PR lessons from Trinity Mirror’s local media

David Higgerson, digital publishing director at Trinity Mirror Regionals, recently tweeted about his company’s attempt to measure the success of content in a new way. In doing so, he provided the PR industry with a unique chance to learn how to reach local media.

… by blending 3 metrics: Page Views, Active engaged time and % of uniques who are loyal to the site (most regular visitors). All the metrics are from @Chartbeat and it’s designed to be a guide on impact, not a definitive list of ‘right’ content

— davidhiggerson (@davidhiggerson) April 26, 2018

Higgerson’s measurement method alone would be interesting for PRs looking at alternatives to the oft lambasted AVE. The fact Higgerson has singled out loyal readers means they’re likely to be local to the region, as opposed to someone who has stumbled across a regional news site. This method should also appeal to PRs as it focuses on content that has a high impact without necessarily being ‘right’ for publishers. For many PRs, the ‘right’ story is the one that has the biggest impact.

So, what stories top Higgerson’s list?

• Woman abandoned on snowy dual carriageway at midnight after Delta Taxi blunder (Liverpool Echo)
• Heartbroken family pay tributes to ‘cheeky, funny and caring’ Jordan killed on A63 (Hull Daily Mail)
• ‘We don’t know if we can carry on’ Couple driven to the brink of divorce by their eight-year-old son’s fits of violence (Wales Online)
• Baby died after mum was left with midwives who had never delivered twins before – because all the doctors were busy (Manchester Evening News)
• Man tells of birth of baby son the day after his mum’s body was found (Belfast Live)
• Newcastle United news RECAP – Besiktas star midfielder linked; details of Kenedy loan details (Chronicle Live)
• Family in ‘financial ruin’ as insurers refuse to pay out after devastating house fire (Devon Live)
• Biker dead and devoted dad in prison after tragic crash in Plympton (Plymouth Herald)
• Power cuts sweep North Wales as Storm Emma brings snow and high winds – updates (Daily Post)
• Witness of fatal A30 crash describes the ‘utterly horrific’ scenes in bid to make others think twice (Cornwall Live)

On the surface these stories seem to be only bad news – tragic accidents, loss and disasters. Unless you live in Newcastle, then you like football.

But if we look a little closer there’s a pattern here, which all PRs could learn from:

They’re nearly all human-interest stories – eight of them focus on individuals or families and most have multiple elements (usually a combination of events makes the story more interesting/shocking/surprising)

They’re all concerned with local issues – unsurprising, but worth remembering that the stories that have the greatest impact in local communities, focus on the local communities

They all have long, detailed headlines – not a new lesson but the world of digital media means clever titles have been eschewed in favour explanatory titles

They’re all original journalism – none of them are generic stories, they’ve all required the journalist to put some work in to interview people or visit locations

Higgerson then reveals high impact stories (using the same metrics) but ordered in terms of highest active engaged time. These stories are similarly human interest, locally focused, have long headlines and are original journalism, but they tend to focus on groups of people rather than individuals.

The 100 women celebration by Wales Online or the Daily Post’s monthly round up of criminals that have been imprisoned, shows a trend towards groups. While these stories are generally longer, you can’t help but feel that people dwell on stories where they may recognise or know individuals, and the more there are to see, the longer they stick with the story.

Local media is a key target area for many national PR campaigns that want to have a high impact in communities rather than more generic national coverage with less depth. For PRs, this involves more work as they have to tailor their stories much more thoroughly, including finding local case studies, but the end result often makes it worthwhile.

Not sure who to reach out to at local media titles? You need the Vuelio Media Database, which lists thousands of local titles as well as their editors and journalists.