Let's do a quick recap. There are five ways to create news:
- 1: Hard news
- 2: A PR-research
- 3: Soft news (observations and opinions)
- 4: Reactive news (the news hook)
- 5: Practical content
In this blog, you'll find several examples of hard news. Hopefully, these examples will inspire your content calendar.
Hard News
Hard news is about sharing objective and notable facts. 'Hard news' is a proven way to make news. This type of content has a significant advantage: journalists seldom doubt the facts. Thus, hard news is a good way to gain recognition since the media respond well to it.
This kind of news is distinct from other news forms in that it cannot be refuted. Examples of hard news include annual figures, announcements of new customers, or expansion abroad. All examples are explained below and accompanied by one or more practical examples.
International Success
Innovation in Motion, a startup aiming to make moving parts in homes 'smart,' became Startup of the Week at Sprout. How did they manage that? By talking about their success abroad. The company turned out to be very successful in America.
Another company reporting on international success is the underwear brand Pockies. This underwear brand with pockets reported at Quote that they note a monthly growth of forty percent in the US. Dutch success across borders remains a success story for the media.
New Customers and Partners
Leading new customers or partnerships are always worth mentioning. Not only collaborations with big brands or corporates are newsworthy. As reported by Emerce, Digital Agency Moqod had the pleasure of developing the application for Learned. Put differently: even developing a product or service for a start-up can be relevant for start-up media.
A collaboration with an independent entity is also extra credible. It shows that a party with no commercial interest believes in your company or solution. The partnership between mover-platform ScanMovers and the Consumers' Association is a good example of this.
Growth Figures
Companies with substantial growth figures can create newsworthiness. Note that the growth must be remarkable. A startup showing some growth in its first year isn't very exciting; we expect this growth. However, that Amac – an Apple reseller – is on the rise is exciting: traditional retail is having quite a tough time.
The FD Gazelle Awards and the ‘Groeihelden’ segment on BNR are good examples of platforms where business growth is celebrated.
Funding
Perhaps one of the most frequently mentioned topics in Sprout's morning roundup: startups that raise funding. The following factors make a funding announcement newsworthy:
- Clearly: the amount of financing provided. As a rule, you might find several hundred thousand worth mentioning;
- The investors. Are they well-known entrepreneurs? That makes the news more noteworthy. Also, a quote from the investors would be nice;
- The purpose of the financing. Is the amount used to scale up to a new country? Money aimed at marketing is often less exciting.
Mergers and Acquisitions
Mergers and acquisitions are often newsworthy. If there is internal dissent about calling a takeover as such? I often advise calling a takeover a takeover (and not a merger), because it conveys power.
There are numerous examples of news about mergers and acquisitions. The rapidly growing fintech Blanco buys industry peer Airs, reports het FD. Also, the acquisition of Aneto by app developer Elastique was worth mentioning, as Consultancy.nl judged. Such reports are often relevant for M&A media, as well as magazines reporting on the specific industry.
New Colleagues
Not to forget: the arrival of new colleagues is also often worth mentioning. Media that report specifically about a certain industry often pick up such content. Like this report on Marketing Report about the expansion of Brandfirm's content team.
The personal affairs section in the FD also writes about the arrival of new colleagues. A great opportunity to be featured in the salmon pink newspaper.
In Conclusion
I hope the above forms of hard news inspire you to start with PR on your own. This type of content – hard news – makes companies stand out. If you are wondering if your content is newsworthy, then read the blog 'Checklist: Is this news?'
