Jumping on the latest news can be one of the most effective ways to generate content for your recruitment agency. Not only does it show that you are ‘on the ball’ and efficient but also dedicated to the client and their reputation. But in a digital 24/7 world, you have to act fast amongst the rest. Recognising the appetite for pressing subjects and topical events such as International Women’s Day and National Apprenticeship Week are great ways to keep you one step ahead and achieve prime time coverage.
So here are some top tips to maintain a rapid smart-proof response to the hot topics and build your brand further with your target audience.
While this may seem obvious, monitoring the daily news agenda, spotting opportunities online and staying on top of current events is key to ensuring nothing gets missed. Being aware of important dates and times is also essential to be ready in advance for a related story that might get released last minute. Calendar events such as International Women’s Day are highly celebrated throughout the media and covering the story fast before anyone else is the beauty of preparation, at a time when the press you’re targeting might be looking for comment or writing on the story themselves.
It’s exciting stumbling upon a brand new story and even more so finding a great angle but just when you’re about to put fingers to keyboard, pause and question the relevance. Will this match the brand’s values and does it address the pain points of the target audience? Reactive opportunities are where you need to be careful, targeting certain markets which might not see the relevance will be wasted effort, so be choosy in your selection and remind yourself of the readers - we don’t have to comment on everything.
Follow the story or event and identify your own angle. Copying the same structure, outline and voice will not offer any leverage and you may be disappointed with the lack of coverage this gets. Equally, don’t be tempted to comment on something just because the story says so, make your own different spin and you increase the chances of being noticed. Whether you are daring, controversial, humorous or factual all makes for an interesting read so long as it is credible too!
Timing really is key in the art of piggybacking. Build up your media diary, plan for upcoming events, and set up practical measures such as Google Alerts to really stay on top of news. Finding out about other diary dates in your sector or area of expertise like survey releases or conferences is also a great way of showcasing your proactivity and getting results. With World Health Day and National Entrepreneurship day round the corner this is a perfect way to preemptively find out more and stay prepared, and you’ll be piggybacking your way to coverage and success.
Interested in achieving press coverage for your recruitment firm? Contact us today.