How to Build an Earned Media Event
In order to get press to report on an event, you need to do some pre-planning, pitching and organizing to ensure you have an event with an “eye-catching” message. You should also reach out to the campus environmental group that is most active to help you with the event.
- Call your local media outlets and introduce yourself to the field reporters in the newsroom. Exchange your contact information. Let the reporters know you are going to be organizing an event on campus and invite them to attend.
- Draft a press release outlining the details of your event: who, what, when, where and why. If possible, ask a student leader, professor or local elected official to submit a quote for your press release, explaining why your event is important to youth involvement in our clean energy movement – both locally and nationally. Send to the reporter you spoke to on the phone.
- Build and promote your event anywhere and everywhere on campus and online:
- Create an event on Facebook and post to the Consequence Events page
- Flier in the cafeteria, dorms, sororities & fraternities, the library, etc. after getting permission from your school.
- Put fliers and posters on public posting sites and areas
- Post your event to community and campus calendars
- Send email blasts to relevant university listserves, student government, club leaders and professors.
- Take lots of pictures at the event! Send photos to all media outlets, student newspapers and post on social networks with a brief description of what happened at the event and follow up with a phone call.
- Follow up. Follow up. Follow up. This is probably the most important piece to garnering media for your event. Whether press shows up to your event or not, you should always send a follow up press release with pictures to local media outlets to further push the story. Importantly, call all media outlets and field reporters who came to your event and thank them personally. Persistence and graciousness is how you get published!