How to Get Your Business on the Local News: 7 Tactics From Contractors Who’ve Done It

Free airtime on the local news beats almost any ad you can buy. A three-minute story puts your name, your trucks and your face in front of every homeowner watching at 6pm. And it carries something ads never will: a reporter vouching for you.

So I asked the contractors in my Facebook feed a simple question: Who’s getting on their local news regularly, and what are your tips?

The answers were better than I expected. Some paid to play. Some gave stuff away. One guy made up an award. Here’s what’s working, in their words, plus what I’d do with it.

Why local news is worth chasing

Every station has the same problem. They need stories, every single day, and they need them cheap. A roofer who shows up with a good story, a local angle and a clean shot of a crew on a roof makes a producer’s life easier.

That’s the whole game. You’re not begging for coverage. You’re solving their problem.

1. Give something away that makes a great picture

The most common answer was charity. Not a check handed over in a lobby. A visible transformation the camera can see.

Find a couple of stations that work for you and contact them often to see if they have filler spots. The best ones we did were finding people in need, elderly or vets or disabled, and donating them new products or services.

I’d find old homes on busy streets with crappy yards and roofs and see if you can donate them a roof for a 4×4 permanent yard sign. Crappy yards catch eyes!

Chuck Staszkiewicz

Read that twice. He’s stacking two wins: the news story and a permanent yard sign on a busy street. The free roof keeps working long after the segment airs.

Another commenter pointed to a pair of contractors who’ve built a whole brand around giving away money and free roofs. It works because it’s a story with a hero, a villain (the old roof) and a happy ending. Producers love that shape.

2. Sponsor a segment instead of buying commercials

We do a good bit of advertising on our local news. We’re changing our strategy for next year, doing less of the commercial type spots and more of the feel good stuff.

They created a new segment for us called Integrity in Action. It’s a segment sponsored by us that lets us highlight a local nonprofit once a month, and the news does a free cover story about it with me interviewing the nonprofit.

That’s only one piece of the puzzle, but my favorite part.

Brandon Lee, President, Integrity Roofing

This is the smartest move in the thread. Brandon took ad dollars he was already spending and turned them into a recurring branded segment. His name is in the title. He’s on camera every month. And he’s the good guy in every story because he’s spotlighting someone else.

If you already buy TV, ask your rep what a sponsored community segment would cost. Worst case, they say no.

3. Know the difference between earned and paid

Usually local channels will sell 3 minute information spots where you get to do a spot on storm season or other topics. It looks like a news spot but it’s pay to play. Usually pairs with a website takeover.

Christopher McVey

Good warning. Those morning show segments where a roofer explains hail damage? A lot of them are bought. That’s not bad. They can still work. Just know what you’re buying and track the calls like any other ad.

The real prize is earned coverage, where the station picks you because you’re the best local expert.

4. Become the station’s go-to expert

I did, through Sinclair Media and Nexstar Media groups. We advertised, but they also then selected us for organic news stories and top stories when weather was relevant.

I also made friends with the news crew and anchors. Here’s one: How to keep your home cool in the Arkansas heat.

Brandon Stowe, CEO, Pathway Partners Group

Notice the pattern. He advertised, then built real relationships with the people in the newsroom. When a heat wave or a storm hit, they already knew who to call.

Weather is your opening. Hail, ice dams, a windstorm, a brutal heat wave. Every one of those is a story the station has to run. Be the roofer they can reach in ten minutes.

5. Rank on Google, because reporters search too

Have kick ass SEO. When they want to run a story they go to the Goog. Usually once a year they call me to do a story.

Eric Richardson

This one’s close to my heart. A producer with a deadline types “roofer near me” just like a homeowner does. If you’re the top result with a great review count, you’re the expert. Strong local SEO pays you twice: once in leads, once in press.

6. Make up an award (seriously)

We made up an award and a giveaway. It was awesome and picked up by local PR pretty well. The First Yes Award.

Matthew Kuehlhorn

You don’t need to wait for someone to hand you news. Create it. An award, a scholarship, a community giveaway with a name. Give it a title a reporter can put in a headline and send the press release.

7. Tell your real story

I’m working on getting on our local news right now. Most local stations will give you a segment about you and your business as long as your story is good. I’m eager to share my testimony. I know it will help business, but more importantly, I hope to help others going through it. We all know someone who has gone through or is going through cancer.

David Denton

Your personal story counts. Beating cancer, getting sober, serving in the military, starting with one truck. Stations cover people, not companies. Lead with the person and the company comes along for the ride.

The funny answers

Contractors don’t let a question go by without a few jokes. Two of my favorites:

“Man in Owl Suit found running across the highway. Story at 11.” It’ll work, I promise. You might even get on national news.

Chuck Allen

Start taking deposits and not doing the work. They’ll find you!

Jacob Laba

Please don’t do Jacob’s plan. The owl suit is still on the table.

Takeaways: how to get your roofing company on the news

1. Pitch stories, not your company. A veteran’s new roof, a nonprofit spotlight, a homeowner saved before a storm. Your business is the backdrop.
2. Turn ad spend into a segment. If you already buy TV, ask for a sponsored community segment with your name on it.
3. Know paid from earned. Paid info spots are fine. Track them like ads. Earned stories are the real prize.
4. Be ready when weather hits. Send your local stations a short note before storm season with your cell number and what you can explain on camera.
5. Make friends in the newsroom. Producers, anchors, camera crews. Be easy to work with and fast to respond.
6. Rank in Google. Reporters search like homeowners. Strong local SEO makes you the obvious expert.
7. Create news. An award, a giveaway, a scholarship. Give reporters a headline.

Got a local news win of your own? Send it my way. I’d love to add it to the next version of this post.