Mastering media alerts – also known as news advisories or media releases – is an essential skill for PR pros to elevate their broadcast news presence and captivate audiences. Whether it’s a one-page announcement of an upcoming event for local reporters or a full-blown press release distributed by wire services, a well-crafted media alert will convince journalists that your story is a genuine news worthy of coverage.
In addition to ensuring you have the right contact information for journalists and other key people at your clients’ media outlets, it’s important to understand how to best use Google Alerts, a free service that allows you to monitor content online using specific keywords. Creating alerts for your brand, competitors, industry keywords and more gives you a snapshot of what’s being said about you online.
When it comes to securing the attention of media, breaking through the noise can be challenging. But, with the right tools and strategies in place, it’s easy to create and send media alerts that resonate with your clients’ target audiences.
To get started with media alerts, you’ll need to create a Google Alert. Login to your Google account and enter the search topic you’d like to monitor (such as your brand name or competitor names). You can filter by region, frequency and source options to narrow down your results. Once your alert is created, you’ll be notified whenever new content is published that matches your search term.