Whether it’s a global pandemic, polarized politics or natural disasters, the past few years have delivered a deluge of newsworthy events. As a result, consumers today demand reliable and timely news and updates. For media brands, this presents an opportunity to meet rising consumer expectations and grow their customer base.
To do so, it’s important to know how to write a news alert. A news alert is a short announcement designed to capture the attention of journalists and encourage them to cover your event or announcement. It should answer the five “W” questions: who, what, when, where and why. Adding contextual information can also add value to your alert by exploring the bigger picture, such as quotes from individuals or opinions from experts.
Your news alert should be sent out at the right time to maximize its chances of being covered. A well-timed media alert allows journalists to plan ahead and ensures that your announcement isn’t overshadowed by other events or breaking news. To ensure your media alert gets seen, you should also take the time to identify and target the right journalists and media outlets.
Using Google Alerts is an efficient way to monitor your client’s media coverage. You can set up alerts for your client’s name or any keywords related to their business, and you will receive an email from Google when the term appears online. You can even customize your alerts by specifying the country, language and sources you want to see results from. You can also create a news alert for your own business to stay on top of the latest headlines on topics you care about.