Did you know that when you target a Facebook ad you can choose to target by workplace? If your favorite journalists or bloggers list their employer you can reach them with an ad.
Thanks to this great tip from FAVES reader Lisa Buyer (@lisabuyer), owner of The Buyer Group, you now have another way to get your message in front of the right people. Using Facebook Ads, decide whether you’d like to pitch them, share a story or tell them you’re a fan.
Here’s how you can create your own targeted outreach to journalists and bloggers who use Facebook and list their employer:
A caveat: If you abuse this (e.g. sending pitches they don’t like every day), it WILL NOT WORK.
Go to Facebook Advertise. It can be found by clicking the down arrow next to “home” or via this link. Click on “Create an ad” and follow the setup instructions. The less you can think about your ad as an “ad” and more as an introduction, the better. Your goal is to get a journalist’s attention and share your product or company’s newsworthiness. Perhaps your goal is even more broad; just to get on their radar. I don’t recommend mass pitching all media contacts with the same story, the ad space is like a quick introduction with an opportunity for future follow up.
TIP: The link you include in the ad is pretty important. Think about where you’re taking them if they click on the link. If you’re sharing a pitch, why not send them to your social media press release via Pitchengine? (Disclosure: I am on Pitchengine’s Advisory Board.)
Personalize the headline for your target media and include key words like, “Dear Fashion Editors,” or something that may make a journalist take notice. Use your space for an image to highlight a key storytelling visual that compliments your pitch. While a logo is nice, if you can add a more compelling photo, do it. For example, if you’re telling an outlet you’re a big fan, take a picture of your/your team and the employer’s logo.
Next, select the media outlet employees you’d like to target. If you work in the fashion industry, you may want to include outlets like, Vogue or Vanity Fair. You can also do a separate ad for fashion bloggers or fashion influencers. When complete, your target ad may look something like this:
- People who live in the United States
- People age 20 and older
- People who work at Vogue or Vanity Fair
You can also take the no pitch at all approach. Just tell your favorite news outlet employees how much you “like” them. Check out what Lisa did for the Mashable crew:
Have you used this approach before with success? Share your stories in the comments.
Thank you for reading!