Media professionals actively use Twitter all day long on their phone. It’s the immediate news platform. It’s a better platform to target than a reporter’s personal Facebook or Instagram account.

Step One

Your Twitter profile, along with all other social media platforms really matter. This is how the media will check you out.  If your indicators of authority are missing or you just look like an amateur, you’re not going to get their attention.

Reporters are going to be hyper-selective on who they engage with. It’s kind of like Internet dating.

If your profile, image and bio are just not that great, people are just going to click away before they can even get to know you.

You have to communicate your expertise and nothing does that better than media coverage.

You don’t need to have a billion followers to have a social media presence that gets media attention. However, an account that has a thousand followers will generally get a few more seconds of a valuation than someone with under one hundred.

Those extra few seconds can really matter when you’re wanting someone to consider you.

That said, if your account is not there yet, clean it up and give it more focus than your competitor give theirs. That should not be too hard.

Step Two

Make a media list of the journalists or news outlets that are relevant to you, your school and your vision.

However, you can’t get trigger happy. Reporters get irrelevant pitches every day.

Step Three

Find the journalist preferred social media outlets. The vast majority of traditional journalists, like I said, use Twitter as their preferred communications platform. But many could also be active on Instagram, LinkedIn and Facebook.

If you find their page, their Facebook page, not their personal profile, leave them alone on their personal profiles.

Step Four

Make sure your profile is ready for showtime.

Think of this process is like online dating. You want to make a good first impression but you don’t want to come on too strong or you will be seen as unprofessional.

Step Five

Make your pitch in just a few sentences. For instance, when a 10-year girl claimed to have used a family code word to thwart a potential kidnapping, I created a short video response to explain how codewords are a BAD idea and gave them three reasons why.

“As good as it sounds, and it does sound good, there are a number of issues with depending on a code word for safety.

1. Asking for the code word opens up a discussion that should never happen.

2. Asking a child to “interview” a potential killer is ludicrous. Run first, ask questions later.

3. Most abductions are by people the victim knows. So, if Uncle Tom approaches a nephew, it’s doubtful that the child would ask for the code word.

I am available for interviews in my studio, your studio, by phone, Zoom or Skype.

Link to My Media Page (Should have your previous stories and contact information.

Consistently follow trending topics. Trending news happens quickly and it can become old news just as fast.

Remember the old saying yesterday’s news is old news. Now it’s gone in ten minutes.

You need to be consistently browsing news sites or trending hashtags on social media, particularly within your own industry.

Martial Arts is highly visual, so video and imagery are key to standing out in your marketing.

Everyone has a TV studio in their pocket. Not only can they take video, but they can watch your videos where ever they are.

You have to learn how to speak on camera just like you have to learn how to give a presentation. This is really important. Most school owners are dead on camera. Make sure you’re energized and ready for your close up.

In 2010 ExpertVillage.com recruited me to go into a TV studio and shoot “how-to” videos. 

In most cases, I had no idea until I got to the studio what we were shooting. They knew my areas of expertise and would match that with their search algorithms indicated that people were searching for.

From hypnosis to writing, speaking, martial arts, and self-defense I did nearly 100 3-5 minute videos. 

Almost every video that I’m in a studio or office setting with The Impostor Syndrome poster was shot for ExpertVillage.com which eventually became eHow.com.

This section is designed to help you to market with videos and also to become an influential speaker on camera.

News Jacking how you leverage trending news for press attention. To gain the attention of the public and the media as someone with Expertise, Authority, and Trustworthiness.  It’s all about connection and the place to connect with the media is Twitter.

News Jacking is when you add your expertise and/or opinion on a breaking or popular story.

As self-defense instructors, there are tons of local and national stories that we can leverage on local and social media to add our comments and to reach out to the media and offer your expertise during the short period of time that a story is hot.

Here is an example of how I news jacked a story about a 10-year old girl who thwarted a potential abduction by using the family “code word.”

I’m sure you know that the idea is that only trusted people know the code word. If a stranger can’t give you the code word RUN!

As good as it sounds, and it does sound good, there are a number of issues with this plan.

1. Most abductions are by people the victim knows. So, if Uncle Tom approaches a nephew, it’s doubtful that the child would ask for the code word.

2. Asking a child to “interview” a potential killer is ludicrous. Run first, ask questions later.

3. Asking for the code word opens up a discussion that should never happen.

In your pitch to the media, you would lead those points to grab their attention fast.

Keep in mind that news has a short life cycle so you need to have your bio, media kit, and your self-published book all in place before you pitch your story to the media. You have to look like you’d done this before. That’s why your media kit is important.

Here are some examples

JohnGraden.com

MATA

Video Bio

Here is the original news story.

Here is my News Jack response.

 Do not go deep into your personal martial arts lineage. No one knows or cares.

Which do you think the average visitor to your website will understand easier? You earned your Shidan or you completed and passed the Martial Arts Teachers Association Instructor Certification Program?

Don’t be afraid to use humor. It never hurts to bring a smile to someone’s face. One of my bio videos opens by saying John Graden and his two brothers are world kickboxing champions. Just goes to show you that anyone and their brother can earn a martial arts title. 

In addition to a bio and a timeline, it’s best that you add on a video bio that is less than a minute or so.

Use Fiverr.com for voice-over talent.

My examples:

Career Timeline and 2020 Bio

Video Bio 2020

Video Bio 2018

Bio for Mainstream Corporations

Video Bio 2016

Every school needs to have a PR strategy to keep you in the news. Media coverage is like an implied endorsement. Have a Media section on your site that is a gallery of your media hits.

You can also take advantage of the powerful, “As Seen On” line. Even if you didn’t get on the news broadcast, maybe your press release got picked up by Fox News Tampa.

You can then use the Fox News Tampa logo with a link to your article. This positions you as an expert.

When possible, link the logo back to the original story. That is great for Google single strength.

Understand though, many media websites rotate stories in and out so your link may not work in a month. Just check it.

1. 50% of Internet traffic this year will be video.