Before sending your Press release....

Non-Profit Execs beware...Here's a fabulous article I just fund that tells it all when planning your next media release:

Despite a recent survey’s findings, laying the groundwork is key to your pitch’s success

Seventy-five percent of journalists find well-targeted news releases with high-quality content useful, according to a new survey of 750 journalists conducted by Oriella PR Network, an alliance of 15 PR agencies around the world.

Surveys like this drive me crazy. Out of all the press releases journalists receive, they find the well-written, relevant ones most useful. Really?

Do they want to receive news releases? Do they find news releases the best source of information for finding story ideas? No and no.

While the news release isn’t going away anytime soon, I can’t believe how many people still think it’s an effective form of communication (especially if you’re trying to interest a journalist in writing about you). Take a break from this blog post, and head over to one of the news wire services to read today’s headlines. Let me know when you find a release you’d like to write about if you were a journalist.

What’s the alternative?

You know what works better than a press release? Try having a real conversation with a journalist—when you’re not under the gun trying to score coverage for a client. Learn what they write about and when to contact them. Learn what they hate about PR people. Learn how their organization works.

Don’t rely on “pitch tips” in media databases, and don’t assume you know what a journalist covers because you’ve read one story they wrote.

If you’re relying on news releases for publicity coverage, you’re never going to generate any level of meaningful coverage. Never. That’s not where the great stories come from.

Here are some other tips I’ve found useful:

• Blog. Your blog is your own media outlet. Share everything you can think of about your industry, passion, company, products and services. Don’t make it too commercial, or nobody will care. On the other hand, you’ll be surprised by how many people actually care about the widgets you make. Journalists read your content when they’re looking for sources, too.
• Meet. Seek out journalists at conferences and events. Attend networking events in your area that journalists are known to attend (a local press club or media freelance network, for example). Don’t attend to pitch them a story; attend to meet them. Just be yourself. Try not to act like the stereotypical PR person. If you don’t know what I mean, you’re probably acting like one.
• Listen. I’ve said it time and time again, but follow and engage with journalists through Twitter and other social media. You can learn so much about their interests and preferences by getting involved in the conversation. Don’t be a stalker. Listen and learn. If you pay attention, you’ll come across more opportunities than you can imagine.
• NO. Don’t send out news releases that suck. This might not sound like advice on how to increase your coverage, but it is. If you send crap to journalists, they remember. When you have something newsworthy to share, they won’t see it (because you’re on a PR spammer list or they’ve marked you as a person to ignore). If you are asked to write a news release that is missing “news,” or chock full of gobbledygook, figure out a different angle or don’t send it.
• Target. Whether you’re pitching a story on the phone, via Twitter, at a cocktail party or via a press release, make sure you’ve got the right outlet and contact. Why waste your time pitching an outlet that’s never going to cover your news? The Wall Street Journal doesn’t care that you launched the latest version of your accounting software or that you celebrated you’ve been in business now for 10 years.

As a closing thought, think objectively about survey data. Use your noggin. Although the fact 75 percent of journalists find news releases valuable sounds great, that doesn’t mean 75 percent of journalists want to read your release.

Then again, if it’s relevant to what they cover and it’s well written, maybe they do.

Jeremy Porter is a veteran public relations professional with more than 10 years of experience developing and managing strategic public relations programs for clients. He is the founder of Journalistics.com.

Social Media and Media Relations Can and Needs to be Integrated

As mentioned two weeks ago, I was invited to speak before MARCOM, one of Canada’s leading marketing communications forums for the Public and Non-Profit sector. In my chat, I made the point that organizations need to stop thinking of social as a “bolt-on” strategy. One of marketing’s biggest failures has been what has been called the “bolt it on” approach. This approach refers to a lack of integrated marketing and the tendency to bolt on new marketing disciplines such as e-mail, social media, etc. However, most organizations fail to do the one important thing: ask how these efforts integrate with the work they are already doing.

When it comes to media relations, there is no exception. I make the argument that every time an association or non-profit organization issues a traditional press release, a social media press release needs to be issued at the same time. What does a social media press release look like? While many examples are available, I’m personally a fan of the following model originally proposed by Shift Communications:

What are your thoughts on the matter?

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Mark A. Buzan, APR

Principal & Chief Magnifying Officer

Action Strategies

#3, 270 rue Champlain

Gatineau, Quebec J8X 3S1

819.770.2899 phone

http://www.actionstrategies.ca (Action Strategies website)

LinkedIn Profile: http://ca.linkedin.com/in/markbuzan

LinkedIn Group for Public Relations: http://tinyurl.com/nonprofitideas

LinkedIn Group for Government Relations: http://tinyurl.com/nonprofitlobbying

Please take a look at my just released book: Online PR and Social Media for Associations and Not-for-Profits -http://www.onlineprsocialmedia.com/associations

How an association should NOT hold a press conference!

