Amanda Orr: It’s Time for PR Pros to Home In on Targeting
March 31, 2021
6:39 pm
[SWMS contributor Amanda Orr writes:] There’s a quiet rumbling in the world of PR consultants and tech publicists: media relations is not what it used to be. The change didn’t happen overnight. Perhaps it’s because I’m writing this from my temporary home in Amman, Jordan, surrounded by Roman ruins, but I can’t help but imagine an archaeologist one day in the far off future, excavating a site in San Francisco…
PR pros can learn a lot about Protocol Enterprise as a brand — and about the art of interviewing — by watching the Mar. 9 Protocol Live web event, in which senior Protocol reporters Tom Krazit and Joe Williams interview executives from Google and industrial IoT startup Webee.
Most PR pros know to analyze their targets’ work before pitching. Few make the time. Even if they did, what exactly would one look for? Here’s an exercise anyone can do, and it can reveal quite a bit about how they might cover your news.
Here’s a retake of a piece we published earlier this year. What exactly do readers want and need? Most PR pros see the world in terms of companies, technologies, stories and beats. There’s another way to look at things, and it might shake loose new opportunity.
No airplanes? No problem! We’ve moved our coverage-challenge brainstorming fully online, and we’ve learned (and re-learned) many a lesson, in prepping for the sessions and in conversation. Here’s a Q&A summarizing problems and solutions relating to pandemic responses and social unrest — and some general pitching do’s and don’ts.
Most journalists like to say that they don’t need help from a PR professional, but in my career I’ve found their assistance valuable in specific situations beyond general news requests. If you’re looking to be proactive and find areas where you can assist a journalist, these areas can be the start of establishing a relationship for future pitches and client outreach.
[PR pro Amanda Orr writes:] Like much of the country, communications teams both in-house and at PR firms have been in a holding pattern. As we look at the Johns Hopkins tracker on a daily basis, watching the numbers of infections and fatalities climb, we knew (at least I hope most of us knew) that this wasn’t the time to send emails or make cold calls…
David Strom says: “My inbox is overflowing with a virus: all Covid, all the time, with pitches and experts offered from all walks of life. It isn’t just the infosec vendors, either: I’ve gotten pitches from genealogy vendors, and how sports reporters are coping now that there are no professional games being played.”
Writes PR pro Alex: “Hanging out with reporters is my favorite part of the week and, having done it for a while, I’ve noticed some personality types that seem to recur. Here’s a pair of some of the most colorful media personalities I’ve encountered, and tips for getting on their good side.”