Meltwater: Get Media Coverage for Your Small Business

Securing media coverage can feel like shouting into the void, especially when you’re a small business vying for attention. Are you tired of crafting compelling stories only to have them ignored by journalists? It’s time to ditch the common mistakes and use a targeted approach.

## Step 1: Finding the Right Journalists with Meltwater’s Media Database

The first step in securing media coverage is identifying the journalists who are most likely to be interested in your story. Don’t just blast your press release to a generic media list. That’s a surefire way to get ignored. Instead, let’s use Meltwater to pinpoint the perfect contacts.

### Sub-step 1.1: Accessing the Media Database

1. Log into your Meltwater account.
2. In the top navigation bar, click on “Media Database”. (It’s usually the second option from the left). This will take you to the main search interface.

### Sub-step 1.2: Refining Your Search

Meltwater’s media database is extensive, so you need to narrow your search. Here’s how:

1. In the “Keywords” search bar (located near the top of the screen), enter keywords related to your industry, product, or service. For example, if you’re launching a new AI-powered marketing tool, you might use keywords like “artificial intelligence,” “marketing automation,” “SaaS,” and “MarTech.”
2. Next, click the “Filters” button (it looks like three horizontal lines with circles on them, usually on the right side of the Keywords search bar).
3. A sidebar will appear with various filter options.

• Geography: Specify your target region. If you’re a local Atlanta business targeting Atlanta media, select “United States” as the country, then drill down to “Georgia” and finally “Atlanta.”
• Job Title: Filter by job titles like “Reporter,” “Editor,” “Columnist,” and “Blogger.”
• Beat: This is where the magic happens. Select the “Beat” filter and start typing keywords related to your niche. Meltwater has a surprisingly granular list of beats. For example, you might find options like “Artificial Intelligence,” “Marketing Technology,” “Small Business,” or even “Atlanta Business.”
• Outlet Type: Choose the type of media outlets you want to target. Options include “Newspapers,” “Magazines,” “Online News Sites,” “Blogs,” and “Broadcast.”

1. Click the “Apply Filters” button at the bottom of the sidebar to apply your selections.

Pro Tip: Don’t be afraid to experiment with different keyword combinations and filters. The more specific you are, the better your results will be. We had a client last year who was struggling to get coverage for their new line of organic dog treats. By using Meltwater to filter for journalists who specifically covered “pet food trends” and “organic products” in the Atlanta area, we were able to identify a handful of highly relevant contacts.

Common Mistake: Relying solely on generic keywords like “business” or “technology.” These will return too many irrelevant results.

Expected Outcome: A list of journalists who have recently written about topics relevant to your story.

## Step 2: Crafting Personalized Pitches in Meltwater

Now that you have a list of potential contacts, it’s time to craft personalized pitches. This is crucial. Generic, impersonal pitches are almost always ignored. To truly nail your media pitch, personalization is key.

### Sub-step 2.1: Reviewing Journalist Profiles

Before you reach out, take the time to review each journalist’s profile in Meltwater.

1. Click on a journalist’s name in the search results to view their profile.
2. Pay attention to their recent articles, their social media activity (linked within Meltwater), and their areas of expertise. Look for clues about what types of stories they’re interested in.

### Sub-step 2.2: Creating a Pitch Template

Meltwater allows you to create and save pitch templates, which can save you time.

1. Go to “Outreach” in the top navigation bar, then select “Templates.”
2. Click the “Create New Template” button.
3. Give your template a descriptive name (e.g., “AI Marketing Tool Launch”).

### Sub-step 2.3: Personalizing Your Pitch

Here’s where the personalization comes in. Don’t just copy and paste the same message to everyone.

1. In your pitch template, use Meltwater’s “Merge Fields” to automatically insert the journalist’s name, publication, and other relevant information. To insert a merge field, click the “Insert Merge Field” button (it looks like two curly braces {{}} ) in the email editor.
2. Start your pitch by referencing a recent article the journalist wrote. For example: “I enjoyed your recent article in Atlanta Business Chronicle about the challenges facing small businesses in Atlanta’s West Midtown neighborhood. I thought you might be interested in…”
3. Explain why your story is relevant to their beat and their audience. What problem does it solve? What makes it unique?
4. Keep your pitch concise and to the point. Journalists are busy people.
5. Include a clear call to action. What do you want the journalist to do? Do you want them to schedule an interview? Do you want them to review your product?
6. Proofread carefully before sending.

