By Jasmine Forte
On July 14 we celebrate one of the most accessible foods in the world — Happy National Mac and Cheese Day! This popular side dish has remained one of America’s top ten comfort foods for decades.
Making a delicious serving of mac and cheese is similar to crafting an effective pitch in public relations – it requires a simple mix of ingredients, timing, and just the right amount of flavor to win over an audience. Below are some mac and cheese cooking tips that you can apply to creating that perfect pitch.
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Tag: Media Relations
3 Things PR Pros Should Know Before Working With Bloggers
By Amanda Limoges
We’ve all heard it before: Media relations is rapidly changing and bloggers have become an emerging, more common source of news. In fact, blogs might even be the perfect outlet for sharing a client’s story, but how they function and expect to be contacted can often be misunderstood by PR pros. Since I began working at RLF, I have had the opportunity to work with bloggers on behalf of numerous clients, and have developed a few best practices along the way:
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Black-Belt Tips for PR Professionals
By Michelle Rash
Last August my daughter, now seven, began taking tae kwon do lessons. She quickly demonstrated a passion and a talent for it, and when her dojang offered parents free trial lessons in May, she persuaded me to give it a try. I will admit, I initially thought I would do free classes and then stop, but I quickly saw why she enjoyed it so much and began taking classes regularly, earning my yellow belt last week (my daughter is now a blue belt).
As I work my way toward a black belt, it has occurred to me that there are several lessons I am learning at tae kwon do that I can apply to my professional life.
Stop and breathe
At the start of every class, we take a moment to meditate. It gives us the opportunity to clear our heads from distractions and focus our minds in preparation for class. And often, during the class, the masters encourage us to take a moment to pause and catch our breath as we prepare for the next task.
In PR, it’s also important that we pause every now and then to refocus our energies. So often we get caught up in dealing with the situation at hand, the “fire drills” of immediate client needs that come with the territory, that we forget to take the time to pause, take a step back, and make sure that we are spending our time and energy on the most important things for our clients and their businesses.
Start with the basics and work your way up
While the ultimate goal of tae kwon do is to achieve a black belt, you have to first learn the basic kicks, blocks and punches.
So it is with PR. It is important that we work with our clients to have the basic “moves” down – such as defining their audiences and determining their key messages – before any advertising or media relations campaign can begin. While we always want to achieve “black belt” results for all of our clients, we first need to guarantee that all of the basic pieces are in place to make the most of our time and energy.
And even once you have mastered some of the more challenging skills, it is important to spend some time back in the basics. Just as a black belt may spend some time focusing on a basic kick or simple punch to make sure it is perfect, we need to remember that, even in this age of businesses looking for the next big thing, sometimes the basic, tried-and-true communications techniques are the best.
Strive for consistency
Tae kwon do takes a lot of practice and preparation. As with other sports, if you miss too many practices, your skills can get rusty and the more you miss, the harder it is to get back into shape. You can’t just attend class once or twice a month, or even once a week, and expect to improve.
Similarly with PR, it’s important to be in front of your audiences consistently and regularly. It takes a constant stream of advertising to be noticed, and more importantly, stay at the top of a potential customer’s mind. And it often takes a steady stream of media relations outreach to be known as the go-to source for a reporter. While not every pitch will hit the mark with every reporter – and not every punch will hit the target with full force – the effort is still key to achieving the results you want.
Set goals and build upon success
The natural goal of tae kwon do is to get a black belt, but there are several milestones along the way – every new skill mastered or belt obtained. Each of these is celebrated, whether by a high-five from a fellow student or at a belt ceremony. Recognizing these achievements and building upon them helps to keep our focus on the larger goal, but also allows us to rejoice in the progress we are making.
So often in PR, our attention is so focused on the long-range goal of our campaigns and our clients, that we fail to recognize the small accomplishments along the way – a great media placement, a response from a key reporter, reaching a milestone in developing a new website, or even some anecdotal evidence that the work we are doing is paying off. We need to take time to rejoice in the little victories, at least for a few minutes, to help keep us energized and motivated for our bigger goals.
Pay attention to the competition and think about your next move
A key piece of tae kwon do is sparring with a competitor – going back and forth looking for an opportunity or a weakness to score a point. While I still have just a little experience with sparring, I know that it’s crucial not just to pay attention to what your opponent is doing, but also to think ahead to your next move and determine the best strategy to win the match.
While the fights are not as clear cut and obvious as a sparring match, in PR it is critical that we keep an eye on our clients’ competition and industry trends. This helps us look for opportunities to differentiate our clients from others in their field and play up their strengths. We also need to always be thinking ahead to our next move and figuring out the best way to give our clients an edge or finding the next opportunity to get them in front of their target audience.
