There are so many things communicators need to do nowadays.
And the order in which you do them can make the difference between a successful launch or a failure.
We’ve all encountered the classic media relations dilemma: do you pitch a journalist first or share the news on your own and pitch the story later, in hopes of garnering media coverage?
While PR tactics are subjective, drawing from the research my team at Muck Rack has done, I believe there is a correct order if you want your story to have a lasting impact.
Here’s a step-by-step guide to smart media relations.
The Case for Pitching a Journalist First
Here’s the truth that your client or CEO probably doesn’t want to hear: the moment you put an announcement anywhere on the web yourself, it’s instantly less appealing to journalists.
Your news has lost its luster.
Yes, this includes your website and company Twitter account.
And it certainly includes third-party newswire services.
When you share your announcement elsewhere, that piece of news is already public knowledge.
And that makes it less interesting for journalists who like to be the first to tell a story or share a new angle.
If your news is easily accessible online, it’s old news.
Unless you have major influence (e.g., you’re Apple launching a brand new iPhone), it pays to place a story with one journalist exclusively, or a handful of journalists with an embargo date.
(Just make sure you get the journalists to agree to the embargo before sharing the news explicitly.)
So what is the key to media relations success?
Identifying your top media targets, crafting a short, yet compelling pitch, and offering your story as an exclusive.
If Top Tier Journalist #1 declines, move on to Top Tier Journalist #2.
Rinse and repeat.
How to Craft Your Pitch
Great communications pros know that media relations is an art.
Send a good pitch, and your reward is coverage that makes a difference.
Send a sloppy pitch, and face the wrath of being included in one of these bad pitch roundups.
A good pitch is not a news release.
(Unpopular opinion or not, I’ve been questioning the value of the news release since 2014.)
The old way of sharing news via a news release—or even worse, via a newswire, a relic of how communicators used to talk to journalists—simply doesn’t make sense in today’s media landscape.
So what does a compelling pitch look like these days?
- A pitch is short. Start with an email, and keep it short and sweet. In fact, 53 percent of journalists prefer pitches two to three paragraphs long. Forty-one percent say they’d prefer a pitch to be two to three sentences long. Only five percent of journalists said they want 500-word pitches, which is the standard length of a news release.
- A pitch is personal. According to our Annual Journalist Survey, 22 percent of journalists cited lack of personalization as the number one reason for ignoring otherwise relevant pitches.
- A pitch does not include an attachment. A pitch is meant to pique interest—you can send more information later if a journalist makes that request.
Follow these simple rules, and you’re well on your way to earned media coverage.
Now, you’re ready to further leverage the story by sharing it on your own.
Or, sadly, no matter how on-point and personalized your pitches may be, they don’t always grab the attention of the journalists on our list.
But we can still make a splash.
Pivoting to Owned Media Channels
The beauty of being a communicator today is that we have many more tools and resources at our disposal than ever before.
Can’t get the media to write about it or want to spread the word further *after* you’ve earned a media placement?
Pivot to your owned media channels.
Give these tactics a try.
- Share the news on your blog. You have the power to write your own news article! Share your announcement in a casual, blog-style of writing with a strong hook. Make it exciting and fun to read for your audience. Speak directly to them, using their language.
- Repurpose your blog post on LinkedIn or Medium. Want to expand the reach of your post? Share it on an external free site such as LinkedIn or Medium. Or, if you don’t have a blog, use these sites to spread the word. The design is simple and beautiful—plus, it’s free.
- Amplify your message on social media. Of course, you’ll want to share the news on all of your social media channels. You’ll get the added SEO benefits of sending traffic back to your website, unlike if you were to share on a third-party site such as PR Newswire where Google disallows SEO from paid websites.
- Empower your employees to be ambassadors. The people on your team are often your best brand ambassadors. Be sure to keep them in the loop, and ask them to help share. Create a free Click to Tweet link, prepare suggested language to use when sharing on other channels, and encourage team members to help spread the news, too.
- Send it out via your newsletter. Have a newsletter? Send out your company news via a newsletter linking back to your blog post announcement. Often, the folks who opt into your list are engaged, and likely want to hear your news. You can also include a Click to Tweet or social sharing buttons here, encouraging your biggest fans to help share your news.
- Invest in better multimedia assets. Often, a good piece of news isn’t enough to gain the attention of the media or capture thousands of views on a blog post. Investing in assets such as better photography, video, or an interesting infographic can help add a new level of excitement to your announcement. Also, with tools such as Canva, creating professional-looking multimedia is easier than ever.
Media Relations For the Win
When it comes time to share your next big piece of news, give this process a try.
By tailoring your media pitches first, you’ll increase your odds of garnering earned media.
And, you’ll leave yourself open to spread the word on your own. By doing this, you’re allowing your story to have a much longer shelf life.