Pro Tip: Keep it short. A journalist in Buckhead once told me that they receive hundreds of pitches every day and rarely read anything longer than a few paragraphs.

Common Mistake: Sending pitches that are too long, too generic, or too self-promotional.

Expected Outcome: A higher open rate and a greater chance of getting a response from journalists.

## Step 3: Sending and Tracking Your Pitches with Meltwater’s Outreach Tools

Once you’ve crafted your personalized pitches, it’s time to send them and track your results. Meltwater’s outreach tools make this easy.

### Sub-step 3.1: Sending Your Pitches

1. Go to “Outreach” in the top navigation bar, then select “Campaigns.”
2. Click the “Create New Campaign” button.
3. Give your campaign a descriptive name (e.g., “AI Marketing Tool Launch – Atlanta”).
4. Select your pitch template.
5. Add the journalists you identified in Step 1 to your campaign. You can import contacts from a CSV file or select them directly from the Media Database.
6. Review your pitches carefully before sending. Make sure everything is personalized correctly.
7. Schedule your campaign to send at the optimal time. Meltwater provides data on when journalists are most likely to open their emails.
8. Click the “Send Campaign” button.

### Sub-step 3.2: Tracking Your Results

Meltwater provides detailed reporting on your pitch performance.

1. Go to “Outreach” in the top navigation bar, then select “Campaigns.”
2. Click on your campaign to view the results.
3. Pay attention to the following metrics:

• Open Rate: The percentage of journalists who opened your email.
• Click-Through Rate: The percentage of journalists who clicked on a link in your email.
• Response Rate: The percentage of journalists who responded to your email.
• Mentions: Track any media mentions that result from your campaign. Meltwater automatically monitors online news sources for mentions of your company or product.

Pro Tip: Don’t be afraid to follow up with journalists who haven’t responded to your initial pitch. A polite follow-up email can sometimes make all the difference.

Common Mistake: Not tracking your results and not learning from your mistakes.

Expected Outcome: Data-driven insights into what works and what doesn’t when pitching journalists. Over time, you’ll be able to refine your approach and improve your results.

## Step 4: Monitoring Media Coverage and Building Relationships

Securing media coverage is not a one-time event. It’s an ongoing process of building relationships with journalists and monitoring media mentions. For small businesses, small business media relations can be a game changer.

### Sub-step 4.1: Setting Up Media Monitoring Alerts

Meltwater allows you to set up media monitoring alerts to track mentions of your company, product, or industry.

1. Go to “Monitoring” in the top navigation bar.
2. Click the “Create New Search” button.
3. Enter the keywords you want to track (e.g., your company name, your product name, your competitors’ names, relevant industry terms).
4. Specify the sources you want to monitor (e.g., online news sites, blogs, social media).
5. Set up email alerts to be notified whenever your keywords are mentioned.

### Sub-step 4.2: Engaging with Journalists on Social Media

Follow the journalists you’ve identified on social media and engage with their content. Share their articles, comment on their posts, and build a genuine connection. This can make them more receptive to your pitches in the future.

### Sub-step 4.3: Providing Value Beyond the Pitch

Offer journalists valuable information, insights, and resources, even if they’re not writing about your company directly. Become a trusted source of information in your industry.

Pro Tip: Remember that journalists are people too. Treat them with respect and build genuine relationships. It’s better to have a few strong relationships with key journalists than a large list of impersonal contacts.

Common Mistake: Treating journalists as a means to an end, rather than as valuable partners.

Expected Outcome: Long-term relationships with journalists who are more likely to cover your stories in the future.

Getting media coverage in a competitive market like Atlanta requires diligence and the right tools. Using Meltwater strategically can significantly improve your chances of securing media coverage and boosting your marketing efforts. It’s about finding the right people, crafting compelling stories, and building lasting relationships. If you want to boost your marketing in Atlanta, press visibility is a great place to start.

Don’t just send another generic press release. Start using a targeted, data-driven approach to media relations, and watch your coverage – and your brand awareness – grow.