As technology in the media has progressed, so has the need for PR professionals to evolve along with it, specifically in their communication and pitching tactics. Snail mail and the fax machine pitch are as good as dead, and in its place we have email, Twitter pitches and Facebook queries.
Amidst the change, however, old tried-and-true methods continue to be utilized, so that what we have now is a blending of old and new media.
In Sabrina McLaughlin’s case, multimedia has become a huge part of PR, and yet the owner at Florida-based Insight Marketing Communications still teaches her public relations college students at the University of West Florida the basics of a traditional press release. In the same vein, she noted that when sending out releases to journalists, she sends out a traditional release before sending out a following release that incorporates what she calls “virtual engagement,” a multimedia release that provides a journalist with all the moving pieces in one place – links to blogs, social media platforms, or video. Although social media has become a big part of contemporary communication, McLaughlin said that pitching journalists this way should only be done on a case-by-case basis, noting not everyone wants to be pitched via Twitter or Facebook.
Despite these evolving technologies and new forms of communication, Jon Sloane, vice president of St. Louis-based marketing firm Twist, believes that the best way to get your message across is by creating strong relationships with members of the media. A former television news anchor himself, he has a deep understanding of the pressures journalists are under. “You simply have to get their attention, assuming you have a decent story or pitch – they are so inundated, they are so busy fending off pitches,” he said, noting the best way to do this is still by phone. Although many media people say the best way to reach them is by email, he said he doesn’t buy it. It’s a “press the flesh mentality,” he said. Rise above the masses by making that connection.
Regardless of new media or old, Sloane noted that PR pros still need to take in account an organization’s target demographic when sending press material. Let them know what’s in it for them while serving it all up on a “silver platter” with all the needed elements intact, he noted. “I think the game is always going to stay the same – you have to get to the right person with the right pitch to make them pay attention,” he said. Meanwhile, social media pitches and queries are just another means to connect and if possible, set yourself apart from the crowd.
For Daedalus Howell, a man with many titles including columnist for the Sonoma Index-Tribune and North Bay Bohemian, wine country editor of Tasting Panel Magazine and producer of Future Media Research Lab, social media has increased his visibility with readers, he noted. “This has been a positive development in terms of converting my byline to a ‘brand name’ and the perceived access my readers have to me has spurred positive dialogues and inevitably a few pitches,” he said in an email interview. Although most of the pitches he has received have been from semi-personal associates, he’s not against the concept of PR pros reaching out through social media. “I think an additional ‘news’ stream as a point of contact for traditional journalists, bloggers and other conduits of information could be an effective strategy as I’m frequently trawling my Twitter stream for leads.”
Meanwhile, as lines between traditional and online media have blurred and merged, pitches seem to be about the same, although, Howell has noticed he receives fewer embargoed releases due to the instantaneous news culture. “To that end, however, publicists should prep their clients accordingly and be sure they’re available at a moment’s notice for the duration of the release’s relevance. Often on deadline, if I’m at a loss for a lead, I’ll turn to the 100 or more releases I’ve just received looking for a gem. When that gem can’t speak to me, I have to move on. Is this fair?” he said. “Well, I receive releases at all times of the day demanding my attention so I think it’s reasonable to assume I can get a quote with the same seeming disregard for the clock.”
Although new media has most certainly changed the pitching landscape, it’s evident that while some things change, some PR pitching tactics remain the same. The biggest evolution in McLaughlin’s opinion has been the transition from the fax machine. “I definitely think the most prolific change in my career is moving from the world of a fax machine to the world of email,” she said. Although she doesn’t believe the multimedia release or social media has become a dominant means of communication between PR practitioners and journalists just yet, she sees it on the horizon. “I certainly wouldn’t have thought 14 years ago I could essentially run my business from a smartphone.”
