Tips for aspiring politicians on how to get coverage online

11 things to know about getting

coverage online

- Different audience and style- Focus is on breaking stories- No story too small- Ideally it provokes an emotion

1.Internet stories are different

- Newsrooms are 24 hours a day- Something happened today? Press release as soon as physically possible (from your phone, if necessary)

- Doesn’t have to be long, but it needs to get to the point

- Have a list of contacts ready to go

2. Be fast

- Accident blackspot? Damp in local social housing? Picture is worth ten press releases

- Bring your smartphone everywhere

3. Photographs are the holy grail

- Build up a presence- Use them to test the water for possible press releases

- Don’t have a ghost writer. It’s obvious.

4. Make the most of Twitter and Facebook

- “Candidate welcomes 100 jobs in constituency” = not a story

- If it’s already in the news cycle then there’s probably no point in sending a press release to a news website

5. Focus on the story, not your reaction

- Mobile number should be on your Twitter page, website and party website

- Answer unknown numbers- Twitter presence is more for the media than your constituents

6. Be easily contactable

- Pitch to journalists who have covered you/similar issues before

- Decide if it’s local or national - Don’t flood journalists with press releases

7. Be targeted

- Pitch an opinion piece instead- Everyone talking about an issue? Look for examples in your constituency, rather than just your reaction to it

8. Look out for other ways in

- Have a personal story which can feed into policy debate?

- Kate O’Connell of FG in the abortion debate

- Substantive AND generates interest

9. Personal experiences work

10. Look at what other people do

Don’t be a masochist...

11. Ignore the commenters