Have you ever watched a CNN or Fox News Channel report on a small business or entrepreneur talking about his or her company? Readers ask all the time how can I get my small business on CNN? If you’re a regular reader of this blog you’ll know what I’m going to say next:
Do you know that you CAN get that kind of coverage?
All you have to do is really understand two very important things. We cover this in the PR Toolkit for small business, but the difference between all the cable television opportunities and also how to get their attention are the two key elements. This isn’t all that difficult. Here’s a quick breakdown of cable television and the PR opportunities for small business.
Cable Station
An example of a cable television station (or network) is simply CNN, MSNBC, FOX News Channel or Bloomberg. Here’s an example of an up-and-coming business being interviewed on a CNBC show:
It’s important to keep in mind that many of the larger cable television stations typically discuss the largest news events, often on an international scale. This is where you’ll often discuss topics such as global politics and national business events. This isn’t to say an entrepreneur doesn’t have an opportunity to play in this game, though. If you’re asking ‘how can I get my small business on CNN’, well if you can tie your company into the topic of the day, you’ll have a good chance of getting a producer’s attention.
Cable Television Show
This is often broken down further into two areas: news shows and special interest shows. A cable news show example is Power Lunch (CNBC). Understand this is different than pitching CNBC’s news desk because it’s an entirely different show with its own producers and reports. If you want to score an interview on Power Lunch, you can’t just call up CNBC and ask to speak with any reporter or producer. You must make sure to ask for the Power Lunch show. From there you’ll be patched in with a producer that works only on Power Lunch. Donny Deutsche had an amazing cable show on CNBC dedicated to entrepreneurs but it’s no longer in production. Here’s hoping it comes back soon!
An example of a special interest show on cable television is Anthony Bourdain No Reservations, a travel show where Anthony himself travels the globe in search of good food. The opportunity here may be if you’re a restaurateur and you’d like Anthony to visit your restaurant. You’ll want to pitch the show’s producers on why Anthony coming to your restaurant would make for good television. I will warn you, though, it’s very difficult getting on these kinds of shows.
Regional Cable Channel
Some regions have a 24-hour news channel dedicated only to that community. One of my favorites is Bay News 9 in the Tampa Bay region. Bay News 9 is a fantastic resource for small businesses and entrepreneurs because of their 24-hour news format, which favors story pitches since they’re always looking for ideas. You’re best opportunity here is to make sure your story caters to the local scene, perhaps with a sniff of national trend. A word of caution, though, if your business is not located in the region you’ll have to work extra hard at convincing a producer of your local angle (here’s a hint: find a customer in that area).
Cable Bureau
The large, national cable networks often have bureaus in the larger metropolitan areas. For example, CNN has a bureau in Miami and Los Angeles. This means if you have a local story in that market that has a heavy tie in with a national trend, you’ve got a great chance to call up a producer or reporter in that bureau to pitch a story. And if you are granted a story, you’ll still be shown all around the country and even the world.
To learn more tips on how to get your small business on CNN or any other cable news opportunity, download the PR Toolkit for small business. It offers all kinds of tips and insight to help you achieve publicity for your small business.
What show would you like to get your small business on?
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CNN has their iReporter thing, which is all viewer submitted content. If your company or vidoe relate to something in the news, they might put it on the front page.
Other than that, do something newsworthy.
You have to come up with a unique angle
I am a part time sports/entertainment/travel and dining writer to get exposure.
The only time I got national Press was when my Santa Claus wore a $40,000 REAL FUR Sanat Suit at Neiman/Marcus.A famous NY Fur designer make it in size 50 and my Santa had to wear a girddle to fit inot it. you can’t let out a real fur Santa Suit
The easiest way to get on CNN or other national news media is to have content that is relevant to the issues of the day — especially stats, breaking news of national significance, etc. If it doesn’t have to be broadcast media, you might try publications like INC, Entrepreneur or Fast Company.
Hi Christi, thanks for that input. Tying in with national news is always a MUST.
1.) Have a newsworthy story that has a national or highly unique appeal
2.) Make it about the viewers…not your business or service. How does it help viewers OR how is it a new trend. Trend stories are big.
3.) 99 percent of news releases I read are simply marketing material.
4.) Plan on spending a lot of time pitching, pitching and pitching a well-written news release. Be prepared for a lot of dead ends.
5.) If you do get picked up (let’s say in the NY Post or NY Times) it can help you reach your goal.
6.) Produce your own video for iReport (that is not too self serving) and it might run on CNN.
7.) Hire a pro to help craft the pitch.
I have gained news coverage on The Today Show, Fox News, MSNBC, The View, The Weather Channel, Telemundo, Ellen Show, AP, CNN Radio, NPR, Wall Street Journal, New York Times, NY Post, NY Daily News, Newsday…just to name a few.
T.V. LOVES emotionalism. A cable network will rarely do an expose on a CEO or executive they will always look at it from the ground up level. A good example was on reporter told me that a pharmaceutical company pitched him a story about a new drug that cured a disease. the CEO of the company wanted the interview but instead they spoke to the scientist who created the drug and the little girls whose life was saved by the drug. they thrive on sound bites and visuals and very colorful out of the ordinary stories so you have to approach your pitches through that angle. with how poorly the economy is performing they are always looking for inspiring stories of small businesses etc
Having worked there, I can tell you the issue with CNN is that many pitches will not have national significance or ramifications. That’s the most important thing to getting a story on the network. The idea itself has to have it or you have to be able to link it to a specific situation that does have national appeal.
John –
We consult with clients about this frequently. Here’s the tip of the iceberg.
I got my first book mentioned on CNN the old-fashioned way: I found a couple people who worked there and were UNC alums. I contacted them for advice and referrals and ended up doing an web-only interview that led to a CNN-based chat and mention in an on-air story.
But connections are only part of it. It’s unlikely your business — on its own — would have the scope/reach a national outlet like CNN would be looking for. That’s why I’d focus on aligning your enterprise with a trend or breaking news (only, of course, if the link is REAL). Reporters are always looking for sources to use as examples (”one business owner affected by ____ is John Sternal”), provide evidence or explain an impact.
Hope this helps!
Thanks for the Q&A.
Do things for the right reasons, in the right way, at the right time…in a manner that is in the best interest of your business, and as a consequence happens to be in the best interest of the country…such as putting special attention into hiring prior service Marines.
Best,
Anthony
I agree in 2010 if your small business having a good technology, idea or techniques of success so you can get your small business on CNN or any other news channel.