In the world of media, creating your own content is CRUCIAL!
Journalists are always on the go and every now and again media outlets will rely on supplied content, including overlay vision, photos, and even audio. Thinking ahead and being prepared with content can be the difference between receiving media coverage, or missing out on getting your story out to your community.
Here are a few examples to help you next time you are trying to acquire media coverage…
Overlay Vision & Interviews
Video News Reels (VNR) can consist of interviews and overlay vision. If your media op is in a regional or remote location that the news crew don’t have time to travel to, or if TV stations are unable to attend your press call, it is always a great idea to try and capture your own b-roll footage (overlay vision) and interviews with your talent that can be shared and sent to the TV station for consideration. If you don’t have access to a camera, a quality smartphone will suffice – just make sure you film in landscape. There are a large range of affordable lapel and handheld microphones which will make a huge difference to your audio quality.
When watching news broadcasts, start to pay attention to the type of overlay vision they use and how interview talent are positioned to help guide you. You’ll notice that most interviews have the talent looking slightly off-camera – that’s usually where the journalist is standing to ask the questions. Choose a background that is relative to your story, but ideally not too busy where it detracts from the interview talent.
The overlay vision should include the talent interacting with each other and any relevant props/product relative to the story. No fancy editing is required –the media prefer clean, raw footage that they can edit to suit their style. Aim for about 3-5 minutes of interview footage per talent and 5 – 8 minutes of good overlay vision they can pull from.
Tip – Plan ahead for media opportunities such as product or business launches and capture vision as your project progresses. These additional visual elements will help strengthen a media pitch when you’re ready to make your media announcement.
Photos
NEVER underestimate the power of visuals! If you have some clear, compelling images on file that are relevant to the story you’re pitching, then ensure you attach them in your email to support your pitch and show journalists what visual options they have to work with for print and online media. Alternatively, if you don’t already have easily accessible images, it can be a good idea to consider hiring a photographer to capture some vision for you. If you’re confident with a phone or camera, practice capturing your own content! Practice with angles and backgrounds to find your perfect vision, and make sure the images are high quality.
When utilising a photographer or yourself to create content to send to media – think ahead about what images you may want for media use. Any extra images can be used for your own marketing collateral. Make sure to include the names of any talent and locations and if supplying professional images, you can include the photographer name for image credit, as most media will make this acknowledgement if they choose to use them.
Tip – Familiarise yourself with your target media’s imagery style for inspiration to ensure you meet their requirements.
Audio Grabs
Audio grabs can be sent to radio stations for consideration for their news bulletins, where the journalist will summarise the story based on your media release and uses a quote from your spokesperson to substantiate the story.
Record your key spokesperson answering relevant questions – this can be as simple as using the voice memos app on your phone, however, if you find yourself regularly supplying audio, consider purchasing affordable microphone accessories. These recordings can then be forwarded to radio stations for use.
Tip – Ensure the recordings are clear, concise, and portray the relevant message effectively.
Another benefit of creating and supplying your own content is the opportunity for it to be repurposed for your website and socials. This content is great to show live updates to your followers on stories, as well as creating engaging BTS reels, and grid posts to add to your feed. So, it is definitely worth taking the extra step and trying your hand at creating your own content.
