Insights for Leaders Navigating
Visibility, Credibility, and Growth.
From media strategy to reputation management, we explore the trends shaping public perception and share the approaches that drive measurable results for growing brands.
A couple of weeks ago, I headed south to Salem, Ore., to assist in hosting a farm tour at Rickreall Dairy, a farmer-owner of our client, dairy co-op Darigold. While the time away from the office, interacting with the cows and enjoying the fresh air, feels like an adult field trip, there is a lot of planning that goes into hosting this event and making it successful.
Last year, we hosted a tour at a farm in Washington state that highlighted the most important part of Darigold’s story: the farmer-owners. After this event, we realized that no one could illustrate the passion and dedication that goes into producing high quality and operating a sustainable and responsible dairy better than the farmers themselves.
The goal of this event was to invite media to tour the farm and speak directly with the farmer to understand the daily operations of a dairy—everything from the cow nutrition plan and milking the cows to nutrient management systems and sustainability practices. We viewed this as an excellent opportunity to show journalists and consumers how milk is produced, as well as build positive sentiment with the farmers at the heart of Darigold.
Having hosted an event similar to this before, we had a general understanding of what was ahead of us, but as with any campaign, event or activity, it is always important to analyze the results and understand what went well, what could have gone better, and what we should keep in mind for next time. After debriefing this year’s tour, we want to share our key takeaways from the event:
- Plan around a news hook. As we began to plan the event several months ago, one of the first steps was to identify a farm that would be able to host a tour. During the decision-making process we considered a variety of items, including the farmer’s comfort level with hosting visitors and speaking to media, the story of the farm and farmer, and the location. As we considered each of our requirements, we had a number of farms on our list, but when we received the good news that Rickreall Dairy had won the Outstanding Dairy Farm Sustainability Award, making it the first the dairy in Oregon to do so, it was clear which farm would host the tour. The recent honor would provide us with an intriguing news hook that would likely encourage greater attendance—and it did, with six reporters from five different publications attending the event.
- Beware of Fridays during the summer. As we all know, summer is a hard time to track down anyone, journalists included. People are on vacation throughout the summer, but especially on Fridays. Once we began pitching, we received a decent number of responses. Unfortunately, they weren’t exactly what we were hoping for. Many people were on vacation for the Friday we planned the tour. However, we were able to work with them, as well as managing editors or assignment editors, to identify alternative contacts that were available to attend the tour. In the future, mid-week days would likely lead to fewer conflicts in availability.
- Pitch broadcast media closer to the date. In order to ensure the tour was on calendars early, and for the point made above, we reached out to all media well ahead of the event. While I think this was helpful because the event was on journalists’ radar early on, we likely could have waited a bit longer to pitch broadcast. As you likely know, broadcast does not begin planning the programming for the day until the morning of that particular day. While we knew this point when we began media outreach, a specific outreach plan became clearer after speaking with a number of newsrooms. We started outreach about three and a half weeks in advance of the tour. I would still allow that time for print media, however, with broadcast, I would send an email detailing the event about two weeks before. A week before the event, I would conduct follow-up outreach via phone and email to the newsroom and assignment editor to ensure the event is on the calendar. Next, plan to follow up with the assignment editors after the newsroom’s morning planning meeting to determine if your event is one that they plan to attend that day.
- Leverage social media to make the most of the event. As you can assume, hosting this event takes a lot of time and coordination, not only on the PR team’s part, but also from the farmer, so it is very important to make the most of the event. Social media is a great way to continue amplifying the event and the resulting coverage. While I walked along the tour with the farmer and journalists, I took pictures of the farm and of the farmer interacting with the media. Once we wrapped up the tour, I was immediately developing posts to accompany the images to share over the farm’s Facebook page. Once the posts were live Facebook, we worked with Darigold’s social-media team to share the posts from their Facebook handle. In addition to this, as the coverage has published, we’ve shared each piece from the social media handles to continue widening the reach of the tour.
Overall the event was a great success, leading to four pieces thus far and with more to come. I look forward to next summer’s tour!
- Rickreall Dairy wins national sustainability award—The Statesman Journal, 7/28/17
- Oregon Dairy honored for its sustainable practices—Capital Press, 8/1/17
- Rickreall Dairy wins innovation award for sustainable practices, happy cows—KATU, 8/2/17
- Rickreall Dairy Earns ‘Sustainability’ Award—Polk County Itemizer-Observer, 8/2/17
My goal for this summer was much different than previous summers. Growing up, summers were for being a kid, hanging out with friends, and working summer jobs for some extra cash. However, the older I am getting the more I am trying to prepare myself for the dreaded real world that we hear so much about.
