How Do You Pitch?

Regardless of your locale or client base, one thing most PR pros have in common is that they pitch a variety of media contacts on a daily basis.

Pitching can take the form of a phone call, email, Facebook message, tweet or text message.

All PR pros have their own styles and know what does work and doesn't work with their primary targets, but sometimes it's good to hear what others have to say. It could be that they have just the advice to help form a relationship with that editor that you've been striving to foster for a few months.


One agency, WiredPR, recently wrote a blog post that gave some good advice on the best ways to follow up with media pitches. A couple of these included choosing one way to pitch for each contact and sticking with that method, and if the topic is obscure, mentioning a more prominent publication that covered the topic and explaining the angle the writer took with the story.

It may seem like common sense, but some of the most important things we can do are to be relevant, show respect of a journalists' time and know when to push and when to back off.

What have you found to be your most effective ways of pitching?

PR Today: Dynamic And Evolving

The PR business is evolving. In the past, news has been pushed out to audiences via press releases and email alerts, Web site postings and the like.

Today, getting your client's message communicated well is a lot more complex.

We continue to tell our stories through the filter of the press. But just as readily, we are communicating our messages through bloggers, Facebookers and Tweeters.

Today, we have many more tools for listening. It's like the whole world is teaming with focus groups. Log onto your company's Facebook fan page and you'll learn quite a bit about how others see your carefully crafted positioning.

While PR has always been as much about listening to audience feedback as speaking out to influence audiences, today the dynamic is much more, well, dynamic.

Working With The Media: They're Doing a Job Just Like You

If you want to get good publicity, respect the media.

That means answering their phone calls and acknowledging their inquiries. You can't have a “relationship” with the media if it's all one-sided. Someday, you'll want to make a press announcement that will cast your company in a good light. But don't expect great coverage if you've got a reputation for snubbing the media or treating them unprofessionally.

Like any relationship, media relations is a two-way street. There will be times when they ask you questions you don't want to answer. Before you rush to “no comment,” consider crafting a reply that shows you cared enough about their inquiry to actually think about it.

That doesn't mean you have to give away the store. “Acknowledging” a reporters inquiry is not the same as responding to it. You don't need to provide a direct response to the question at hand. But relationships begin with interaction and respect for each other, so step back and think about how you will respond.

Remember, the media is doing a job just like you. You might feel they are adversarial when they are being inquisitive. You could feel their approach is confrontational when they see themselves as aggressively pursuing a story. But you don't have to choose between fighting or taking flight with a “no comment.” You can interact with the media in an intelligent way that will build you some capital with them for when you need them to help you get a story out.

If you don't know how to do this, get with a good PR firm and get some advice and counsel and some media training fast. You'll be glad you did.

Social Media... Leave It To The Professionals....

Your business is ready to develop a Social Media plan. You know you need one. But just how do you come up with a plan and then put that plan into action? Researching the efforts of similar businesses is a good place to start, as is doing a thorough audit of your own company's needs.

Your social media plan is an essential first step if you want your social media program to be successful. But you don't have the time or expertise to develop one. What are some options? Professional help? An intern?

Once the plan is formulated, who will implement it? Options again: professional help or an intern.

We're all cost-conscious today. So some companies opt for the intern. Okay, you won't get the benefits of professional experience and expertise, but it's certainly a cheaper way to go. An intern can post updates on your Facebook and Twitter pages and maybe even write a blog for you. Choose an intern who's enthusiastic about your product or the causes you support and the intern may fit seamlessly into your organization chart. Problem solved.

But, social media programs are not that simple. There's a lot to think about first.

Sure, college kids today have grown up with computers. As “early adopters” of social media, they can bring you a vast knowledge of the workings of social media Web sites. They probably feel way more comfortable with the medium than you do. They've been tweeting, using Facebook and blogging since those sites were launched. They probably even know of some sites you've never heard of.

