If you could read one story today about how to create a narrative in today’s modern media environment it’s reading this story here. I’ll expand quite a bit below the the lead:
“Slim by Chocolate!” the headlines blared. A team of German researchers had found that people on a low-carb diet lost weight 10 percent faster if they ate a chocolate bar every day. It made the front page of Bild, Europe’s largest daily newspaper, just beneath their update about the Germanwings crash. From there, it ricocheted around the internet and beyond, making news in more than 20 countries and half a dozen languages. It was discussed on television news shows. It appeared in glossy print, most recently in the June issue of Shape magazine (“Why You Must Eat Chocolate Daily”, page 128). Not only does chocolate accelerate weight loss, the study found, but it leads to healthier cholesterol levels and overall increased well-being. The Bild story I Fooled Millions Into Thinking Chocolate Helps Weight Loss. Here’s How.
It’s amazing how much the story was covered. In today’s modern media environment getting a story to have legs is key. The first question I asked is it possible to use these same tactics in a positive way to promote your business your idea for your product.
I also highlight the story because this is something we want to learn within our own business as well. We’ve been looking at some of these “case studies” to find a way that we can actually utilize some of this knowledge to promote our own products.
While this story delves deep into the set up and how they went about giving high credibility their story. One item is something that is clear should be the backbone of any PR or content marketing strategy that you want to play:
But a good press release isn’t enough. Reporters are also hungry for “art,” something pretty to show their readers. So Onneken and Löbl shot some promotional video clips and commissioned freelance artists to write an acoustic ballad and even a rap about chocolate and weight loss. (It turns out you can hire people on the internet to do nearly anything.)
So not only do you need a good hook and but you need great visuals as well. This shouldn’t be any surprise to anybody doing any form of content marketing but it’s a good reminder if you are looking to get some great PR.
I don’t have much more to add other than this story is worth a read and maybe a little introspection to see if there are takeways you can put into action within your business.
thumbnail courtesy of io9.com