–Katrina M. Mendolera
Read more comments from PR practitioners on the evolution of pitching:
Tim Otis, Supervisor of Social Media/PR, Gabriel deGrood Bendt (GdB)
When I first started in PR, I was assigned the very heavy-handed task of securing story coverage for clients by cold calling reporters throughout my eight-hour workday. I noticed that, when social networks truly started to emerge (2007-08), that more newspapers started to develop more robust websites and registration platforms, because traditional advertising started exiting newspapers and media outlets needed to explore options to keep revenue high. When social networks started transitioning to micromedia platforms thanks to the introduction of Facebook’s status feature, that’s when everything changed for the newsroom – both its operation and how reporters now communicate with PR pros:
* You will seldom find reporters listening to voicemails anymore. They will instead be tweeting or on Facebook to “crowdsource” ideas for stories or find someone to interview. (Bottom line: the cold call pitch is dead).
* The news release, while still welcomed, is a lost cause for those media outlets who have embraced new media.
* More and more reporters are now heavily relying on PR “friends” and “followers” who they can trust to be the go-to guide to find experts or spokespeople for stories. Again, the cold call pitch is dead.
Heather Whaling, President, Geben Communication
When I first started my PR career, a decade ago, PR pitching was so different! It was easier to get a reporter to pick up the phone, get TV to come out to your event, etc. Today’s journalists are so strapped for time that its harder to get pitches noticed, and when journalists do notice the pitch, they often ask the PR person to supply multimedia (i.e. photos or video) to accompany the story. We also have to understand changing deadlines. The news cycle has changed, so reporters are responsible for generating more content. PR people should look for opportunities to work with journalists to identify and create compelling content.
Add to that the expanding opportunities for coverage – blogs, podcasts, online news sites, Internet video shows – and a PR person has to keep track of significantly more outlets than in the past. One benefit is that niche sites/outlets enable brands to connect with niche communities in better ways, if they understand how to use PR to create an effective presence. Additionally, social media does enable PR people to get to know journalists on a different level. We’re able to do better research, which I think helps make our pitches stronger. The most effective PR people are the ones who take advantage of these new opportunities for placements and research to help clients better connect with their targeted audiences.
Rod Hughes, Director of Communications, Oxford Communications
The art of pitching to the media has undergone innumerable transformations in the last decade, even in just the last few years. Reporters need to work faster, wear more hats than in past years, and attempt to keep pace with what technology has wrought.
In the past decade newspapers have consolidated and trimmed the fat from their pages. If your pitch isn’t spot-on for a reporter or editor, you won’t secure space in the publication’s precious few pages. That said, those same papers now have robust online presences that can be leveraged, and media outlets like Patch.com are the new, hot, hyper-local vehicles to target for coverage.
Technological advances have spawned countless citizen journalists and even brought print publications into their next iterations. Bloggers are fast becoming the new “traditional” media, and social media outlets like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, Vimeo and countless others have made influencers of us all – whether we know it or not. Identifying and engaging key influencers in these spaces is now a function of driving brand awareness and getting the word out on the latest news and happenings that PR pros once pitched exclusively by press release.
Speaking of press releases, even this tried-and-true medium has had to evolve. Search Engine Optimized language and embedded video are just two of the latest incarnations of the omnipresent press release.
For basic media outreach, if you aren’t engaging reporters, bloggers and citizen journalists via their social media presences then you aren’t really engaging them. Reporters don’t answer traditional email as quickly or readily as they will respond to a post on their wall or a Direct Message on Twitter. And if you can develop a communications strategy by which the media begins to follow you on Twitter – well, you’re life as a PR pro just got immeasurably better.
On a final note, it needs to be said: fax machines have gone the way of the dinosaur. A fax is great for local café daily menu specials and the occasional robo-fax on amazing loan rates, but that’s all; it’s no longer a meaningful communications medium.
Related articles
- Pitching: e-mail v. Twitter (vocus.com)
- Cheat Sheet: How to Pitch a National Journalist (bloggingprweb.com)
- How to follow up on media pitches (wiredprgroup.com)
