The AIM Companies - Taking Your Story to the Media

There is probably not a single AIM Member who hasn’t fantasized about promoting their AIM business through the mass media.

Just imagine the phone calls following that 60-second AIM BarleyLife® ad during Super Bowl halftime. While there are many AIM Members who have spent advertising dollars to grow their AIM businesses (OK, so maybe NOT with a Super Bowl ad), there is an alternative form of promotion that is easily overlooked—and a lot less expensive. It is called “public relations.”

Very often, the first question posed regarding public relations is “What is public relations, and how does it differ from advertising?” A frequent distinction between the two marketing disciplines is that of “paid media” versus “earned media.” Very simply, with advertising, you pay to place a message. The costs associated with placing that message vary according to the reach of the media (national network TV versus your hometown daily newspaper), the length of your message (a 30-second radio spot versus a TV infomercial or full-page newspaper ad), and the frequency with which that message is delivered. Additional advertising costs can include design and production, unless of course you have a cousin who is a freelance graphic artist and is willing to trade his or her services for a home-cooked meal.

By contrast, public relations is earned media. You don’t buy the media that delivers your message, but there is a catch: you have to have a story that is compelling enough to deserve the time and attention of the media. Fortunately for AIM Members, we are in a business that inherently generates interest: the business of good health. The trick in transforming that interest into print lies in knowing the story you have to tell, identifying the appropriate media to tell it to, and “packaging” your story in a compelling way. The benefit of harnessing public relations goes beyond free advertising. The simple fact that someone else (i.e., a reporter) is telling your story gives it a credibility that paid advertising can seldom, if ever, equal.

So, how does one go about putting together a homegrown public relations program? The secret to public relations success is really a mix of the following ingredients: a little research, some creativity, a bit of salesmanship, and a lot of persistence! Here are some tips to getting the media you deserve.

No matter where you live, you will find “the media.” Perhaps it’s your local newspaper, weekly gazette, or local network TV affiliate. And of course, the popularity of talk radio means that more and more communities have radio stations that will devote a portion of their broadcast time to this format.

The very first thing you need to do in bootstrapping your AIM public relations program is to identify your media targets. Your daily newspaper should have a listing of section editors. Chances are that your best media friend will be the editor of the “lifestyle” section, since this is the section that will most likely cover health, fitness, and nutrition stories. You should also know who the business editor is, in case you have a “business” story to promote (more on this later). A simple call to your local radio and TV stations will yield the names of news directors and assignment editors (those harried individuals with the daily task of deciding which stories will be covered that day). Be sure to get e-mail addresses for these individuals as well as fax and phone numbers, since the Internet is becoming a more popular way to communicate with the media. With this information in hand, you are ready for the next step.

Now that you know whom to talk to, what are you going to say? Essentially, a media “pitch” can fall into one of two categories: the “hard news” story (“nutritional supplement distributor expands”) or the “evergreen” story (“diabetes sufferers discover nutritional approach to managing their illness”). In the first case, the story focuses on a timely event—most often a business milestone. The introduction of a new product line, the addition of new employees, and the receipt of a reward or commendation are all examples of business stories that have a distinct “shelf life.” On the other hand, an “evergreen” story is one that is always timely, and represents the best possibility for generating a feature article. These stories revolve around lifestyle trends and consumer experiences. And fortunately for AIM Members, our business abounds with them. Let’s take a closer look at your editorial opportunities.

A great thing about the AIM business is that all of us have great stories about the impact our products have had on the lives of others. The friend who experienced better digestion with AIM Herbal FIberblend®, the uncle who was able to support healthy blood sugar levels with AIM GlucoChrom™, the AIM BarleyLife® customer who was able to boost her energy level and get a new lease on life. Ten minutes with any AIM Member will probably uncover nearly as many anecdotes about the power of AIM products. When putting your story together, keep the following tips in mind:

Avoid promotional hype. Focus instead on the human-interest element of your story. Talk about a health or nutrition issue that the average person can relate to and provide examples of nutritional approaches to the problem being addressed based on the real-life experiences of an AIM product consumer.

Keep your story grounded in a health/nutrition context. Remember that your story is about a health-care solution, not a product. It doesn’t matter that a reader remembers the name “AIM BarleyLife®," only that people are using a whole-food supplement that you are providing to improve their wellness.

Make your story concise and compelling. A two- to three-paragraph description of a nutrition/health issue faced by an AIM customer, the regimen they followed (using AIM products, of course), and the results they realized should be all it takes to convince an editor that your story does or doesn’t fit his or her audience.

Follow up and follow through. Once you’ve sent a story idea to an editor, give them a call in a few days and find out their level of interest. Don’t be afraid of rejection. Finding out why a story DOESN’T work is the best way to ensure that the next one DOES. If an editor does express interest, be sure you can provide access to an AIM customer identified in your story, and be sure to satisfy any requests for additional information as quickly as possible.

The time-honored press release can be an overused approach to getting the media’s attention. If your story is a business story, a brief announcement detailing the “who, what, where, and when” can be a concise way to present the facts to a reporter—and a good press release is one that gets quoted verbatim in a story about your AIM business. In the case of an “evergreen” story, however, a press release can be a cumbersome tool that can get in the way of generating interest in your story. It is far more effective to approach an editor directly, provide a simple description of your story, and take it from there.

Does your local radio station offer a call-in format or a weekly segment dealing with health topics? Does your local TV station have a morning program that includes feature interviews along with its network news broadcast? If so, contact the appropriate reporter or assignment editor about being included as a “nutrition expert,” or see if one of your customers is willing to talk about their personal success with AIM products in managing a health issue. Remember, the media may survive on advertising dollars, but they need to deliver content to attract those dollars—and finding good content is a daily struggle with which you can assist.

The insights and suggestions provided here barely scratch the surface of putting together and managing an effective public relations strategy, but they should point you in the right direction.

If you have questions regarding public relations, please e-mail aimonline@aimintl.com.



THESE STATEMENTS HAVE NOT BEEN EVALUATED BY THE FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION. THESE PRODUCTS ARE NOT INTENDED TO DIAGNOSE, TREAT, CURE, OR PREVENT ANY DISEASE.
1-800-456-2462 © 2005 The AIM Companies™. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Statement " Terms of Use " Contact Us