after having a bad experience with a big team of junior folks who just weren’t getting results.

If this is something you’re struggling with, here are some reasons why this could be happening:

  1. You aren’t getting a team that’s senior enough.
  2. Your budget is just too small.
  3. The agency’s PR team does not have the right media connections and/or approach.

Budget challenges:

Your first stop on the path to course correction should be to break down budgets and determine whether you may be challenged due to penny-pinching. Even though many agencies have moved away from billing hourly to favor a flat fee retainer, they still must substantiate their teams’ salaries vs how much time they spend working for you. This means you can estimate the actual resources the agency is allocating for your PR efforts.

Our solution for tighter budgets is to put fewer people on the team, and to make sure they are senior to effectively drive the workload. Fewer people, more senior, with more time on the account will help get things on track. And a budget increase may be needed if you want to make sure the PR is impactful and helps accelerate your business in a crowded market – it takes a lot of work!

The right media connections:

Getting a senior team on board is also critical because experience and deep expertise helps ensure they have deep media connections.

No matter what a PR person may say, connections matter. Who they know matters. The ability to email or call a reporter they’ve worked with many times matters. Having connections that translate to coverage is the whole point of engaging a PR team in the first place.

Make sure your PR agency and team have these media connections and understand what those reporters want to see.

What we do is leverage these deep media connections to help our clients build long term relationships with the right reporters, and we do this by making sure our clients position themselves as a key resource – helping reporters with things they may need such as inside knowledge of a topic, expertise, unique point-of-views and data insights.

You need to have an interesting story, but when it comes to tier 1 media, the story often isn’t about you. It’s about the larger industry and trends, and being a great resource for media can help you be part of these conversations. For that, connections and relationships matter.

Our approach works.

According to one of our clients, “SamsonPR has been a trusted advisor and partner, helping accelerate our awareness and thought leadership with a focus on growth. Their value lies within their tier 1 media approach and relationships, and then bringing together product, sales and marketing to connect the dots for high-growth tech companies.”

The takeaways: 1) make sure your budget is where it needs to be to get the team you deserve and to do enough in the market to stand out; 2) make sure you get a senior team dedicated to driving PR for your company; and 3) make sure your agency has the right media connections and deep expertise in your industry.

And, to learn more about how the SamsonPR method is driving the right kind of results for clients all across the tech landscape, connect with us today!

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