What makes a good PR angle?

Deciding on a good PR angle is like hitting the jackpot; it promises a wealth of rewards, not least of which is that all-important media coverage. But landing on that angle is a lot harder that it might first seem.

The reality is that not every business will have a steady stream of newsworthy updates to share. However, PR works best when your approach is consistent and well-crafted press releases hit reporters’ desks on a regular basis. That means there is work to do if you can hope to generate enough good PR angles to drive your small business PR forwards.

Success lies in understanding what makes a good PR angle. It’s important you can also recognise a dud when you see one, rather than waste valuable time and resources pitching a story that isn’t a story at all.

Coming up with good PR topics and subject matter requires a range of skills such as creativity, a questioning mindset, an ability to do background research and a finger on the pulse of your industry. There’s also another element to the secret sauce and that’s understanding the news cycle and the role that PR plays.

 

A press release is a vehicle for announcing a piece of news. It’s a document that originates from a person or business, informing a journalist about something new. That something new is the ‘news’ that your business wants to share. It’s the reason why you’re getting in touch with a journalist in the first place.

This is a formal business document and follows a set structure. It’s important to recognise that a PR isn’t a sales document. It isn’t a sales pitch to the end user, rather it’s a structured way of telling appropriate reporters and media outlets what’s new with you or your business.

It should be news-driven, not sales-driven

A PR should convey a piece of news originating with your business. Your ultimate aim is to tell a journalist something that they feel compelled to share with their audience.

Understanding that it’s a journalist’s job to share news rather than regurgitating sales spiels to their readers is an important first step. This means you’re better placed to consider the ideas you’re coming up with from their perspective, making it likelier you’ll weed out the weakest ideas in the batch and instead home in on your strongest angles.

The challenge of pinpointing a good PR angle is often made more difficult by the fact that many small business owners feel like they don’t have all that much going on week in, week out other than business as usual. Major events may only happen once or twice a year, so being creative is essential if you’re going to successfully build positive media coverage the rest of the year.

It should be current

Anything you’re considering as the focus of your news release should be current. Anything that happened last month or last year can be discarded, unless you’re able to put an up-to-date spin on it. This again comes back to the fact that a journalist’s job is to report the news. News by its nature is what’s happening now or what’s about to happen.

Keeping a calendar of key dates in your industry, along with your business milestones, future product launches and events such as exhibitions is a good way to ensure that you don’t overlook a topic that could make a newsworthy PR.

It should be connected to your business

A PR is a vehicle for telling journalists and media outlets a piece of news. For that piece of news to originate from your business, you must be connected to it in some way. When considering whether a topic is suitable for a PR, ask yourself how it connects to what you do. If your press release is picked up, what benefit would it bring to your business specifically?

It should be topical

Timeliness and relevance are very closely connected and important PR concepts. News is only newsworthy when it’s relevant to the here and now, so a decent degree of forward planning and organisation is vital.

Ideally, your PR planner will be filled with a mix of recurring PR angles (ones you’ll return to time and again such as announcing a new product, an awards nomination, an internal promotion or a new hire) and more creative angles which you’ve generated (perhaps in response to something that’s trending in your industry, for example).

To brainstorm consistently strong PR topics, you’ll need to be up to date with what’s happening in your industry and able to apply trending topics to your business. This is something of an art form, but the following tips can put you on the right path:

A good PR angle is more than just a clever idea—it’s a blend of relevance, timing, credibility, and creativity. The most successful small businesses using PR aren’t necessarily the ones with the most dramatic news, but the ones that can consistently frame their activity in a way that resonates with the media and, by extension, their audience.

Get into the habit of asking yourself: Why would a journalist care? If you can answer that clearly and confidently, you’re already halfway there.

Of course, not every SME has the time, resources or know-how to draft a release, get their news in front of the right people, identify angles or be consistent about public relations. We get it! Our packages are designed to be affordable for small businesses and provide proactive digital and traditional PR support. From identifying the strongest angles to filling in gaps in your calendar to drafting releases and putting your news in front of all the right media contacts, we can help.

We offer one-off and great value monthly packages, and we’d love to help your business shine! Get in touch for a friendly chat to find out how we can help.