When it comes to marketing and promoting programs or news, most TV stations rely on the broad reach of their own on-air. It’s still a powerful means to reach the masses. And yes, many stations augment their own on-air with social media strategies using Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, and of course, their own websites. But […]
When it comes to marketing and promoting programs or news, most TV stations rely on the broad reach of their own on-air.
It’s still a powerful means to reach the masses.
And yes, many stations augment their own on-air with social media strategies using Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, and of course, their own websites.
But in addition to this air war, stations should consider other partners in the community to help them get the word out about a story, special report or locally produced program.
Local publications, email databases, newsletters, magazines — a community outreach ground attack if you will — are often overlooked and ignored, but can be an available and effective tools to compliment a station’s marketing efforts.
And often, these come at little or no cost.
Take a look at what WFYI, the PBS station in Indianapolis, did to get the word out about a local documentary it was airing in December.
A Writer’s Roots: Kurt Vonnegut’s Indianapolis is a documentary by Kevin Finch, a journalism professor at Washington and Lee University in Lexington, Va.
Finch partnered with the Kurt Vonnegut Memorial Library in Indianapolis to explore Vonnegut’s relationship with his hometown and how its people and places shaped him.
To promote the documentary, WFYI created a 30-second promo, but in addition, took advantage of the library’s resources to get the word out to a targeted, narrowly-focused audience, Kurt Vonnegut fans and Indianapolis residents.
According to Finch and Clayton Taylor, WFYI’s production VP, the Kurt Vonnegut Memorial Library mentioned the documentary in its newsletter which went out to all its subscribers.
On the library’s website, excerpts from the documentary were included along with information about upcoming events.
On social media, WFYI used images provided by the library on Twitter and Instagram, and the station used trailers of the documentary on its Facebook page, according to Scott McAlister, the station’s social media director.
In addition, the documentary was on the cover of the station’s members magazine.
A Writer’s Roots: Kurt Vonnegut’s Indianapolis is currently being re-edited with additional material and will be shown as part of many other PBS stations’ pledge drives in March.
So, for example, if your station is doing a special report about local schools, why not contact the school systems to see if they can help get the word out?
Have an example of how your station got creative to market your news? Let me know and I’ll share it here on Market Share.
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