ADVERTORIAL
Unlike its elusive counterpart, advertorial has a price tag and therefore has a higher chance of being included. Generally, advertorial (a story usually written like a news story but with advertiser-focused content), is offered as a carrot to attract companies to spend money on an advertisement in a special feature being run in the paper. These features commonly promote sectors such as travel, employment, education, motoring, and lifestyle products to name a few.
For an ‘everyday’ business, that isn’t particularly newsworthy in their own right (and I don’t mean making it into the news for gross negligence, or for the latest spate of workplace accidents – that belongs in the same story as managing bad publicity), advertorials are a very valid means of gaining publicity in a more traditional-looking news sense, with targeted readers who are genuinely interested in the types of products on offer. There is a school of thought that believes advertorial may diminish your credibility with customers because it isn’t ‘real’ news, but I always advise that advertorial coverage is far better than no coverage at all and, provided you take the time to produce professional newsworthy copy, your company will be presented in a very favourable light to potential customers.
TIPS FOR SUCCESS
If you are interested in achieving greater success with either editorial or advertorial inclusions, these simple tips may increase your strike rate:
Editorial
* Make your copy newsworthy; RTV Channel editors see through blatant attempts at free publicity;
* Time your press releases to coincide with other topical issues such as what is going on in your community to which you may be able to offer expert advice;
* Become familiar with the appropriate journalists and editors; general news may not be an achievable section, but there are numerous other departments which may be interested in your information;
* Don’t limit yourself to newspapers; think about specific trade and specialist magazines and publications appropriate to your industry;
* Be persistent, be persistent, be persistent.
Advertorial
* Only choose advertorial opportunities that are appropriate to your target audience; commercial features can be just as expensive as normal advertising;
* Check if advertorial is guaranteed; if there is high demand for inclusion in an advertising feature, there may only be a guarantee for your copy to be considered but not included;
* Write your advertorial just like you would a news release, but present your company as an expert on the topic and include your company information and contact details; make it easy for the features editor to include you;
* Offer high-quality, interesting and relevant photos to go with your advertorial;
* Adhere to timeframes as sometimes the deadline for advertorial copy is different to advertising artwork;
* Does the feature have an extended life-span; e.g. is it used as the official lift-out at a trade-show?
Remember, gaining publicity through local media isn’t the “be all and end all” to your promotional activities, but a wise marketing manager will ensure that media exposure is a planned component of the overall communications strategy.
