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The New Public Relations
september 2008 * the new media insider * fletcher prince |
Greetings!
September is an exciting month for the public relations and advertising community. We've just wrapped up Ad Week, and the Thoth Awards and Interact 08 are just around the corner. In each workshop and conference I've attended this year, I've heard the familiar refrain of how our industry is changing, particularly when it comes to social media. Helping you keep on top of those changes is part of what The New Media Insider is all about.
Welcome to the new PR. This month's issue of The New Media Insider takes a closer look at social media releases, pitching to bloggers, and the most important features you'll want to include in your organization's online press room.
Be sure to enter our contest this month. You could win a free ticket to the Washington PR Woman of the Year Award Luncheon! |
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The Well-Furnished Online Newsroom
Does your website have a newsroom? A well-organized online newsroom is an essential resource for editors, reporters, freelance writers, and bloggers, as well as your customers and constituents. Be sure to post information about your company or organization in search-friendly HTML. You can link to PDFs containing duplicate information in a more visually appealing, printable format if you wish, but remember those documents are not searchable.
Media Contacts
List your media contacts by name and phone number (both day and evening phone numbers, or cell phone numbers). Be sure to hyperlink the names to their email addresses (since listing their email addresses invites SPAM). You need a minimum of two media contacts who are willing and prepared to be called by the media at any time, on any day. Usually these contacts are well-coached senior staff or public relations department managers.
Company Background Information
Include a short history of your company, including the date it was founded, the location of the corporate headquarters, the names of the owners and/or executives, your primary services and products, major clients, and your mission statement, if applicable. You may also list any certifications or recent awards, professional affiliations, and community sponsorships in this section.
Read more tips here!
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WIN!
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Fletcher
Prince is a proud Sponsor of "The Washington PR Woman of the Year Award Luncheon," which will be held Wednesday, November 5 at the Mayflower
Hotel from 12 noon to 2 p.m. (the day after election day). One lucky reader will win a seat at the Fletcher Prince table, a prize valued up to $80. To enter, find the SECRET WORD in this newsletter. When you find the SECRET WORD, email Fletcher Prince. The first person wins! Rules and Conditions - Fletcher Prince may promote the name and photo of the winner in materials.
- The winner must occupy his/her seat at the Fletcher Prince table. The prize is non-transferable. Please enter only if you are available and willing to attend.
- A limit of one ticket per winner.
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Offer Expires: October 6, 2008
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The New Rules for Pitching to Journalists
By Kristen Powers, Public Relations Specialist, Fletcher Prince
 After attending a recent PRSA seminar featuring a panel of reporters and editors, I realized something important. When it comes to pitching to journalists, there are no set rules. One prefers phone calls, another wants emails, and -- dare I say it -- a third admitted to reading a press release that was actually mailed to him! There are no short cuts; you really have to get to know each individual reporter's style and preferences. To do this, read their publications and online content and familiarize yourself with what their subject matter expertise. Reporters and editors will respect your pitch if you can show them you've done your homework.
Robert Deigh has great tips for pitching in his book, "How Come No One Knows About Us?" He suggests that you visualize the completed story you want to be written. What are the specific points you would like to see made? Make sure these points make it into your pitch.
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How to Pitch Your Story to Bloggers
They're influential and powerful. You want to get on their good side, and enlist them to help you tell your story. How do you do it?
Get to know the blogger first, pitch later.
BurrellesLuce, a media monitoring service, suggests that you subscribe to a blog for about a month before
pitching to a blogger. As you become familiar with the blog's content, you may post comments, provide feedback, and suggest useful resources.
Learn how to capture the interest of a blogger.
Why should a blogger write about your company, service, product, or cause? Think about what you have to offer that will benefit the blogger and his/her readers. Then, package that incentive in an appealing way. For example...
Read the rest of the story here...
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Op-Ed: The "New" PR: Change or Die
by Mary Fletcher Jones
 Remember the old days? The old PR was all about mailing boat-loads of press releases and
captioned photos, creating elaborate press kits, and developing a
cauliflower-ear pitching stories to reporters on the phone all day
long. Obtaining placements was part strategy, and part a numbers
game. And it was critically important. Aside from expensive
advertising, media placements were the only way organizations could
hope to reach a broad audience. The media -- journalists, critics,
broadcasters -- wielded tremendous power.
The new PR is shaped
by emerging online technologies and the realities of our economy. In the wake of declining advertising
revenues and decreased circulation, newspaper newsrooms are shaving or
even completely dismissing their staff of reporters and editors in
favor of less expensive stringers. The secret word is peanut butter! And the ones who survived the cut
are overworked, writing both print and online content, and for the most
part, quite young.
Meanwhile, citizen journalists and bloggers are
becoming nearly as influential as veteran journalists.
Web 2.0 has...
Avoid extinction! To read the rest of this article, click here.
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The New Press Release: The Social Media News Release
You have a great story to tell that has lots of important details. And you have video and photographs. You think the content should go viral, and you'd love to catch the attention of bloggers, so distributing it to RSS feeds is important to you. And you're ready to invest some money in this public relations project. Your best option may be a social media news release.
Click here to see a sample Mulitmedia News Release featuring M&Ms.
Social media news releases (also known as smart releases, multimedia news releases, and other labels) are offered by MarketWire, MultiVu, and Business Wire. One major benefit associated with social media news releases is that they are distributed to search engines, social media sites, and RSS Feeds (which reach reporters and bloggers). They can be embedded with website links, email links, video, audio, or photographs. They also feature social bookmarking chickets, making it easy for people to print, email, and bookmark the release.
Learn more about social media news releases. Read on...
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Your friends at Fletcher Prince can help you develop a public relations plan that's right for your company or nonprofit organization. Thanks for forwarding this email newsletter to people who will enjoy it.
Sincerely,
David Hyson and Mary Fletcher Jones
Fletcher Prince
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