Over the course of the past ten years, the media landscape has shifted in a seismic way. From editorial teams being culled to the rise of digital media and globalisation of networks, the opportunities to get your story out there are more difficult and complex than ever. However, is this truly a bad thing?

Creators of our own content

Press releases and announcements certainly do have a role to play in today’s media landscape. They are the simplest and most effective way to communicate a client’s story or announcement to journalist’s and will almost certainly be around in years to come, despite stories citing the ‘death of the press release’.

However, where the dial has shifted has been the rise of social media and owned channels, that enable organisations to share their news and updates to an untapped and diverse audience base. Take LinkedIn blogs by way of example. The businesses who embrace LinkedIn, who encourage their employees to play a part in engaging and sharing stories, are onto a winner as it is increasingly become a fantastic way to get your brand’s story out there.

Hashtags and trending stories are a fantastic way to build your network, to push your stories to the right people, at the right time. The rise of LinkedIn blogs has been a particular success story in recent years and we anticipate that this will grow in more importance in the years to come. Embrace it!

The social network

Thanks to Coronavirus, we have seen a significant step change in the world of remote working. Many companies are now looking to close their office spaces, with many employees not due to return to office working until at least 2021 – if at all.

There have been many stories around the impact remote working will have on our relationships however, ZOOM and remote working has perhaps in some surreal way brought us closer together than ever before. As humans, we crave contact and modern technology facilitates this. In fact, it may help us to broaden our network and nurture new relationships across the globe.

By way of example, the team at Hey Me are spread all over the UK, from Leeds, to Belfast to Glasgow – yet through modern technology we work fantastically well and through regular team meetings, never feel alone or isolated.

Looking specifically at the media, remote working may encourage it to diversify and evolve. As people begin to capitalise on the opportunities to move away from the cities, so too will we see the media interest grow beyond the constraints of cities across the UK. Technology does get its fair share of criticism, however it can certainly be thanked for enabling us to maintain and grow our relationships in the digital age.

Time is of the essence

So you have written your piece of copy – now what? The time you share your content, be that sending out a press release to the media or scheduling a post on Instagram is integral to getting it seen and heard.

It is pretty standard practice to avoid a Monday morning when sending our your client’s new product press release. Journalists experience the same Monday morning’s as the rest of us; that is a morning fuelled by caffeine after the weekend, ploughing through emails and weekly admin. It is best to send your release out on a Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday and always around mid-morning, for the optimum chance of it being seen.

The same thinking applies to sharing content on social media. Consider the times at which you scroll through LinkedIn, Twitter, etc. Evenings and weekend mornings surprisingly present the optimum time to push the content out, so use your Buffer or other relevant social media tool to the best of your ability and consider what time you schedule each piece of content to go out.

Testing, testing

The world of SEO and paid media may seem daunting at first, however once you get your head around it (or rope in experts who can support you with it) it needn’t be as scary as once first envisaged.

The beauty of digital marketing is that you can test for example, paid content on a small scale at first to see how it lands. If you see the results, migrate to promoting a paid piece of content on LinkedIn and measure its success.

Think of this process as one like a tap, which you can turn off and on. Turn it on and level it when you have something to promote and turn it off when you don’t. Play around with different temperatures and pressure dials to see what works and what doesn’t. The beauty of this modern form of marketing is that the opportunities are there to be realised at your own pace. Give it a go, you never know who may see your content and what opportunity that could result in.

So what are our key takeaways in how you can get your content out there?

· Harness social media

· Build your network and engage like a human

· Create compelling content and showcase your point of view

· Consider the time at which you publish your content

· Test new platforms and digital marketing strategies to find a rhythm that works for you

If you would be interested in learning more about how Hey Me can support you with getting your content out there, then get in touch with our Founder and Managing Director Amy Bell via amy@heyme.co.uk today.