This summer would be different. I planned to work as an intern at Communiqué PR, work my normal job at a restaurant, and read. For those who know me, the last goal seems like a gag, I know, but I really wanted to read one book a month, giving myself an obtainable goal all summer. For someone who usually doesn’t read unless it’s a textbook, about sports, or my Twitter timeline, one book a month seemed like a daunting task.
I decided first on Pete Carroll’s book, “Win Forever: Live, Work, and Play Like a Champion.” This piqued my interest initially, because Pete Carroll is the head coach of my favorite team, the Seattle Seahawks. His charisma and positivity, along with his competitive edge, helped him become who he is today. I wanted to learn more on how he is able to maintain success while remaining true to himself, and see how his lessons might be applied to the professional world. Here are the main points that stood out to me:
Having “Drive” or “A Chip on your Shoulder”
Carroll expresses how important it is to have “drive” or that “chip on the shoulder.” For him, it was not being physically gifted enough to play football to his full potential until later in life. Then it was being cut from his only shot at professional football. And later, it was being fired and having to start over, time and time again. But this didn’t stop him, as each failed attempt became a stronger motivation to make the next opportunity work.
The same can be said for the professional world. The chances of having no setbacks in your career are slim. Transforming setbacks into opportunities to better yourself allows one to be more prepared for what may come next. Use the setbacks as reasons to work harder and smarter. Every day is a chance to get better, no matter the situation. For me, seeing my writing being edited over and over again was frustrating, until I realized that in the end, each new attempt was me trying to out-do myself. Once I came to terms with this fact, writing and working as a whole has become much more enjoyable.
Always Compete
Competition drives the world on and off the field, and Pete Carroll is a testament to that. The core philosophy of his coaching style is competition. That competitive drive, through trial and error, is how he got to where he is: one of the most decorated college coaches of all time, and Super Bowl champion coach in the NFL. Anytime you become complacent and stop working hard, you are susceptible to losing your job. Often times in sports, you are replaceable, not because you are less talented, but because the person replacing you was a harder worker and made the most of his or her opportunity.
The same goes in the professional world. I will be graduating from college soon, and with more and more people going to college and boosting their resumes, the opportunity to find a career grows more difficult. This is great though, because I know that I can’t slack off, and it requires my best effort each and every day. In the office, work does not come to those who sit and wait. Whether it’s looking for new clients, or retaining current ones, those who are motivated to compete with themselves and others in the field will always be successful.
Having Fun
As much as Carroll stresses competition and improving yourself and others, having fun is just as important of a factor. Most people would agree that work is much more enjoyable when they can have fun and work. It is one of the things that Carroll is distinctly known for, highlighted by the fact he brought in a deejay for the long summer days of training camp with the Seahawks.
Likewise, here at Communiqué PR, the environment is fun. The days can be long, typing away at various projects, or sitting in on conference calls. But everyone has a great attitude, and we all look forward to our team barbeques and outings. It offers a time for the office to come together and step away from the stress of a job that is constantly changing. A work environment filled with driven people who enjoy the day-in-day-out grind truly has changed my perception of what it means to work in the office.
Concluding Thoughts and Recommendations
After reading Carroll’s book, I have a new respect and perspective on what it means to work the 9-to-5, 40-hours per-week-job. Growing up as an athlete, I wanted to win at virtually everything. Luckily, I still feel that I have that drive to better myself. By accepting my mistakes and allowing myself to learn from them, I try to never let a possible learning moment go by the wayside. I try to push myself each and every day, trying to become the first person in my family to graduate from college. If you can find that internal or external motivation, and use it your advantage, anything is possible.
Overall, I thought this book was a good read. Although there were no real secrets to success, like other books claim, Carroll doesn’t shy away from advice. Throughout each chapter, there are unique ideas and different perspectives on how to become successful. As the reader, I found it interesting to learn much more about someone who made the most of each opportunity, in almost every aspect of life. Whether you’re a football fan or not, I think that anyone can use this book to realize that each day is a new opportunity, and to always compete. In the end, as Carroll says, “All you should ever strive for is to be the best you can be … and that is the essence of what it means to Win Forever.”
