Archive for press releases
Media Relations Tip #1: Do Your Homework!
Posted by: | Comments“Please do your homework before contacting me. At least know what I cover.”
These two sentences are nearly always the opening mantra of reporters talking on yet another panel of media seated before yet another gathering of PR professionals hoping for a tip that can catapult their e-mail pitches and follow up phone calls to the top of the reporter’s “must cover” list.
In a sidebar to a story by Jennifer Nycz-Conner of the Washington Business Journal, she reminds us to “know what kinds of stories a reporter is drawn to.” Or she as she so memorably writes, “you wouldn’t walk into a hardware store and ask for mascara.”
Recently, I got caught not doing my homework by an editor of a major trade publication covering an important client’s industry. Much to my chagrin, my pitch was absolutely out of line. If I had studied the online editions of the publication and then paused before hitting “send” I would have realized that they don’t cover what I was proposing and that the pitch was a waste of his time and attention.
However, he had the grace and professionalism to take the time to instruct me on his publication, including what it would take to get his attention. I got lucky, didn’t I?
I’m now in the process of re-tooling my pitch to him and feel confident that my second and corrected attempt will be a successful one. His magazine gets what it’s looking for and gets it exclusively, my client is thrilled with the prospect of coverage in this prestigious industry magazine and I believe I’ve learned the “mascara in a hardware store” lesson once and for all.
Practice PR Patience
Posted by: | CommentsProspective clients who are new to PR many times are under the impression that you write a press release, send it to the media and then Presto! the story appears. That might work if you’re lucky – or stop-the-presses newsworthy – but it’s certainly not reality.
Here’s a real-life example. Back in April, 2008 we learned of a writer who was seeking sources for a story about “green benefits” and how some companies are linking their HR policies with environmental initiatives. We had the perfect match in a real estate client that has such a policy.
We responded to the query from the HARO (Help A Reporter Out) service, communicated with the writer over the ensuing months, and finally were asked for an interview in February, 2009 for a story that’s scheduled to run in the coming weeks.
Not all media opportunities have an 11-month lead time, but if you are thinking about getting a PR program started, the sooner the better.
Although rumors were fluttering around weeks earlier, when micro-blogging phenom Twitter finally announced its acquisition of the Summize search service on Tuesday morning, it didn’t issue a press release. Instead, the co-
founders Tweeted about it, linked Tweets to their blog post and let those in the Twitter community spread the news. No press release. No media advisory. No press conference. No standard PR practices here. Just a bunch of Tweets and a blog post. Did we just witness the future for corporate press announcements?
Check out the chain of events leading up to the announcement, according to the archives of Twitter co-founders Evan Williams (aka @ev), Biz Stone (aka @biz) and CEO/co-founder Jack Dorsey (aka @jack):
“composing a blog post” – Evan Williams on July 14 at 8:49 p.m.
“Big day tomorrow. Sleepy time” – Evan Williams on July 15 at 12:20 a.m.
“Meeting Biz at Whole Foods before we embark upon this grand day…” Jack Dorsey on July 15 at 7:50 a.m.
“watching the clock” – Evan Williams on July 15 at 8:52 a.m.
“Holy crap: http://search.twitter.com (details: http://tinyurl.com/56j2zx)” – Evan Williams on July 15 at 9:01 a.m.
“It’s a foggy 9am. We’re adding a great team and technology to Twitter: http://tinyurl.com/56j2zx. Exciting!” – Jack Dorsey on July 15 at 9:01 a.m.
“announcing Twitter’s acquisition of Summize” – Biz Stone on July 15 at 9:07 a.m.
With Williams’ “holy crap” teaser, followed quickly by the others, the official word was out, sending readers straight to the blog post Stone had apparently completed the night before. From there, the followers were on to the story, re-Tweeting it, commenting via Twitter and blogs and sending others to the blog post, Finding A Perfect Match. Online news sources covered the announcement, followed by online versions of the mainstream media, who were offered a “press” link on the Twitter Web site – no more than a six-question FAQ document. Simple.
From a PR perspective, this is a refreshing change for an acquisition announcement and one worth learning from: build a base of followers who are interested in your company and what you have to say (caution: this takes time); engage them with content so they’ll stay with you (relationship building); have the announcement come directly from the top; use a conversational yet factual style that shows it wasn’t crafted by the marketing department; and, send readers straight to a blog where they can learn more (again, direct from the source).
Baltimore Sun Editors: Future of Newspapers Goes Well Beyond Pulp Edition
Posted by: | CommentsThe Baltimore Sun held its annual gathering with the Public Relations Society of America Maryland Chapter during a recent morning and one of the take-aways was how their focus is on so much more than their printed product. There was talk of how to reach The Sun‘s staff bloggers, how to submit video content, the patterns of readers of the Web site (spikes in the AM and then around lunchtime), content management techniques, how 30 reporters and 20 photographers were recently trained to shoot video and more.
This is where things are heading, and PR professionals need to be on board with this reality. Those who still focus on press release-based PR won’t get very far. It’s already time to deliver content – video blog links, tips for the online news team, etc. – that newspapers are looking for as they re-invent themselves.
Making Your Press Releases Work Harder for You
Posted by: | CommentsAre you overlooking a powerful way to increase your Web site’s ranking on Google and other search engines? Press releases not only convey news, but when they’re properly optimized and distributed they can play an important role in your search engine rankings. Here’s how:
* Launch your press release into cyberspace with a paid wire service. Major search engines rate Web sites based on the number of links to them. One way to create more of them is to use a service such as PR Newswire. Your news will reach editors directly, and it places your release – and a live link to your URL – where search engines can find and rank your site.
* Add multi-media content to your releases. Scroll through just an hour’s worth of wire service news feeds and you’ll see how difficult it is to get your headline and story noticed. A logo on the wire service release will grab an editor’s attention, as will a photo or digital video. Surveys show that press releases with multi-media content are most likely to be picked up by the media.
* Be where the media seeks experts. If you have an expert, register his or her bio – with links back to your URL – in the online media expert databases.
* Get instant links from the major news portals. Another reason to send your optimized news via the wire services is that in most cases it will be automatically posted on searchable sites such as Yahoo! Google News and Factiva. This creates instant links from multiple online sources.
* Finally, make sure your ‘News’ section contains. . .news. Keeping your press center up to date creates more online links, and it also shows that you are keeping current. If the last press release on your site is dated sometime in 2005, what does that say about your company?
