If you subscribe to HARO (Help a Reporter Out) queries, you’re likely familiar with the format of these email alerts. If you are not, welcome to the world of HARO – a great database for journalists and PR professionals with a number of sources for upcoming stories and opportunities to secure media coverage for clients.
HARO emails are sent several times a day and are broken into different industry categories. Under each category are lists of the titles and topics in need of resources. However, above the categories and at the top of every email, HARO publishes news and/or tips and tricks for marketing and PR professionals.
In a recent email blast, HARO featured Cision’s free white paper, “The Five Truths of Modern Media Targeting,” which addresses the common challenges associated with conducting influencer outreach.
For example, did you know that “80 percent of influencers complain about irrelevant pitches they receive?” Cision’s white paper addresses this mix-up and shares five tips for how to effectively leverage influencer campaigns.
- Design your targeting strategy with your clients in mind. This may seem like a no-brainer, however, it’s a good reminder to take a customer-centric approach when creating a list of target influencers. Many PR professionals will go after the big dogs like The Washington Post or Wall Street Journal, but it’s more important to consider the outlets with which your customer is reading and engaging. Identifying the individuals, news, trade and social channels your clients are already interested in will better inform your strategy for creating a brand-influencer campaign. At Communiqué PR we achieve this by taking time to learn a company’s objectives and target audiences; taking this strategic approach accurately leads into the next step of creating a media list.
- Find relevant influencers using more than just Google. Although Google is a great tool to discover influencers’ topics of interest and areas of past coverage, it should be one step in the influencer vetting process. Taking time to consult other database tools will help quickly filter the right influencers with which to engage. For example, Cision’s influencer profiles contain links to their recent articles and their social media accounts to provide transparency into their “sphere of influence.” A best practice I use is to start with a Cision or IT Database search, and then verify my findings using Google to determine if this influencer is still covering the topic.
- Understand the messages your target influencers want to hear. A major element in identifying the correct influencers lies in understanding the topics and trends they cover and that their readers care about. By taking the time to learn past areas of coverage and even the voice of their reporting, PR professionals will quickly be able to determine if the influencer is a fit. If they do seem like the right influencer, take time to craft and individualize the campaign so it will not only resonate with the influencer, but also provide them with the information they need to serve their readership. Types of items to research before drafting your message include, but are not limited to, past articles they’ve written, topics of interest, audience demographics and the their preferred time and contact method.
- Personalize pitches and reduce the volume of outreach. This shouldn’t be breaking news to any PR professional. Tailoring pitches goes in hand with tip no. 3, however, in addition to connecting influencers with the right messages and experts, it’s also important to minimize the number of individuals to whom you are sending pitches. If you followed step no. 3, you’re influencer press list should not have 100 contacts in it. Keep campaigns small, meaningful and targeted. You’ll receive more results, improve brand perception and, most importantly, inform rather than overwhelm.
- Bigger isn’t always better. Often PR professionals and clients view unique visitors per month (UVM) and reach as the most important metrics when evaluating and selecting influencers to target. Depending on the company size, product availability and topic of your campaign, an influencer with readers who value your campaign topic will be more beneficial than a high-visibility influencer with a larger readership. Cision’s “Digital Reach” approach takes a step further than UVM and analyzes the level of engagement influencers have with their audiences. This is executed by measuring how often content from the influencer is shared via social media channels and linked with other websites. Assessing these types of influencer data will help uncover the impact niche influencers can provide to the business, as well as inform conversations to secure your clients buy-in.
If you’re still in need of resources, check out these two blog posts on influencer programs to help drive value with your strategies and prevent your brand from conducting off-topic outreach.