The relationship between PR people and journalists/reporters/bloggers seems to be an ongoing feud. Reporters get fed up when they hear the beginning of any story pitch because most of the time, PR people are pitching to the wrong people. According to AdWeek: "We’re writing too many press releases and too often, sending them to the wrong people."As I would like to enter the Public Relations field of an Integrated Marketing Communications Firm following graduation, I feel as though this is a topic I should master. How do I get the reporters to write about my client?
I am lucky to have had minimal experience pitching to reporters during my summer internship at Schneider Associates, an Integrated Marketing Communications firm in Boston, MA. I remember the first pitch I did. . My client was the University of Pittsburgh Katz Graduate School of Business. The story I was trying to pitch was from one of the graduate professors who did a study on loyalty programs and their influence on relationship building. I read the study and it was very interesting and informational. So, my internship supervisor came up to me and said, "Natasha, today is the day you will pitch to reporters!" Immediately, my heart was racing and my voice was shaky. All I have heard is how reporters "don't like PR people." It is a stigma that PR people never send press releases or pitch stories to the right reporters. So, how am I sure I'll be contacting the right reporter? How will I convince this reporter that my client's study is worth writing about? I was freaking out.
Bill Byrne, the director of Remedy Communications, wrote an amazing article in AdWeek explaining how to overcome the most common PR mistake. He says, "Regardless of what they [the reporters] cover, the one thing I’m consistently hearing from them is that the press releases they’re receiving just aren’t worthwhile to them." How do we as PR people overcome this? First, we must realize the power of technology. The newspapers, magazines, and radio are not the first medium that people are finding out about news. They are most likely to find out through other forms of mediums like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Second, we can't just send press releases because we can. It needs to be a strategic process. Third, always remember that local news stories go to local media. Trade related stories should be sent to trade media. Fourth, ask yourself is it actually newsworthy. Nine out of ten times your client is going to think everything they do is newsworthy, but you have to sit down and actually think if it is. It's one thing to sell a newsworthy pitch to a reporter. It's another thing selling a newsworthy pitch to a reporter when you know it is not newsworthy.
At the end of they day, everyone makes mistakes. You'll get that reporter that'll say, "I don't write about commercial real estate anymore" and hangs up the phone. It'll happen. The most important thing is not to get discouraged. Ultimately, the client is paying you to produce editorial results, but they also must understand it takes time. Strategic media relations is how to get reporters to write about your pitch. Understand the pitch, find reporters who will want to write about it, and convince them it is worth writing about. Just because the story is newsworthy, that doesn't mean it needs to be sent to a blast of reporters. Find subject-specific reporters and convince them.
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