I would recommend this book to any professional looking for creative ways to achieve success. Potentially, younger people who read this book may find it motivating, and could use the tips and ideas to become leaders in and outside the class room or office. For sports fans and non-sport fans alike, this book offers an inside perspective on how to make the most of yourself, and consequently, those with whom you surround yourself.
As a student studying public relations, one of the first things taught is the importance of interning. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, jobs for public relations specialists are growing at 7 percent annually. With a large number of students receiving degrees in communication, it’s now more paramount than ever to “get your foot in the door” and gain hands-on experience through internships.
What is an internship?
Internships are positions where individuals work in or for an organization, sometimes for college credits or without pay, in order to gain experience or satisfy requirements for job qualification. Interns are often portrayed in popular culture like fraternity pledges: running coffee orders, answering phones and printing material. However, one could argue that interns are a crucial factor in an organization, as they help keep the chaos at bay by keeping tasks orderly and lending a helping hand whenever needed.
Before interning, I knew only what had been taught to me in my introductory public relations courses. I knew that there would be a great deal of writing involved and that I would eventually have to be quick-witted in circumstances where tensions are high and deadlines are imminent.
In an academic setting, students learn the basics of PR: what it is, how it started, where it could be headed and how important it is. Students learn how to write introductory press releases, media kits and other crucial pieces of communication that help support clientele. They learn about public relations campaigns gone awry and cases that were handled with the utmost eloquence, such as the Tylenol crisis of 1982. Among all this information that academia provides, there is still something missing: experience. So, without further ado, I’ve compiled a list of the most prominent differences between learning about PR in school versus working in a professional setting.
Managing internal and external deadlines
Time-management is the name of the game. While in school, it is easy to block off time to dedicate to certain projects, and, let’s face it, procrastination tends to get the better of us all at times. However, working in the industry can be much more difficult when it comes to facing deadlines. If you miss a deadline for a school project, it’s a deduction to your grade, while missing a deadline for a client could cause a press release or product launch delay, which could then affect revenue and other business aspects. Client deadlines are crucial, which means procrastination is no longer an option. A good way to manage your time wisely is through the use of internal and external deadlines.
Internal deadlines are there to serve as motivators for execution and completion of projects. They are the goals and objectives that you give yourself surrounding project completion, usually 48 hours prior to the external deadline. External deadlines are shared between you and your team and work by using the power of peer pressure to hold everyone involved accountable. The completion of deadlines in a timely fashion is key, as they set a standard between you, your coworkers, and most importantly, the client.
While internal and team deadlines are vital, client deadlines are the most important. Our job in this business is to keep our clients happy and to try and convey the importance of PR and how it impacts their business, essentially proving why they should continue to practice PR.
Building an effective press list
Media relations are one of the most important pillars of PR. The relationship between media and public relations is symbiotic; we supply the media with stories that represent our clients and they are able to publish content that may gain traction with their audience. One of the ways we are able to reach the right media is through Cision.
Cision, otherwise known as the lifeline of every public relations professional, was never mentioned in school. Cision is a PR and earned media software company and services provider that helps aid in building press lists, retrieving contact information, and finding circulation and unique monthly visitors to key media outlets.
There is a plethora of functions and an ample amount of data on Cision, making this tool somewhat complex. This is where sleuthing comes in to play. Once we find reporters via Cision, we take a more in-depth approach and sleuth through each of their twitter feeds to understand the stories in which they are covering and gain a perspective on what they are most likely to accept from us.
These practices are valuable knowledge that every student studying PR needs to familiarize themselves with to be able to provide prompt, viable press lists. Check out our blog for more information on building a rock-solid press list.
The power of organization
I cannot say that school didn’t teach me a thing or two about organizational skills. Taking several public relations centered courses, along with extra-curricular activities, makes for a broad spectrum of work and deadlines. However, the level of organization that is used in a professional setting is incomparable. Before interning, I never organized my email in my inbox because I never had a range of different clients to categorize. And while an academic environment gives you some leeway to be free and organized at times, it is imperative that you stay organized while working for an agency.
A matter of time
Working in a PR organization, everyone must track his or her time. This way, the projects that we work on for clients are billed straight to the client and we are able to keep up with how many hours we completed for each client when the month is up. Since the environment in a PR firm is fast-paced and constantly moving, tracking time helps everyone keep up with the amount of work that is dedicated to each of our clients. By the time we have finished one project for a client, we have already started planning out the next ten steps towards a new project.