I recently witnessed and frankly should've commented on this before. Those who follow the association scene in Canada might recall back to March 23, 2010 when Dale Ripplinger, the President of the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) on reacting to a ruling of the Competition Bureau of Canada held a press conference in response to a ruling that arguably did not go in their favour. And while my point is not to argue the merits of their position, I must wonder what they were thinking in holding a press conference and who prepared their representative for what would likely be an aggressive media situation.

Some quick background info:

In Canada, the MLS system is operated by CREA, and until recently, nobody but a realtor could put a listing on that system. This upset people who wanted to sell their house on their own. In response, the Competition Bureau has intervened ordering them to open the system up. In a VERY odd decision, the Canadian Real Estate Association decided to call a press conference and then not take questions!

In my humble opinion, they would've been better off just issuing a written statement than subjecting themselves to this PR nightmare. Please take a look for yourself and let me know your thoughts. Click here



Mark A. Buzan, APR
Principal & Chief Magnifier
Action Strategies
#3, 270 rue Champlain
Gatineau, Quebec J8X 3S1
819.770.2899 phone
877-336-2701 toll free fax
http://www.actionstrategies.ca (Action Strategies website)

LinkedIn Group for Government Relations: http://www.linkedin.com/groups?gid=2465512&trk=hb_side_g
LinkedIn Group for Non-Profit Communications: http://tinyurl.com/nonprofitideas

Pitch Your Stories By Phone

To get a story in the media, you can’t rely solely on the written word; you can’t merely send a fax or a press release. You also must "pitch" your stories through phone calls to selected editors and reporters. As difficult as it may seem, "pitching" your stories in this way is necessary to getting media coverage. Phone calls humanize and personalize your stories, so if you have a newsworthy story you believe in, get on the phone and tell the media about it. Set aside time right after you have sent off your media alerts or press releases to make phone calls to those journalists you really must reach. Making "cold" calls to people you don’t know can be difficult, but most reporters and editors don’t and shouldn't mind getting them; they depend on and encourage citizens to phone in story tips. Here are some tips to make this task easier.

1. Call at the right time. If possible, call a week before your story will break to give reporters time to prepare for it and inform their editors. Call when the reporter is not likely to be "on deadline," usually early in the day the first few hours of their work day. Even then, always ask journalists if they have time to hear about your story. Don't ask if they got your release; even if they did they may have forgotten or misplaced it. Assume they know nothing about your story and say something like this:

"Hello I’m Joe Blow from the Citizens Energy Campaign, and I have a good story for you about our campaign to cut energy costs. Is this a good time to talk?"

2. Be Prepared: Know Whom You're Calling and Know Your Story Don't make anonymous calls to the media and try to explain your story to receptionists and desk clerks. Call directly or ask by name for the reporter or editor who should have your story. Then, be able to present it in 30 seconds. Tell the story the way the media might tell it to their audience. If necessary, write a script that quickly gets into the heart of the story. Emphasize the newsworthy elements--the conflict, the unprecedented angle ("It’s the first..."), the significance of the story to the writer’s readers and its connection to other issues in the headlines or news peg. You might say:

"Our group is fed up with the recent increase in utility costs granted by the state commerce commission. So we are starting a petition campaign to get lower costs. But this is not just another petition drive; this time we’re starting at shopping mall in the communities of the utility commissioners. We want them to feel the heat from their own neighbors. We kick of the campaign Saturday at Ridgewood, near the home of commission chairman I. M. Connected."

3. Make Your Calls Near a Fax Machine. Even if you already mailed or faxed media alerts or press releases to reporters and editors, be prepared to fax additional copies after your pitch call. Journalists often lose or misplace your releases in the newsroom clutter, and it’s easier to send a fresh copy when the story is on their minds.

4. Be Ready With Specifics. Have detailed examples, statistics, and stories to back up your pitch, and be prepared to give out numbers of people who can be interviewed to tell these stories. Know your issue so well that you can answer most questions then and there.

5. Be Persistent But Don’t Be A Pest. Most journalists can not promise to do your story at the time of your call. When they say they will "look into it and do what they can," that’s about all the commitment you can get. If you push further, you can alienate the journalists and drive them away from you and your stories.

6. Offer To Do More To Make Their Job Easier. Journalists often have too much to do in too little time; they are more likely to do stories that are easy for them to research and report; offer to do whatever you can to make this job easier.

7. Be Pleasant And Upbeat--Not Frantic , Moralistic, Or Nagging. Your story may have serious ramifications and be emotionally stirring, but don‘t let that infect your pitch. Journalists like enthusiasm, but they do not like sermons with their story ideas.
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Mark Buzan is Principal and Chief Magnifier in Action Strategies, a full service Strategic Communications, Public Relations and Public Affairs Consultancy for non-profits and associations. Make sure to contact him for advice on reaching audiences you may or may not have yet considered in your marketing communications and PR campaigns. Drop him a line if you are looking for help in developing a public relations campaign. You can view his website at www.actionstrategies.ca.