I’m just going to say it: It’s disappointing that so many of my peers still manage to get public relations so terribly wrong. That’s not to say that I’ve done things perfectly day in and day out in my many years as a PR professional. PR is not the easiest job in the world, but I’ve always strived to do excellent work for my clients and to maintain a good and helpful relationship with the media and analysts we work with.
Yet, when I look at Twitter pages like @dumb_PR, I see that some in our industry have lost sight of the “relate” aspect of PR. It seems as if a small portion of my colleagues sometimes only focus on the “doing” of the job rather than really considering if a particular pitch or follow-up phone call is necessary.
It reminds me of the classic scene in the very first Jurassic Park movie, where mathematician Ian Malcolm says to John Hammond: “Your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn’t stop to think if they should.”
I think we could all use a refresher from time to time on what we should and shouldn’t do as PR professionals. I guess you could say we need to “Ian Malcolm” that pitch or press release! Here are some friendly reminders, supported by real-life PR fails:
Respect journalists’ requests.
We were taught how to listen to directions in kindergarten, but sometimes a PR professional’s determination gets the better of them.
Freelance tech journalist Kate O’Flaherty recently tweeted: “Put a Response Source out specifically asking people not to follow up. Someone follows up and I send them my exact text from the request asking not to follow up (in bold). Same person replies to apologise for following up and follows up again in the same email.”
Journalists put out specific instructions for a reason — whether it’s for how or when to follow up with them or to highlight specific information they need to write a story. It’s to make their lives easier. If you get a “no” or no response at all to your pitches, move on or develop another strategy. Ignoring “asks” from the media will only get you or your agency on a journalist’s bad side, or worse, blacklisted altogether. This is PR 101 and should be reinforced to your teams constantly, especially with junior staff.
Stay on top of relevant events, but don’t think too far ahead.
As PR people, it is our job to figure out the best storylines that will be relevant and timely to what a journalist is writing. However, be considerate of the timing of said pitch or press release — there’s a sweet spot of too early or too late. Planning ahead is great, but most reporters will not be focused on writing stories for events that are several months away.
For industry events, I recommend initially reaching out to media no more than four to six weeks out, and even that is pushing it sometimes. In some cases, journalists have asked us to contact them closer to two weeks before an industry event because they are just not ready to think about scheduling before then. My advice is to feel it out first and ask if they are ready to schedule for XYZ event, instead of sending them the full pitch.
Speaking of timing, here’s a bonus tip: Never send a pitch on the day of a major holiday. Rory Cellan-Jones, a technology correspondent for the BBC, actually received a pitch on Christmas morning. While I can admire the determination of the PR person, common sense says that there is no reason why that pitch should have gone out. Reporters are humans, too. Respect them as such.
Tread lightly with buzzwords.
Oh, buzzwords. They can be our best friends as PR professionals — until they’re not. They are really only “cool” to use for a hot minute, and then they become like nails on a chalkboard after so much use.
A good rule of thumb for PR professionals when it comes to these “trendy” words or phrases is this: Use industry buzzwords sparingly and wisely. If you must use them, make sure they are still relevant and talked about. Above all else, avoid using terms that are overused, jargony, too abstract or that could make a reporter roll their eyes.
For example, in 2017, the term “retail apocalypse” started to seep its way into headlines, describing the supposed demise of the brick-and-mortar retail store. Research has since shown that this “crisis” is not really a crisis after all, yet the buzzword is still being used.
More often than not, buzzwords are just not necessary. All reporters want is a good pitch that has the makings of a really good story — one they are eager to tell.
Any PR person can write a pitch. The difference, however, between a really bad pitch and a grand slam comes down to asking one thing: Should I? If the pitch is without substance, has bad timing or goes against the request of the journalist, it is likely to be ignored and eventually fail. The “should” filter should be a critical part of your planning. So, “Ian Malcolm” that pitch and see what happens.
