As an entrepreneur, it’s in our nature to always be selling. But when it comes to speaking with reporters, you don’t want to turn your interview into a sales pitch. That’s one of the quickest ways to get your story killed.
Here’s why. Experienced journalists are trained to hear a sales pitch or commercial. They know their job is not to sell products but to sell stories to their editors. If you have a product or service, reporters want to hear the story behind it.
I wrote a story that goes more in-depth on this approach for Entrepreneur Magazine. You can read that article here. If you’re short on time, here’s a summary of how you can better close the “sales” interview with the journalist.
MACIAS PR led the PR & media campaign for MBS & Accounting Technology & Advisory firm in 2017. The accounting firm approached us for help in growing their business, generating new leads and promoting their annual tech conference. The Senior VP of MBSATA said our media and digital marketing campaigns had a direct impact on their business growth.
Challenge: Accounting is not an interesting topic to reporters. It’s perceived as being systematically boring with few fresh angles. It’s also in a vaguely defined market that includes bookkeeping and accounting. Our PR team had to find interesting, creative and timely topics to position this accounting firm in the news.
Solution: MACIAS PR developed targeted and timely stories that appealed to their targeted business base: nonprofit and tech startups. We simplified the message and communicated the story to reporters in a way reporters would understand. In addition to our thought leadership ideas, our PR team also ghost-wrote editorials on the CEO’s name, including several prominent pieces that were published in Forbes and ValueWalk – one of the most prominent tech publications that reaches young entrepreneurs. Our messaging was designed to drive new business.
The article in Forbes was also picked by their editors under their “Editor’s Choice” section, bringing even more exposure to the story. The article was titled, “5 Red Flags That Inexperienced Entrepreneurs Must Avoid To Attract Investors.”
Closer Look at Media Coverage
Results: MACIAS PR helped raise the profile of MBSATA in the nonprofit and tech space. We also helped sell tickets to their annual tech summit, bringing in the largest number of attendees in the history of their organized event. Our coverage helped drive more than 1500 people to their event in Manhattan.
Our PR team secured prominent and targeted news stories that positioned the firm as a leader in accounting technology. We conceptualized campaigns and executed media campaigns that introduced the firm to their ideal client base: nonprofits, tech startups and accountants. Our media coverage included stories with Forbes, Accounting Today, Asea, Valuewalk, Nonprofit Information, NonProfitPro, Bitcoin.com, MedCityNews, CoinDesk, YoungUpStarts and BizEdge.
You can see more of this media coverage on our document below the client testimonial.
In addition to securing these news stories, MACIAS PR also promoted their annual tech summit, MBS CalculTech with the local tech community. If you are looking for a PR firm to help you with your B2B campaign, we encourage you to contact us. We would be happy to discuss your needs and provide you with a free consultation.
Client Testimonial
“MACIAS PR promoted our business and annual tech event in 2017. I couldn’t be happier with the media coverage and online publicity they secured for our firm. Their PR strategy had a direct relationship to our business growth. Mark is also easy to work with and comes up with his own angles that get coverage. Highly recommend MACIAS PR.”
~ Michael Jones, Senior VP of Sales and Partnerships
Finance Monthly and ACQ5 5 – an international industry award – named MACIAS PR the 2017-2020 Strategic PR Firm of the Year, and PR Firm of the Year. This was the third year in a row that Finance Monthly recognized our firm. The founder – Mark Macias – is a former Executive Producer with NBC and Senior Producer with CBS in New York. He is also a PR contributor with Entrepreneur and Forbes, providing media analysis, insight and crisis advice on timely business topics.
