Colleges Week: how to secure press coverage

1. Build a general list of media contacts

• Think about your local paper, radio, TV station as well as regional, national and sector press, and build a database of the journalists who are likely to cover education, and any other sectors your college might tap into (like health, business, construction etc).

• You can usually find email addresses through a combination of websites/ social media.

• Get in touch with press@aoc.co.uk if you can’t, and we will do our best to help you.

2. Identify key media to target and reach out to start to build a relationship

• Is there a specific newspaper, or local radio station you want to target?

• Follow their main account and individual journalists on social media and engage with relevant stories they post about.

• Invite them into college for a tour or coffee/ lunch at the college restaurant. Show them what your college has to offer, and line up some students who are happy to speak to the media.

• Make sure to ask them what they content they are interested in and what stories they are working now and in the immediate future, as well as when their regular news meetings and deadlines are.

3. Settle on a story

• You can pitch an interview, blog, news story or feature, depending on what the journalist has told you they are interested in.

• Think about what you want the story to achieve: do you want to raise awareness of an issue? Do you want to celebrate success of the college? Do you want to raise someone’s profile? Have you got research or polling to share?

• This year, for Colleges Week, we are focusing on a different group of learners each day, so you could pitch stories which align to this. For example, do you have an initiative that is boosting the number of adult learners coming into college? Or perhaps you’ve got an apprentice who has secured a renowned contract?

4. Collect corresponding case studies

• Once you’ve decided what you want to focus on, make sure to collect case studies to tell your story.

• Case studies could focus on individuals, groups of learners, initiatives, or facilities.

• Write up the case study with key information in – who, what, where, when, how, why – and make sure you’ve got good quality pictures, and quotes from those involved.

• Use research as appropriate.

• Anyone quoted or pictured in the case study should be happy to speak to media at short notice.

5. The pitch

• You could phone or email a journalist, depending on they’ve told you they want to be contacted.

• If your goal is to appear in as many outlets as possible, you could send out a press release to multiple journalists at once. This works best when it’s a straightforward news story which doesn’t require any follow up.

• If you want the story to be covered in greater depth, you could target just one journalist in particular, and send them a more informal pitch.

• Whatever you choose to do, don’t assume knowledge and avoid FE jargon and acronyms. Briefly explain any courses, qualifications, levels or point them towards an infographic with the information on.

• Acknowledge any stories recently published which relate to yours.

• Supply contact details for your comms team, including out-of-hours phone numbers.

• If you haven’t heard anything within a few days – always, always follow up, and ask if there is anything additional they would need to publish it.