Five ways Twitter can help you get media coverage

@leonamurray: (BBC Essex): It’s a long shot but is there a chatty #Essex independent bed retailer on Twitter? Looking to talk about King size beds on @sadienine show

@BBCWomansHour: If you don’t have a uniform, how do you decide on appropriate workwear? Do you follow a dress code or is there an unwritten set of rules?

@lookingforlynda: is researching everything Japan. Any tips? Looking for great hotels, things to see/do, must-try food, best kept secrets…

@sdj19: looking for new men’s #grooming products: bath, body, #fragrance etc, for Feb style section. please email me asap

@sdj19: homes: need #interiordesigner experts to quote for an article on redecorating, for national mag. email me

@cathman: Looking for a legal expert that can help with question about debt rights when repaying a loan

@sdj19: need #garden experts to quote for a piece in March issue of a national homes magazine. email me please.

@LovePeachyKeen: Please get in touch if you have any children’s fashion news- new brand, new range, new launch, news news news!

@ShanaBP: Looking for someone who sells children’s clothes in #Essex for today’s show

@elletucker: Looking 4 mums who had easier 2nd birth, youngest under 2 top parenting mag. productplacement@live.com

@Julia_B: Looking for health professional for quick comment on running/exercise -related incontinence for mag

@philreaysmith (Daybreak consumer reporter): Did anyone have a problem with their iPhone alarm not working this morning?

All of these were the result of a quick search of Twitter this week. All of these are valuable opportunities for an individual or company to get their name in the papers, on the radio or on the TV.

Twitter has become an invaluable source for journalists to find new contacts, experts in their field, and case studies – and if you’re trying to raise your profile in the media or then it should be an invaluable source for you too.

So, how to hunt out these tweets?

First: programmes, newspapers, magazines and journals all have Twitter feeds now. Follow the ones relevant to your field. So if you’re an accountancy firm, follow the FT, but don’t exclude the possibility that something like a woman’s magazine or a local radio station might be looking for financial comments.

Second: Hunt out by-lines (the name check on an article) of journalists who cover your field and follow them. Also, it’s worth following @talktothepress, who often has requests.

Third: Set up searches related to your area of expertise so you can monitor any requests related to it. And save the important #journorequest, which was the source of most of the tweets above. This can also be a way to find and follow freelance journalists who work in particular subject areas, such as women’s magazines or finance.

Fourth: think laterally – for example, the Woman’s Hour tweet about uniforms. Are you a psychologist with views on the difference a uniform makes to professional performance? Then they might not be asking for you, but they’d probably be interested to talk to you.

And finally: Be quick. By the very nature of Twitter everyone else can see these requests too, so you need to respond quickly. Good luck – the media opportunities are out there to be seized!

Ann

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