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How to build credibility with media coverage

November 27, 2022 Melanie Hawken

by Felicity Cowie, The Media Relations Coach

In my earlier blog for LoA, 'What Exactly is Media Relations?', I said there are at least eight mega benefits of media relations for any business to consider:

  1. Gain exposure with zero to low financial investment

  2. Build credibility

  3. Build pipeline faster

  4. Get highly valuable shareable content

  5. Find product-market fit

  6. Become a thought leader and ‘category queen’

  7. Get funding and more funding

  8. Gain external validation

In this series of blogs, I give you more detail and tools to gain each of these benefits. Let’s look now at the second one - how you can build credibility for your business using media relations.

Third-party media coverage serves as outside validation and helps establish credibility for a business. Journalists know how to find holes in a story and can choose anybody to work with, so when your business is featured in a Financial Times or Bloomberg news story, this is proof you’ve stood up to their scrutiny and selection.

Investors need a reason to believe in your business, and media coverage can give them this, particularly if you can demonstrate the growth of your business, from your first big contract win to partnerships signed and awards won, to transformations delivered in the real world.

When you publish content on your own channels this is always viewed as self-promotional, no matter how valuable. However, if a third party selects and includes you in their content this carries greater trustworthiness.

What you need to do is research and then target journalists and outlets most likely to be valued by the people you want your business to reach. In focusing on these targets, you also increase your chances of becoming their go-to sources for news.

You can read more about all of this and gain tools to do it all in my new book Exposure: Insider Secrets to Make Your Business a Go-To Authority for Journalists Get Exposure


Felicity Cowie has worked as a media relations trouble-shooter for some of the world’s leading organisations and is a former BBC News and Panorama journalist. She’s worked on 100,000 story pitches from both sides. She now makes her insights and tactics available to the founders and leaders of today’s early-stage businesses, helping them gain exposure and competitive advantage. She is the author of Exposure: Insider Secrets to Make Your Business a Go-To Authority for Journalists. More information www.themediarelationscoach.com

More articles by Felicity

Featured
How to gain external validation to grow your confidence in your business
Feb 5, 2023
How to gain external validation to grow your confidence in your business
Feb 5, 2023
Feb 5, 2023
How to find product-market fit
Jan 22, 2023
How to find product-market fit
Jan 22, 2023
Jan 22, 2023
How to build your pipeline faster
Jan 14, 2023
How to build your pipeline faster
Jan 14, 2023
Jan 14, 2023
How to get funding using media coverage
Jan 8, 2023
How to get funding using media coverage
Jan 8, 2023
Jan 8, 2023
How to become a thought leader and ‘category queen’
Jan 1, 2023
How to become a thought leader and ‘category queen’
Jan 1, 2023
Jan 1, 2023
How to get highly valuable shareable content
Dec 4, 2022
How to get highly valuable shareable content
Dec 4, 2022
Dec 4, 2022
How to build credibility with media coverage
Nov 27, 2022
How to build credibility with media coverage
Nov 27, 2022
Nov 27, 2022
How to gain positive business exposure with zero to low financial investment
Nov 13, 2022
How to gain positive business exposure with zero to low financial investment
Nov 13, 2022
Nov 13, 2022
What Exactly is Media Relations?
May 13, 2022
What Exactly is Media Relations?
May 13, 2022
May 13, 2022
In Guest Blog Tags Felicity Cowie, Media PR & Communications
← To get different outcomes ask different questionsThe importance of positioning your business →

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Image of the Day / Oryx Desert Salt

Sustainable salt and pepper…At Lionesses of Africa, we are passionate about supporting  sustainable brands, and a great example is Oryx Desert Salt, founded by Samantha Skyring in South Africa. This growing Image of the Day / Reform Studio

Sustainable fashion accessories…We love showcasing women business innovators, so this morning we are featuring the work of sustainable lifestyle brand, Reform Studio, an inspirational eco-focused manufacturing Image of the Day /Femi Handbags

Full Bloom Style…Add a touch of summer florals to your wardrobe with one of the beautiful new Bloom handbags from Femi Handbags in Nigeria, founded by Femi Olayebi. With their eclectic pops of colour, there&rsq Image of the Day / Melvins Teas

Time for tea…If you love tea, then this Cool Chamomile tea from the Melvins Tea brand, founded by Flora Mutahi in Kenya is just what you need. The brand is part of Melvin Marsh International, the Kenyan-based f Image of the Day / Afropian

Storytelling through accessories…Afropian, the Pan-african lifestyle brand founded by Ethiopean entrepreneur Hortense Mbea, is a rare, fully hand-made in Africa brand. It uses traditional know-how in a modern way t Image of the Day / AAKS

Vibrant Ghanaian craftsmanship,…We just have to share one of our favourite accessories of the year, this beautiful hand-woven bag created by award-winning designer Akosua Afriyie-Kumi and her AAKS brand in Ghana. We lo Image of the Day / Ledikana

Contemporary South African Chic…Knowing exactly how to spot a gap in the marketplace is key to the success of any fashion brand, and Mapholo Ratau, founder of Ledikana in South Africa, has achieved that goal. For h Image of the Day / The 1964 Brand

Modern relaxed fashion…Olakunmi Oni is the founder of The 1964 Brand in Nigeria, a fashion business that proudly promotes self-care through minimalist clothing for the modern woman. Loyal patrons of The 1964 Image of the Day / Adèle Dejak

Big bold accessories…We are big fans of luxury jewellery and accessories made with love and passion on the African continent, and Adèle Dejak in Kenya is the epitome of handmade luxury. The brand c Image of the Day / ReelFruit
 
Healthy snack treats…We love showcasing Africa’s women agribusiness builders, and ReelFruit, founded by Affiong Williams, is inspirational - it’s the largest fruit processing, packaging and distributi

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Women Entrepreneurs Rewired To Rise: Powerful Habits that Break Through Burnout, Silence Your Inner Critic, and Build a Thriving Business from the Inside Out  by Fiona Soutter
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Bridging the Confidence Gap: How Empowered Women Change the World by Sheena Yap Chan
Bridging the Confidence Gap: How Empowered Women Change the World by Sheena Yap Chan

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