This kind of environment is something that one definitely has to learn to get used to. In an academic setting, the only time-tracking a student is pursuing are the hours or minutes until class is over. The pressure and workload stays at about the same pace until finals week. However, at the office, every week is finals week.
The importance of interning
It is important for students to intern to gain experience, and to figure out if he or she can see themselves working full time in that position. Think of it as a trial-run. You’re able to gain some insight into your strengths and weaknesses and can then tailor your course schedule to help build up those skills.
Had I not participated in an internship with Communiqué PR, I would not know how to properly formulate a pitch, create a working press list or briefing document, and so much more. Working here has helped me grow as a public relations professional and as a person. My internship was filled with excitement and provided an opportunity for me to constantly learn how to improve, and I will forever take this experience with me.
If you are interested in an internship opportunity with Communiqué PR, contact us at [email protected], or visit our careers page.
As PR professionals, we want to spark the interest of busy journalists to motivate them to consider our story idea. These journalists receive hundreds of pitches per day. So, how do we pique their interest?
Success often starts with presenting compelling information to journalists at the right time. It sounds pretty simple, but it can prove to be quite difficult. It’s challenging to PR professionals because we need to have newsworthy content and know how to frame it correctly. This means articulating a clear story angle and demonstrating why it is news.
The story angle is the specific viewpoint or perspective from which a writer tells his or her story – and often the same story can be told from a different viewpoint. Consider the fairytale of the “Three Little Pigs.” The story traditionally is told from the perspective of the pigs who are upset with the big bad wolf for blowing down the first pig’s straw house and the second pig’s house of sticks. The wolf is unable to destroy the third pig’s house, made of bricks.
This same story, however, can be told from a different angle. In “The True Story of the Three Little Pigs” by Jon Scieszka and Lane Smith, the story is told from the wolf’s perspective. For more on this, check out this fun YouTube video.
Our distribution of a press release about Richmond Capital Partners acquiring Smartlabs Inc. is a clear example of how different perspectives can shape the story angle. For this distribution, each reporter covered the news using a different angle. Casey Coombs with Puget Sound Business Journal decided his angle would focus on Rob Lilleness and his next career move. While Paresh Dave with the L.A. Times focused on the financial aspect of the acquisition. These reporters covered the same news, but used different angles for their stories.
According to Ragan’s PR Daily article, 16 Story Angles That Reporters Relish, some elements that make for a strong story angle include: conflict, an incident, extremes or superlatives, originality, relevance, and emotion. The inclusion of at least one of these elements, along with a personalized perspective, is a sure way to create an interesting and easily manifested story.
When pitching a story or writing an article, it is a good idea to consider all the potential angles and why each of those angles are significant. That way, you can weigh the pros and cons of one story angle versus another to come up with the strongest possible edge. Once you’ve decided on the story angle, you’ll begin writing and developing your lead.
Leads (or ledes) are strong, concise and usually are composed of 30 words or less. A lead is composed of the who, what, when, where, why, and how of the story. Using a relevant anecdote comprised with specificity to the story to is an effective way to create a lead and pique the reader’s interest.
Here are some examples of intriguing leads:
- “Silicon Valley’s steady march toward self-driving cars took another step forward Friday as the ride-hailing company Lyft said its customers will be able to summon a driverless vehicle on some roads by the end of the year.” – The Washington Post
- “In eight decades since Amelia Earhart’s ill-fated flight around the globe, residents of her Kansas hometown have grown used to renowned historians and armchair researchers claiming to have finally solved the mystery of her disappearance.” – The New York Times
The headline creates motivation for the readers to determine whether or not they will invest time in reading your story. Headlines create an initial impression that will either draw readers in or fail to capture their attention.
In our blog post revolving around which headlines resonate with readers, we investigate what makes for an engaging headline and the steps the New York Times has taken to ensure its content is receiving views. As Mark Bulik, senior editor at the Times points out, the headlines with the most success are clear, powerful, and written in a conversational tone.
Headlines must embody the underlying theme of the story, and try not to mislead readers into thinking the story is something different, entirely. For more information on how to make an impact with your headline, read our blog post How Headlines Shape Perceptions.
Below is a sampling of the headlines about Richmond Capital Partners acquiring Smartlabs, Inc. (a full list of the editorial coverage is included in this post). By scanning these you can see at a glance, the various angles that reporters used:
- Cash infusion could bring Smartlabs more recognition, L.A. Times
- Smartlabs to open Seattle office after it’s acquired by Richmond Capital, The Seattle Times
- Seattle tech veteran buys first IoT company with new investment firm, Puget Sound Business Journal
For more articles to help you build your PR skills, please check out these related Communiqué PR blogs:
Prior to 1982, Tylenol was just the little bottle you grabbed out of your medicine cabinet when a headache hit. Seven deaths, millions of dollars and 35 years later, that little bottle is now the poster-child for crisis management.