But a knowledge of the use of social media doesn't necessarily mean a person is ready to be put in charge of your company's marketing message and reputation. Remember, while the intern may know “how” to interact with others on the social media sites, he or she is unlikely to know how to best utilize social media for you and your business. Life experience and business experience are just as important as social media experience.

Should you be thinking about bringing in the pros?

The heart of public relations is communications. A good PR team is experienced at working everyday to cajole positive editorial coverage for clients out of the media. They know how to forge and build relationships that produce results. Social media is just another extension of those kinds of communications, of conversations.

Writing comes naturally to PR pros. Engaging blog postings, Facebook updates and Tweets flow easily.

In addition to writing and communications, good PR professionals think strategically. That really comes in handy when a Facebook status update could be the beginning of a possible PR problem. Would your intern recognize when to address an issue or when to leave it alone? What experiences would your intern draw upon to handle the issue in your absence?

A good PR team will bring life and business experience to the table — plus they'll have made it their business to understand yours. That leads to strategic decisions and appropriate actions when the need for fast thinking arises. PR pros have been handling such challenges since long before the dawn of the Social Media era.

On the surface, an intern might seem like a logical and cost-effective way to maintain your presence on the Social Media landscape, but before you choose that path, ask yourself the big
questions.

Who do you want to represent your company when customers come to call? Would you send an intern out to represent your products to your customers face-to-face?

How would you have your company's spokesperson handle any important customer interaction?

Would you put your brand in the hands of someone who's inexperienced?

Would you rely on the counsel of an intern when making marketing or sales decisions?

Would you ask an intern to resolve an issue that could have important PR implications for your company?

Or would you rather entrust your brand and reputation to a seasoned professional experienced in the real world of PR and marketing?

Social media provides the biggest opportunity your company will have to reach people directly and make an impression.

Is that a job for an intern?

RECYCLE YOUR MEDIA COVERAGE TO GET MORE PRESS

It seems like it's a no brainer. You get a big story and you tell the world, right? Amazing, but this kind of opportunity is regularly mishandled.

After all your hard work pays off with big-time coverage, it's no time to sit back and hope the world will notice. With all the news coming at people 24/7, you've got to give your news a little push to maximize its impact.

But, all too often, a company will simply bask in the glow of its excellent coverage. Top management is thrilled that they are profiled in a top magazine and millions will see it. So, they pat themselves on the back and maybe use a line or two from the editorial on their Web site or in their ads.

Good start. But so much more can be done. You can give an article extra legs and keep your name in the news for little or no cost, simply by taking these steps:

Blow your horn by distributing a press release to the local media. You don't get coverage like this every day and when the local media tells the community about your big-time coverage, you get additional exposure, plus increase your credibility.

Post the article and some compelling call-outs prominently on your Web site. Don't just bury your press release back in your Web site's press room. This is your time to shine!

Use an excerpt as a third party endorsement in your ads or on billboards. It makes your ad more credible to have someone else saying your product is great — especially if it's a well-known media outlet. But here's a word of caution: Be sensible about how long you use the praise you've received. After a year or less, move it off its prominent spot and stop using that same tired quote. People know when they see the same quote for twenty years running, that it's just recycled old news and not new accolades. So, don't hold yourself up to ridicule. Instead, press your PR folks to get more and better coverage each year and use the fresh stuff.

Send out an email alert (with the coverage attached) to your list of loyal customers, friends and employees. Whatever email lists you have. Ask them to send it out to their friends.

Tweet about it on Twitter and lead people back to your Web site to read it. Ask your friends and employees to re-tweet (RT) it to give it more traction.

Put it on your Facebook page and tell your friends how proud you are. Ask them to pass the word.

Create an “In The News” sheet for your press kit and keep it updated with the latest and greatest excerpts from articles written about your company. That way, each time you give a kit to a media person, that writer will know that other prominent journalists say you're great.

If the media outlet is big enough and the praise is strong enough, you may even want to create a “thank you” ad to let more people know that you're proud to be recognized in such prestigious media.