Beyond reactive press opportunities, there are ways to proactively create assets that make journalists' work easier and (sometimes) fast-track your story into the headlines. In the bigger picture, these are part of building those solid relations with the media and, in general, supporting your position as thought leaders in your space - alongside actively seeking speaking opportunities at conferences and contributing to shaping events' agendas.
We look at:
- Newsjacking and Calendar Opportunities
- Leveraging your Data
- Thought Leadership - what is and what is NOT?
Newsjacking and Calendar Opportunities
Newsjacking - monitoring news cycles and offering expert commentary and data on relevant developments related to your industry to secure media attention and reach a wider audience by riding the wave of an already trending news story.
In the learning and work technology space, this could be policy changes, reports on digital skills gaps or learning outcomes, technology adoption trends. Journalists covering these breaking stories urgently need expert voices - position yourself as a readily available source with unique insights.
Related, but more predictable, are Calendar Opportunities. Creating a content calendar that maps upcoming events to reach out with expert input on, like back-to-school, exam results season or annual budget allocations, can help you land media coverage.
Leveraging your Data
More long-term and strategically, always have your data-driven content prepared! You will be better positioned to be the proactive expert, driving the news agenda rather than hijacking it (but it will also make that bit easier). Leverage your product usage data, your proprietary research, your industry-specific glossaries, frameworks, timelines and market maps to create compelling stories and package the insights into digestible formats with clear visualisations that make journalists' jobs easier. As we know, they are always pressed for time.
Some examples from the world of learning and work:
- Analyse learning patterns from your platform
- Highlight regional or demographic differences and challenges in learning engagement
- Identify emerging skill demands from your user base
- Compare European learning technology adoption across markets
What is (and what isn't) Thought Leadership?
The most successful startups will position themselves as thought leaders who can comment on industry developments beyond funding announcements and company news.
Easy to say, right?
We generated some points to help keep it true and credible:
Real Thought Leadership Is:
- Offering perspectives that challenge conventional thinking
- Identifying emerging trends before they become apparent
- Providing frameworks that help others understand complex challenges
- Sharing genuine lessons from both successes and failures
- Taking positions that might be controversial but are well-reasoned
Thought Leadership Is Not:
- Thinly disguised product promotion
- Restating obvious education market observations
- Generic content that could apply to any sector
- Following rather than leading the conversation
- Risk-free perspectives designed to offend no one
When the journalists don’t bite, this content can, of course, also be published on your own channels – website, blogs, podcasts and social media – to help you reach your audience and solidify your position as an expert and thought leader in your space.