Whether it’s the thrill of landing a hard-to-get interview with a key publication, seeing a new website go live after months of work, or the stress relief that comes from a great workout at the end of a hectic day, I get the same adrenalin rush and sense of accomplishment from both my professional life and new-found hobby. And that thrill, that joy, is what makes all the hard work worthwhile.
The Dos and Don’ts of Media Relations: A Practical Guide to the Art of Pitching
Alyssa Bedrosian
As a young public relations professional, it’s vital to look to experienced practitioners for direction, advice and constructive criticism. Whether it’s a colleague, friend or industry leader, find someone you can talk to openly and honestly, and find the time to pick his or her brain and learn as much as you can.
When I began my career in PR, I scoured the Internet for the top PR books to help guide me through my first years in the industry. I came across This Is How You Pitch by Ed Zitron, founder of EZPR, and spent my first few weeks reading about tips, tricks and best practices for media relations efforts. While media relations is just one component of PR, crafting the perfect pitch is an essential part of working in the communications industry.
Zitron’s book is a clever, honest and accurate guide to media relations, agency life, and what it means to be a PR pro. If you are a recent college grad, or even if you’ve been working in PR for a few years, I recommend you find this book and read it as fast as you can.
Here are the top 5 lessons I learned from Zitron:
The pitch will never become obsolete.
Technology may change, but the pitch will always be central to what we do as PR practitioners. In the history of public relations course I took in college, this lesson rang true: people will always relate to each other through the stories they tell, even if those stories are through Snapchat and Instagram rather than traditional media outlets. According to Zitron: “Pitching is simply learning how words relate to people — what makes sense in a particular moment, what connects to a person and their own personal story versus what makes somebody walk away and wish you were dead.”
The game is won or lost before it begins.
Zitron says the best way to approach pitching is to begin with a “meticulous, personalized process” that involves a lot of research, knowing what your targeted reporters are interested in, and interacting with reporters on social media long before you have a story angle to pitch. I learned this lesson the hard way when a lack of preparation resulted in a pitch that seemed more like an awkward exchange with a stranger rather than a natural conversation with a friend. If you do your homework and get to know reporters, pitching will become more efficient, successful and enjoyable.
A good headline is key.
The headline in the subject line of the email should accurately reflect the pitch. Don’t put yourself in a situation where reporters think you misled them or wasted their time. Although I have never been accused of misleading a reporter, I have definitely learned which headlines attract a reporter and which ones don’t. Tailor your headline to each specific reporter, and make sure it is a straightforward, accurate representation of the story you are trying to tell.
The pitch should be mutually beneficial.
Roughly 95 percent of pitches end up in the garbage. With so many pitches thrown in the trash, you have to cut through the clutter by crafting a pitch that benefits both your client and the reporter. I’ve experienced this firsthand, with reporters asking, “Why should I care? How does this benefit me?” Keep in mind that the goal is to secure coverage for your client, while at the same time providing reporters with high quality, interesting material they can use as content. If you provide a reporter with a quality pitch that benefits them, chances are they will contact you the next time they need information for a story.
The work isn’t done after the initial pitch.
Following up is key, but don’t harass reporters. Give them some time to react, and then follow up once or twice. The majority of my media relations success has come from sending a quick follow-up email—because reporters are so inundated with emails, they often miss the initial pitch. If they still don’t bite, let it go. You can’t win them all, and it’s not worth it to ruin a relationship with a reporter because of excessive follow up.
When it comes to your media relations toolbox, the pitch is arguably the most important tool. While many other skills are necessary, the ability to share your client’s story in a way that attracts the interests of both journalist and reader is the key to success in this industry. Zitron puts it plainly: “While there is no formula, there is one skill you can learn that will dramatically increase your chances of succeeding in PR. That skill is pitching…Not everybody is good at it. But if you are, your career trajectory will be limitless.”
How PR Professionals Can Break Through a Culture of Over-Communication
By Emily Thomas
Buzz. Click. Ping.
How many times in the last hour have you heard your smartphone vibrate, your email ping or or one of your social media sites sound an alert? Probably more times than you can count. And you’re not alone.
CNN reported a study that showed smartphone owners check their phones for email, messages and social media notifications 34 times a day. That’s in addition to time spent on computers checking email, Websites and the like.
This frequent communication is great for staying in touch with friends and family, but the volume of communication has made media pitching tougher for PR pros. Journalists, like everyone else, are becoming better at tuning out inbound communications – including media pitches. You can imagine how an inbox packed with pitches could have that effect.
So how can we break through this? Below are four tips for breaking free from the crowd and getting the attention of journalists.
Check your watch
Since a reporter’s email inbox is constantly flooded with story ideas, it’s crucial to optimize when you pitch yours. For example, you should avoid pitching at the end of the work day or sending out a press release on a Friday afternoon. Choosing the right time to pitch a story or send a news release can reduce the odds of getting lost in an overcrowded inbox.