What Happened?
In the years leading up to 1982, Tylenol dominated the over-the-counter painkiller industry with a controlling 37 percent share of the market. Consumers everywhere counted on Johnson & Johnson (J&J) to deliver a product that was consistently effective and trustworthy. The empire that Johnson & Johnson had carefully nurtured was critically threatened in October of 1982 when seven people in the Chicago area died from ingesting Tylenol Extra Strength.
The victims ranged from a 12-year-old girl who woke up with flu symptoms to a mother who had just given birth to her fourth child. All seven victims were seemingly unrelated and had died under the same mysterious circumstances with no evidence of foul play.
The first responders were dumbfounded by the string of deaths. What did all of these victims have in common? Helen Jensen, a nurse from the public health department, was combing over the details from an inventory taken at a house where three victims died when she made a startling realization: There were six missing Tylenol Extra Strength pills and three dead people — could the Tylenol be the culprit? Upon voicing this lead, the perceived absurdity of poisoned over-the-counter medication trounced her argument.
Further investigation proved Jensen right, and we now know that a still unidentified suspect removed the Tylenol bottles from the shelves of drugstores, laced the capsules with 10,000 times the lethal dose of potassium cyanide, and returned the bottles to the shelf. Consumers across the nation, plagued by fear, halted all purchasing of Tylenol products, and J&J’s market share quickly fell to 7 percent.
Johnson & Johnson’s Response
When news of the crisis broke, a crisis response team was quickly established, headed by then-CEO of Johnson & Johnson James E Burke (1925-2012). As terror spread throughout the nation, Burke, one of Fortune’s top 10 CEOs, and the crisis response team were faced with the immediate decision of either risking more deaths or removing the product from the shelves. After originally recalling all Tylenol products in the Chicago area, J&J decided it was in the public’s best interest to recall all 31 million Tylenol bottles — which were valued at an astounding $100 million.
Along with the recall, Johnson & Johnson opened a 1-800 hotline for anyone seeking information, sent over 400,000 warning messages to doctors offices and pharmacies, halted all advertising of the product, and offered a $100,000 reward for anyone with information about the suspect.
In a final effort to restore its reputation, J&J exchanged all already-purchased Tylenol capsules with a new form of the medication: tablets, which are much harder to tamper with. This exchange cost Johnson & Johnson millions of dollars, but if it even saved one life, the benefit far outweighed the cost. With every available preventative action taken, and no more reported deaths, the crisis response team turned their attention to phase two: the uphill battle of regaining consumers’ trust in Tylenol products.
Reintroducing the Product
For most consumers, the thought of ever taking an over-the-counter pain medication — not to mention Tylenol — was unimaginable. How could anyone be sure that there wasn’t an invisible killer hiding beneath the thin layer of cotton? That layer of cotton became an afterthought when the FDA introduced a new regulation calling for all packaging to be tamper-resistant, complete with the warning, “Do not use if safety seals are broken.”
Johnson & Johnson was the first business to adhere to these new FDA regulations in the hope that it would demonstrate the company’s commitment to the safety of its consumers.
To encourage the scared-off consumers to return to their once beloved Tylenol, J&J offered them a deal that few could refuse: a $2.50 off coupon distributed through the most popular national newspapers. J&J knew that “consumers” were not the only public they needed to reassure, so they turned their attention elsewhere. Over 2,250 J&J sales people made presentations to doctors offices, hospitals and pharmacies around the country in the hope that they could convince medical professionals to continue recommending Tylenol products. As a result of J&J’s tireless efforts, by December, Tylenol had regained 24 percent of the over-the-counter painkiller market share. In two months, Tylenol had made it full circle, from a trusted pain medication, to a cold-hearted killer, and finally, back to America’s favorite analgesic — a truly incredible recovery.
Analysis
Earlier in the case study I mentioned that J&J did a nationwide recall because it was in the public’s best interest. This statement, “public’s best interest,” was the governing principle for their crisis management plan and became the primary reason for Tylenol’s flawless recovery. Jerry Knight, a reporter for the Washington Post, said it perfectly in his October 1982 article: “What Johnson & Johnson executives have done is communicate the message that the company is candid, contrite, and compassionate, committed to solving the murders and protecting the public.”
