If you have made it to the launch of your startup, you have accomplished something that few people achieve. It takes a lot of time and energy to translate a vision into an actual company, so it is a milestone you should celebrate. Now, however, you have a new battle ahead of you: getting featured on a major platform like Fox News, which can help your brand become more visible. To get there, you will have to first establish your reputation and brand in a business world that is full of thousands of companies. While that can feel intimidating, it is not impossible. What helps is having a clear vision of what you want to accomplish and a systematic PR campaign to do it. 

Step 1: Read up a little on the entrepreneurs whose companies are featured on Fox News.

Before you design your campaign that will lead to the kind of coverage you are looking for - Fox News - take an hour to read through who is already on there. At the time of the writing of this article, the companies featured were Twitter, Amazon, and 7-Eleven. Granted, you are unlikely to be as big as these three right off the bat, but you can learn from why they are featured.

What do you know about the CEOs of these companies? Likely a lot, as they are frequently in the news. When you google their names, there are plenty of articles about their education, other leadership roles they have had, their thoughts on industry trends, etc. The CEOs are, in effect, three-dimensional people with a past and ideas about the future, and it all lives right there on the Internet. To be featured on Fox News, it will be important that you have that same approach for your own PR.

Step 2: Test yourself on the stories behind the companies.

Back to Amazon, 7-Eleven, and Twitter. Set aside their CEOs for a moment and ask yourself what you know about the companies’ backstories. How did they get started? What are their values? What does the leadership believe in? You likely know that Amazon started as an online bookseller and that Twitter’s employees believe in moving fast, feeling free to be themselves, and having fun. 

Beyond what they sell and who their leaders are, they are actual companies with compelling histories and relatable values. In other words, Twitter, Amazon, and 7-Eleven aren’t just buildings that enclose a bunch of products and employees. There is a real story behind each one that gives it substance, and that will be important for you when you go after your news coverage on Fox News.

Step 3: Review with a critical eye what the companies offer.

You are already very familiar with these three companies, which leads to the next point: all are unique in their offerings. Each has carved out their own space in their industry and grown to dominate it, ultimately achieving instant name recognition and being seen as visionaries. 

How to get featured on Fox News: the equation

 To get your startup premium media attention from Fox News, you do what the giants do: 

• Develop the public’s understanding of you (the CEO) and your ideas

• Bring out the compelling backstory of your company 

• Work to make your services and/or products instantly recognizable

It’s not quite as difficult as it sounds, but it does take time.

The good news is that to be featured on Fox News, you do not have to be on the level of 7-Eleven, Twitter, or Amazon. Remember: journalists do enjoy helping newer businesses get coverage, but to be feature-worthy, you need to have all three aspects of your company developed.

So, how do you accomplish that? Read on.

Step 4: Develop your own public and online presence.

To get featured on Fox News, you need to beef up your own online footprint. Start with the basics: LinkedIn. Love it or hate it, it is the place for people to post their professional profiles and often the first stop for journalists who are researching the leaders of companies. Make sure your own profile is up to date, including your picture, and be sure to use strong action words for your entries. There is nothing more boring than a bland LinkedIn profile, so make sure yours is well-written.

Next, start getting your thoughts out there on your industry and on news related to it. Stay up to date on the news and find ways to comment on it, perhaps on your social media sites or in blogs on your website. Don’t have a blog yet? Be sure to start one, but if you do, try to update it at least twice a week. An anemic blog is far worse than having no blog at all.

Remember, too, to get out from behind the computer and meet people regularly in your community. Volunteer work, speaking engagements, and simple networking can all raise your profile.

Step 5: Fill out your startup’s story and begin incorporating it into all of your PR efforts.

When people say “Steve Jobs” and “Apple,” they immediately envision his garage. Now is the time to focus on your startup’s own history and craft it into the public relations story that will still be around decades from now. 

Once you have it, it becomes part of all of your marketing efforts, including social media posts, interviews, and even the packaging of your products. 

Step 6: Make sure you emphasize the uniqueness of your startup’s products and services.

You have done your market research, so you have identified a niche to fill and have products or services that no one else offers. Hammer that home with your marketing efforts so that the public’s perception of your startup is solidified.

That, combined with your solid backstory and your promotion of yourself as a thought leader, means that you now have the total package: a thriving company led by an innovative CEO.

In a nutshell, that is the kind of business that a journalist is looking to write about.

From here, how do you get your startup on Fox News?

Once you know how to present yourself, it’s going to take some time to attract media attention. Here are a few tips to accomplish this: 

• Remember to stay visible. Get out from behind your desk and continue to meet people every day.

• While “newsjacking” might be risky, a few thoughtful opinion pieces here and there about an issue may be appropriate.

• Build up your contacts with the media. While they get dozens of pitches every day, a company like yours could be what they are looking for.

The road to a feature by Fox News will take some work, but it will be easier if you approach it like the bigger companies do: make sure every aspect of your company is developed and well-known so that you are credible, unique, and in demand.

Imperium Group is an American public relations and marketing consultancy firm. Founded in 2016, it specializes in guaranteed placements, creating utmost transparency for its clients. Imperium Group generates over 15M impressions a month for its clients. Its team is based out of New York, Dallas, and Los Angeles.  

For more information about Imperium Group, please see https://navigator.imperiumgrouppr.com/pricing.