Media Relations 101
One of the great things about working for Eisbrenner Public Relations is all the opportunities for professional development, or as it's called around here, PD.
On most Thursdays, we either have a speaker come in, or someone here in the office talks about something new and exciting they've been doing. Last week, Christine, our events manager, gave a PD on event metrics. Other PDs have ranged in topics from social media to our client evaluation process.
There are also opportunities for more "specialized" PD. Today I met with Melissa, a senior account executive, and account coordinators Ashley, Lisa and Schanel for a Media Relations 101 session.
In my first internship I had a lot of direct media contact, attempting to place stories in all types of publications. I did have some success, but sometimes felt like a stalker - calling journalists endlessly trying to get feedback.
Melissa gave us some great tips on how to work with the media successfully. I tought I would share some of them with readers out there so you don't make the same mistakes I have:
(1) Cut through the clutter. Journalists don't have time to read every press release they receive, so make sure yours is direct and to-the-point. Make sure the headline is an attention-getter.
(2) Research the outlet and the reporter. Journalists receive hundreds of e-mails from PR professionals everyday. Make sure what you're pitching is relevant to the outlet and the beat the reporter is covering. And make sure you're sending e-mails to the right person; no one likes to be bothered with someone else's job.
(3) Make it easy on the reporter. It's our job to help them write their stories. Give them all the information you can - visuals, bios, press releases. Always deliver on your promises. If you say you'll set up an interview with a spokesperson, do it.
(4) Give them time. Don't annoy journalists. Expecting to hear back on a pitch within a few hours might be a little unreasonable depending on the journalist's workload.
On most Thursdays, we either have a speaker come in, or someone here in the office talks about something new and exciting they've been doing. Last week, Christine, our events manager, gave a PD on event metrics. Other PDs have ranged in topics from social media to our client evaluation process.
There are also opportunities for more "specialized" PD. Today I met with Melissa, a senior account executive, and account coordinators Ashley, Lisa and Schanel for a Media Relations 101 session.
In my first internship I had a lot of direct media contact, attempting to place stories in all types of publications. I did have some success, but sometimes felt like a stalker - calling journalists endlessly trying to get feedback.
Melissa gave us some great tips on how to work with the media successfully. I tought I would share some of them with readers out there so you don't make the same mistakes I have:
(1) Cut through the clutter. Journalists don't have time to read every press release they receive, so make sure yours is direct and to-the-point. Make sure the headline is an attention-getter.
(2) Research the outlet and the reporter. Journalists receive hundreds of e-mails from PR professionals everyday. Make sure what you're pitching is relevant to the outlet and the beat the reporter is covering. And make sure you're sending e-mails to the right person; no one likes to be bothered with someone else's job.
(3) Make it easy on the reporter. It's our job to help them write their stories. Give them all the information you can - visuals, bios, press releases. Always deliver on your promises. If you say you'll set up an interview with a spokesperson, do it.
(4) Give them time. Don't annoy journalists. Expecting to hear back on a pitch within a few hours might be a little unreasonable depending on the journalist's workload.
posted by Bethany Stawasz at 2:54 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home