Equally as important to its recovery was J&J’s dedication to thoroughly addressing all of their publics. Through transparency, J&J promoted open communication with the media so that the 125,000 news stories attributed to the crisis were mostly positive. Furthermore, by establishing a relationship and cooperating with both the Chicago police department and FDA, J&J was able to aid in the investigation and assist in the development of the tamper-resistant packaging, leading to exponential opportunities for positive media coverage.
Rather than employing crisis-response strategies like avoidance and refutation, which seek to distance or eliminate one’s self from the crisis, Johnson & Johnson adopted repentance and rectification. By using repentance, which is simply asking for forgiveness, J&J took responsibility for whatever role they played in the crisis and assured the public of their commitment toward making it right. J&J achieved rectification, or taking action to make sure that the occurrence will not happen in the future, by its timely adoption of tamper-resistant packaging.
The Tylenol Murders are said to be the first act of domestic terrorism in the United States and received almost as much media coverage as the assassination of JFK. With attributions such as these, it is an incredible feat that Tylenol still exists, and even more so that it continues to be widely used.
There is no master playbook or a one-size-fits all approach to a successful PR pitch, but there are several components that can help you adapt your outreach to meet your goals and objectives. No matter what you are promoting or who you’re trying to reach, there are certain elements all public relations professionals should consider when developing and executing a pitch.
Do your homework when developing your pitch list
Get to know the players. Spend time doing your research and identifying what reporters are writing about in your industry. Browse articles and read bylines to get a better sense of what they’re interested and what they’ve covered recently.
Build relationships. You want to be a credible source for the reporters you’re connecting with. Comment on their articles and follow them on social media. Give them what they need and don’t burden them with emails that are not relevant.
Pitch a story – not your client’s company
The goal is to figure out storylines that resonate with the audience of your target outlets while ensuring your clients’ key messages are coming through.
Position your story as part of a trending news topic that appeals to a broader audience. Leverage your client’s expertise as a thought leader in the space and offer spokespeople to further make your case. Preparing examples such as stats, metrics and third-party reports will help support your perspective and solidify your ideas. Make it hard for them to say no.
Think about:
- Who is this story about?
- Who is it relevant to – who is your target audience?
- What is happening?
- When and where is your story taking place?
- Why is this valuable? Why are you (or your client) doing this?
Also, be respectful of their right to make the decision and pass on a story. Remember, it’s all about the reporter and the outlet, not you or your client.
Concise subject line
Get to the point. Successful outreach starts with a subject line that grabs the reporter’s attention. Reporters are inundated with emails and phone calls while constantly working toward pressing deadlines. A pithy and succinct subject line that offers value will increase the chances they will read your pitch.
What’s your value-add?
Differentiate yourself from the competition. Demonstrate the significance of what you’re pitching and why it’s important to the reporter’s audience. What value does it provide? How does it relate to a current trend or breaking news story? How does it align with their recent coverage?
Never include attachments
Links to additional information is preferred. Bogging reporters down with lengthy attachments is surefire way to get your emails directed to their spam folders. If they want to dig deeper they will follow up. This way you can provide them with exactly what they need, instead of flooding them with too much information and expecting them to sift through it.
Spellcheck!
Pitches, and all communications you send, should always be free of spelling errors. No exceptions. It’s always helpful to have a second set of eyes on the final pitch prior to distribution.
Follow up
Every agency and PR professional has a different way to approach the cadence of the follow-up outreach, but regardless of preference, it is a vital part of the process. Generally speaking, after the initial email a phone call should follow in the coming days. When you speak to the reporter, get straight to your point. Recognizing they are always on deadline, it’s helpful to start with “Is now a good time?” Then quickly let them know what you’re calling about and that you want to gauge their interest. If it’s a yes, get them what they need. If no, you can ask for feedback as to why it’s not something they would cover.
If you can’t reach a reporter, avoid the temptation to call repeatedly. Pay attention to any clues as to why they are unavailable. For example, the reporter may be out of the office for a vacation, sick day or a work trip. When you leave a message, keep it short and concise.
Twitter can also be a helpful tool to gain insight into their availability. For example, it they tweet that they are on their way to SXSW, you know why they’re not answering. Also, many reporters prefer to communicate through direct messages on Twitter.
If you integrate these components into your strategy as you develop your pitch, it can help you, and your clients, secure results.