What The Media Will Be Talking About
In the past I’ve talked about HARO, the brainchild of Peter Shankman. If you don’t want to click on the link, HARO is a thrice-daily mailing list that helps pair journalists with sources. One of the first things I tell my clients is that they need to sign up so that they can promote their own business. I’ve been printed in books, guest-starred on podcasts, and been mentioned in media outlets like MSN because of my involvement with HARO, and you should take advantage of it too.
There is another way to use HARO, especially if you are an entrepreneur, business planner, or in the business of spotting/identifying/reacting to trends. Media outlets often have long lead times – sometimes as long as several months. When major media sources are trying to find sources, they go to HARO. Notice any opportunities here?
In case you didn’t, I’ll spell it out for you: carefully reading your HARO can help you identify what major media sources will be talking about in the future. For example, let’s say that you own a retail store. You notice that a magazine (long lead time) is looking for people who are willing to talk about how widget x has changed their lives. It would be a fair conclusion to think that in the next couple of months there will be a story about widget x in that magazine. You can now use that time to find a source for widget x, to develop an advertising campaign featuring widget x, or to stock widget x in your store.
This isn’t foolproof – the story could be negative, it could be killed before print, or a scandal involving widget x could destroy the manufacturer. In addition, the things you discover may not always be surprising: Halloween party ideas are popular now, and I’m sure Christmas queries are right around the corner. But bear in mind, just as you shouldn’t expect to get featured on national TV everyday, you shouldn’t expect to uncover the next big thing every time you go to your inbox.
But all it takes is one success to completely change your business, right?
Smart.
Holy crap, that’s a great idea!
I think HARO is a great service. I personally use it as well for getting into publications. I never really thought of if for identifying future trends or buzz topics so that’s an interesting application. Thanks for sharing, Ryan.