Do your research
Many publications post editorial calendars online. Getting to know the schedule for each outlet you’re researching will boost pitching success rate. Targeting a weekly business journal? Most hit the stands on Friday but go to print on Wednesday – meaning Tuesday nights or Wednesday mornings are terrible times to pitch. Reporters and editors at monthly publications will tend to be busier certain weeks of each month, depending on when exactly they go to press. Get to know these cycles and reach out to journalists when they are less stressed and have the time to concentrate and read through your pitch.
Be creative
Today we must be creative in how we approach journalists. For example, a PR professional recently sent an editor at Fast Company magazine a Twitter video pitch that landed her a coffee meeting. The request was eye-catching and unusual. Creativity can help break through the chatter and impress journalists who are used to seeing uninspired pitches all day long.
Find your perfect match
Generic media lists don’t make the cut anymore. Naturally, not every story will be newsworthy for every media outlet, but assuming there is some real news value to your pitch, I can practically guarantee that somewhere there’s a journalist or publication that will be interested. The more research you do on reporters (what stories they’ve covered, their beats, what they are sharing on their Twitter accounts, etc.), the closer you can get to making a connection and following up on a story. Personalizing your pitches for specific journalists helps considerably in breaking through the clutter and earning a story.
In the endless stream of emails, tweets, status updates and blog posts, PR professionals must work harder and smarter than ever before. The pitch that’s the most relevant, targeted and personal wins. So before you reach for your smartphone, send an email or share a social media update, make sure you’re using the right form of communication. Personalization isn’t a luxury anymore; it’s a necessity.
Photo courtesy of Ian Lamont via www.digitalmediamachine.com.
Beware Scooter Hypocrisy…
A year ago, I sold my beloved Lexus GS 300 and bought a scooter. It is Carolina blue, gets 75 miles per gallon and can exceed the speed limit on my short one mile commute to work.
Most people thought I was nuts when I made the switch. My wife was skeptical about our ability to “share” a car. The RLF staff took up an office pool to see how long it would last. Clients lobbed in calls to laugh when the temperature was in the teens. But some 750 miles later, the scooter is still my primary form of transportation (although RLF employees have learned to hide their car keys when I look like I am running late to a meeting.)
Many people ask if I sold my car because of a commitment to “go green.” As much as I would like to claim that mantle, I have resisted the urge. Yes, there have been environmental benefits, but I cannot claim to be a leading edge environmentalist. I don’t recycle very well. I waste energy in many ways. And I’m virtually positive that I will own a car again in the future, and it may or may not be a fuel efficient vehicle (although no car can have worse gas mileage than our current Jeep).
The point is, I do not want to hold myself up to a standard that is not true to who I am or motivates my actions. Over the long run, my reputation and credibility will be damaged.
That is the advice we give clients who want to get credit for their environmental friendliness. Companies should absolutely get credit for environmental efforts, but there are short and long-term consequences to overstating ones actions. Charges of greenwashing (the unjustified appropriation of environmental virtue) are difficult and messy to fight.
So, as I embark on my second year of scooter life, I want to thank my wife, staff and Avis Rental Car for helping keep me on the road when I need more than 2 wheels.
Public Relations is More than Negative vs. Positive Publicity
I’m going to violate our Orange Slices policy of not commenting on how companies handle public relations and media relations. In reading this morning’s Wall Street Journal, I was stunned to read the comments [subscription required] by Bayer CropScience CEO Bill Buckner regarding a tragic explosion at one of its chemical plants in 2008. Buckner is quoted as acknowledging that his company’s response efforts created “confusion and concern” because the company had tried to keep details of the explosion confidential out of a desire to “limit negative publicity.”
Note: If you cannot get to the WSJ article through the link above, you may be able to access it by searching for “bayer wall street journal” and then clicking on the first link, which apparently bypasses the newspaper’s pay wall.
I thought we had moved past the time when corporate CEOs think that they can hide or obscure information simply because they want it that way. That is difficult to do in the best of circumstances. It is virtually impossible to do when your building explodes, fireballs shoot hundreds of feet in the air, two employees are killed and rescue workers are injured. And it did not go unnoted that the chemical the plant produced was the same chemical that leaked from the Union Carbide plant in India that killed 4,000 people in 1984.
However, for our profession, the real issue is not the misguided desire to “limit negative publicity.” It is the continued misunderstanding and misperception that public relations is about good or negative publicity. Public relations is about managing communications with stakeholders who can help or hurt an organization’s mission by what they think, believe, say and do. It is an interactive process and it is an open process that builds trust, understanding and credibility. When the CEO of a major company talks about limiting information and obscuring details so that it could better shape the “public debate,” then we know our profession still has a long way to go in making our voice heard at the management table.