I am moved to write this post after reading a commentary by Bob Garfield, editor-at-large of MediaPost, a respected online publication for marketing and advertising. In P.R. Wild Pitches, Spring Edition, Garfield puts a few folks on blast for their flawed public relations strategies. The outing of these professionals aside, his article shines attention on the use of media lists and directories – an important tool of the public relations trade. Many, including yours truly, use lists and directories to reach print, electronic and online contacts who can expose a message to a wider and targeted audience (operative word here is targeted). For small businesses serious about marketing, a media directory/list subscription (which is not cheap, if it is worth its weight) to execute public relations objectives is vital. All too often, however, a few rotten apples use this tool to throw everything at the wall to see what sticks, a spray and pray tactic. I encourage you to read the entire commentary at MediaPost.com for fine examples of how not to use or abuse media contacts. Here are a few highlights; some may say lowlights, of the offenders who drew Garfield’s ire. For purposes of this post, I redacted names and formatted Garfield’s take in bold.
From: [name redacted] at [company name redacted]
To: Bob Garfield
Subject: Can I book this with you?
Hi Bob
Warmer weather is on the way and women everywhere are thinking about this year’s swimsuits—and this year’s fitness routine. But how do you keep fitness fun and interesting while guaranteeing that bikini bod?
Introducing a brand new workout that’s easy, exciting and can burn 880 calories per hour…
Yes, email lists are inexpensive, so there is a certain efficiency to sending a pitch to every carbon-based organism in the universe, knowing that one of them may be on the swimsuit-body beat and so desperate to fill space that they get past the insipid first sentence of such an email — if you don’t mind the risk of alienating, say, someone who writes only about media and marketing and who will tell anybody who will listen that [individual’s name] at [company name redacted] is a nuisance.
From: [individual name redacted]
To: Bob Garfield
Subject: [Brand name redacted]Media Tour
Hi Bob,
I hope you had a great weekend! I am working on setting up a media tour in various cities and states for [client name redacted], health and wellness experts and inventors of the [brand name redacted] Body System. Are you interested in setting up an interview with them?
Hi, [name redacted]. 1) My weekend was lovely, thank you. Took my daughter and her friends to the theater for her birthday. 2) No. Or with any of your other clients. Ever.
Because, [name redacted], random blasting causes collateral damage. Which I’m guessing is okay with you and the rest of your industry. No more than 1% of pitches even begin to correspond to my areas of interest.
The use of media directories and lists, particularly for small businesses, is a costly investment, but important for building and maintaining relationships and trust. I contend that these yellow pages of industry contacts are PR’s friend rather than foe. Courtesy of PR Newswire, here are several tips to ensure that your strategy and pitch generate coverage in publications that reach your targeted audience and not Bob Garfield’s next edition of Wild Pitches.
1. Know your audience before you start. Do some research and have an understanding of who you are trying to reach. Everyone wants to see their news in The Wall Street Journal , but will your audience be looking for your information there, or are you more likely to find your audience via a regional trade publication?
2. Be creative with your searches. A good database will give you a variety of ways to search for outlets and contacts by name, subject/beat, region, circulation, etc. Do multiple searches and don’t select too many parameters in one search or you’re likely to have limited results.
3. Try a keyword search combined with a region or industry. Just like any search engine, your results are only as good as your search terms.
4. Refine your list. Don’t ever pitch everyone that came up in a search result. Good targeting, which results in media pickup requires careful screening. Start by scanning the publication names and subjects that came up. Remove contacts that are obviously not a fit. The keyword ‘cable’ might be in someone’s profile, but if it’s referring to television and your information is about a steel product, then that contact is not going to do you any good and you’ll be wasting their time. Continue scanning the data and removing contacts as needed.
5. READ. There is no shortcut to understanding what a journalist or blogger writes about. Read their work to understand their focus and style. They may write about the industry you are targeting but perhaps it’s a blog that pokes fun at industry mishaps.
6. Connect socially. A good database will provide links to a journalist or blogger’s Twitter, LinkedIn and Google+ accounts. Follow journalists and bloggers that seem to be a fit and pay attention to what they are talking about and what they are interested in. What is it that currently holds their attention? Engage appropriately with thoughtful comments or by reposting/retweeting their work.
7. Understand the pitch-notes. Before sending an email or picking up the phone to call anyone on your list, arm yourself with the information in the pitch-notes and be mindful of any special instructions or requests.
Read Media Databases: A Valuable Research Tool in the Right Hands at PRNewswire.com.
In full disclosure, LGK subscribes to Marketwired’s media directory to assist small business clients and their brands execute effective public relations strategies.
Does your small business subscribe to a media directory or use a media list? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments section of this post.
GB O’Brien
LGK Principal
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Photo credit: Neal. / Source / CC BY