Being a journalist, media professionals get to go through scores of media pitches mailed to them by varied PR professionals spread across the country. But despite media pitches arriving in the media professionals in great numbers, the numbers of good reliable pitches is always low. Most of what is there in the mail box are all trash for the journalists due to some silly mistakes made by the PR persons while approaching the media.
Here are some quick no-fail PR strategies for the agencies to tap on in order to hit the desired media channels on-point with the least wastage of resources:
1. Be clear and concise with your target: While making the choice of your targets, business heads don’t need to go running everywhere for recognition instead they need to start with focusing on one or target groups, be it from audiences to approach or the media channels to hit. The idea is to just sit with your PR team, discuss your ideal needs and demands and then formulate the target choices accordingly with respect to the PR tools and budget.
2. Go through the past records of the journalist and media channel: Past performances are a great indicator of how much impact a media coverage will make. Keep an eye on the concerned journalist’s previous articles and media coverage. This will also help you in better understanding the taste, writing style and interests of a particular media professional and the media channel he/or she is representing.
3. Pitch a message through your story: Believe it or not, most of the times the media doesn’t get attracted to the company and its product & services but instead get connected with the message linked to it. So, when your PR agency shares PR pitches on your behalf with the media, make sure that instead of restricting the focus only on the company and its features, the story in the pitches is weaved in a manner that there is a message that instantly hooks the media as well as target audiences with the company. Once done with the pitching process, don’t forget to indulge in regular follow-ups with the journalists where the message is again shared. His further ensures that the media pitching won’t go waste and will be successful in making a healthy impact.
4. Be respectful of the reporter’s right to accept and reject: It’s PR professional’s job to tempt the media persons with strong-armed pitches, but they can’t force a reporter to take the decision in favor of their client always. When faced with rejection instead of losing hope, it’s better to politely ask the professionals about what went wrong, mend those breaks in the pitches and then again give it a go. Try to think of broader need and interest of the readers and audiences always while shaping your story pitches.
Connect on social media: In today’s time, social media can take you places, platforms like Facebook, Linked In and most preferred Twitter gives the businesses and their hired PR agencies to connect with the concerned journalists and media channels. Once you are connected with them and are in a close touch with them on various such portals, there is a better chance of grabbing a golden media opportunity through them. But be courteous while following them and ensure that your activities on their social media accounts don’t end up looking like that of a stalker or else instead of bagging opportunities you will end up in making your business banned from certain media places.
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