On June 12, the business community had an opportunity to “Meet the Media” in a panel discussion sponsored by the Greenwich Chamber of Commerce and White Plains Hospital. But it was also an opportunity for the community to get to know the hospital, which has established a presence in Greenwich with Specialty Surgeons of Connecticut, across from the Hyatt Regency.
“A vibrant economy is important to a healthy community, and the lessons learned from our media partners will help these businesses grow and expand in new ways,” panel moderator Dawn French, the hospital”™s senior vice president of marketing and community relations, said in a follow-up statement. “I am thankful to Greenwich magazine, the Greenwich Sentinel, (Westfair Communications Inc.”™s) Fairfield County Business Journal and Sam Bridge Nursery & Greenhouses for partnering with us on this great event and sharing their time and talents with us.”
Added Marcia O”™Kane, the chamber”™s president and CEO: “As a small business owner, navigating the landscape can be overwhelming on top of an already busy schedule. Providing valuable education to our members is a key element of our mission, and we were delighted to partner with White Plains Hospital to help local entrepreneurs gain insights that will help advance their businesses.”
The lively discussion, which strove to exchange practical tips for navigating multiple platforms, came at a moment when health care and publishing are at a crossroads, seemingly moving in opposite directions. Organizations like White Plains Hospital, part of the Montefiore Health System, are expanding, even advertising on local TV, as the population ages, requiring perhaps more medical assistance. On the other hand, these remain challenging times for the print news media, as the panelists acknowledged, with more newspaper advertising dollars shifting from print to digital. More adults are apt to read printed magazines than newspapers, but they do so less frequently.
Many pundits see the shift to digital as being about more than a decline in print and opportunities for viable careers in that medium. (See the recent strike by journalists at the Gannett Newspapers, the country”™s largest newspaper group.) They also see the loss of local newspapers as a threat to the watchdog aspect of the press and, thus, to democracy.
That said, the panelists demonstrated that reports of the death of good journalism are, to paraphrase Mark Twain”™s joke about his own death, “greatly exaggerated.” Panelist Cristin Marandino, editorial director of Greenwich magazine, told a moving story about how the suicide of a Greenwich High School student led her to reach out to his sister on social media, resulting in a story about the relationship of schools to the immigrant community and the roles that school and community play in the lives of young people.
But, Marandino added, Greenwich magazine tells such stories with a small staff. Panelist Peter Barhydt, editor-in-chief of the Greenwich Sentinel, joked that his editorial meetings consisted of his wife, Beth ”“ his publisher-boss ”“ and himself sipping wine and hashing out ideas on their back porch. (He said he tried to get his daughter to cover the event for the paper”™s social media, but she was busy.)
So given that the resources of the media and small businesses, which may not have dedicated marketing people, are stretched, how then are businesses to get their brands out there? Here are some of the tips the panelists offered:
Knowledge is indeed power ”“ Know your business, your message and the media you are pitching them to. “If you’re having a ribbon cutting at 12 o’clock on Thursday and you want the Sentinel to come, well, it won’t publish for a week after the fact,” Barhydt said. “And Thursday is our production day when all the staff is worried about is getting the paper together and making sure all our ads and stories are in. So if you really get to know the publication and the people and build up a relationship with us, it becomes much more collaborative.”
Generally, if you are looking to get some material into a weekly publication like the Sentinel or Westfair”™s Westchester and Fairfield County Business Journals, think two to three weeks advance notice. Greenwich magazine is a monthly already working on fall issues, Marandino added. So for that, you”™ll have to think a season ahead.
Target your pitch ”“ Work smart instead of just hard by focusing on a few media instead of blanketing everyone. This is particularly true for social media, said panelist Maggie Bridge, partner and marketing manager of Sam Bridge Nursery & Greenhouses, who handles social media for the LLC. Bridge said she has migrated to Instagram from Facebook for business postings, because Instagram”™s emphasis on visuals suits a gardening business. (She added that she will consider Tik Tok if and when the time comes as you have to be prepared to pivot to new, trending media.) It used to take seven posts/commercials to get your message across. Now, she said, the metric is 27. So persistence pays.
Piggyback on news, trends ”“ How do you make your company relevant when you don”™t necessarily have anything new going on? Become part of what”™s trending. A simple way to do this, we said, is to follow what the hospitality and food industries excel in ”“ piggybacking off holidays and awareness days, weeks and months. For instance, we all know July has the Fourth, for which restaurants, hotels and supermarkets will be sending out recipes and notices of special events. But July also has a host of other causes, like French-American heritage month. Multiple these times 12 and you”™ll find the opportunities to be on trend are endless.
Keep it simple, but complete ”“ Your pitch should be an approximately one-paragraph email of complete sentences explaining the who, what, when, where and why of your company news item. Don”™t get fancy with graphics. Let words ”“ not fonts, bolding or italicizing ”“ convey your message. Include a high-resolution photograph, which is suitable for print or digital media, and a caption with names and titles spelled out correctly, along with any photographic or courtesy credit. Sum up your message in the subject line and include a date if it”™s an event. If you don”™t hear back, follow up with an email and phone call.
Network with your local chamber ”“ The Greenwich Chamber of Commerce”™s O”™Kane said that her organization is a good place to share and receive information. For more, visit greenwichchamber.com.
