5 tips for boosting your business’s reputation with media coverage
When Rachel Kellner and Mark Libertini bought Aigner Chocolates in 2015, they preserved many aspects of the beloved, 93-year-old chocolate shop. They use the same recipes, machines, and chocolate bunny molds as the Aigner family, who founded the Queens institution back in 1931. But other aspects of the business—branding, marketing, and public relations—got a much-needed boost.
Rachel, a former therapist, catapulted the business into the spotlight with help from her pastry chef husband. “Business is really all about networking, and it’s all about building relationships, and I love doing that,” she said. “As a therapist, that’s your role. A therapist-client relationship is based on the trust and safety that you build with your client. And so that’s what I do out in the world [for Aigner Chocolates].”
As a result of Rachel’s efforts building relationships with the media and Queens community, the new owners secured a glowing profile for their business in The New York Times Style Magazine this past spring. Their shop has also been featured on New York One, WPIX (Channel 11), CBS, and ABC. “That was something we’ve really taken to another level [since taking over the business],” Rachel said.
Media coverage can act as a referral for your business—showing potential customers that you’re well-liked and well-known. Below, Rachel shares five tips that helped her secure press coverage that boosts her business’s reputation.
1. Always be pitching
Rachel is a big advocate for doing your own PR. Not only will you build your own relationships with the media, but you’ll also be able to offer something more valuable: your own perspective and expertise as a business owner.
“I write my own press releases,” Rachel said. “We [hired a big PR firm at first] and got nothing. And then I started doing it myself, and I built those relationships, and now it’s to the point where I’ll literally text my media contacts and say, ‘Hey, this is what’s going on’ and I’ll pitch them stories.
“I realized two things: Number one, the media likes to hear from business owners themselves, not PR companies… Number two, that you’re making their jobs easier by reaching out to them—you’re actually doing their job for them.”
Learn more about writing press releases and creating a PR kit to promote your small business.
2. Craft your own angle
What exactly should you say when you reach out to media contacts? Store openings, seasonal promotions, holiday events—these updates all make for a great news angle. And don’t worry about your pitch being too fluffy, Rachel said: “There are so many terrible things happening in the world that the news couldn’t go on if they didn’t have some lighthearted pieces.”
“For example, [our products are] now in [John F. Kennedy International Airport] and [LaGuardia Airport] at Hudson News. That’s something that I can reach out [to more media about]. Say someone wants to talk about businesses post COVID-19—we can talk about what happened in the candy and chocolate industry and the relationship we developed through the Queens Chamber of Commerce and how they introduced us to Hudson News, and now we’re there.”
3. Keep the momentum going
You get your first big news hit, local award, or Top 100 mention. Do you stop there? According to Rachel, this is actually the best time to keep pitching. Capitalizing on press attention can help you turn your five minutes of fame into lasting success.
“When you’ve got momentum, you have to keep going,” she said. “We were named the number one chocolate shop in New York City by Timeout in New York. So I got a banner—it’s bright white, and the text is in black, so everyone can see it driving down the street.
“I started reaching out to media contacts and said, ‘We were just named number one. Now we’re in the airports. Valentine’s Day is coming up. Why don’t you feature us?’ And then we got more and more press. The press behooves the press… We spent Valentine’s Day morning with Cindy Hsu at CBS down the block.”
4. Consider your target audience
In the digital age, when so many people discover businesses on social media, you might be wondering: Why reach out to reporters? For Rachel, it’s all about her customer base. “I’m not technologically savvy with Instagram and Facebook and TikTok and Twitter. However, that’s not our target demographic—that younger generation. Our target demographic is women aged 30 to 75,” she said.
Although Aigner Chocolates did hire a marketing manager to create content on social media, Rachel concentrates her efforts on their target demographic: Gen X and Baby Boomer women, whose word-of-mouth extends farthest in their Queens community. “I might have a customer who doesn’t go into the store, doesn’t wanna shop online, doesn’t know about Instagram and Facebook, but reads The New York Times, and so I was just able to reach that person,” Rachel said.
5. Be persistent, flexible, and constantly evolving
In addition to pitching media, Rachel also builds relationships with the community by speaking at local colleges, sponsoring local sports teams, and donating to local charities and organizations, such as the Queens Center for Progress and Elmhurst Hospital Center in Queens. The key to securing these opportunities, according to Rachel, is persistence.
“These things don’t just happen,” she said. “Like with The New York Times, I’ve literally been emailing them every few months for six and a half years. It’s about saying yes. It’s about recognizing that you don’t know where something is gonna lead.”
Whether you invest in social media, advertising, or PR, figuring out which opportunities fuel your business requires constant experimentation, Rachel said: “In New York City, in a place where everything is so instantaneous, it takes time, mistakes, patience, and a lot of money sometimes to figure out: Where am I going? Where do I wanna be? How do I see us? What’s working, what’s not working? And continuing to reinvest in the business constantly and evolve.”
These lessons come from an episode of Behind the Review, Yelp & Entrepreneur Media’s weekly podcast. Listen below to hear more from Rachel and Yelp Queens Community Manager Samantha B., or visit the episode page to read more, subscribe to the show, and explore other episodes.