I don’t think PR professionals give our industry enough credit—and it starts with the fundamentals. As in those of us practicing them aren’t claiming them.
That’s our fault; we should be.
Why should we claim things that “everyone” should be doing? Because when we don’t continue to talk about doing the three R’s well—research, relevancy, and relationships—bad pitches like this one gobble up all the PR headlines, tweets, and Google results.
Research
When you’re doing media and blogger outreach, do you research the people you’re pitching before you contact them? It seems ridiculous even to pose that question, but then again, I’ve read the Bad Pitch blog.
Sure, research should be a fundamental element of every PR outreach campaign we conduct, but there are plenty of PR pros who don’t take the time to do research. Instead, they blast and mail-merge one-way messages across the blogosphere—often to the 34 percent of bloggers who don’t even talk about brands on their blogs.
Research is also about doing the right thing for your clients, because you understand their business and the audiences they are trying to reach.
Let’s say you get the chance to work with Snap Bracelet World. (Don’t pretend you don’t remember snap bracelets.) One option is to start brainstorming ideas left and right, throwing up Facebook pages and Twitter accounts, drafting “snappy” media pitches.
Instead, you could sit down with your new snap bracelet friends and talk about what they’re trying to achieve.
There really is a big difference between jumping into the tactical weeds versus asking a client about their goals and objectives and then creating strategies and tactics to achieve them. When you take the extra time to do the research, claim it. What’s obvious to you may not be so obvious to someone else.
Relevance
One of my colleagues always uses the following example when explaining relevance: If you were a cat food company and you were pitching a story, would you rather earn placement in your city’s newspaper or in a cat blog?
If you had to pick one, wouldn’t you pick the cat blog? I would. I know that audience is predisposed to my message. The city newspaper audience might be much bigger—but it may not give a rip about cats at all.
Spending all your time pursuing A-lister media only overlooks relevance, but at least it is done with a potential publicity goal in mind. Too often, we see completely irrelevant pitches that turn a blind eye to what makes the most sense for the client as well as to PR fundamentals.
That’s how a pitch targeted to a mommy blogger ends up in the inbox of C.C. Chapman, who manages Digital Dads. That’s how a pitch focused on the latest and greatest toy for children gets sent to a woman with no kids. And that’s how a pitch developed for an ultra-conservative brand ends up getting covered by a blogger who doesn’t write a post without four-letter words.
Relationships
If you’ve spent any time building relationships, you’ve learned one thing—it takes time. It isn’t something you can do by flipping a switch, so don’t treat it that way.
We live in a “who do you know” world, and communications is no different. Reporters, bloggers, peers, friends—all have a platform online and have always had one offline.
In many instances, whom you know will align with what story you’re trying to tell. For example, maybe you’re working with a nonprofit trying to raise money and awareness for a cause and you have a group of people in your network who (a) support that specific cause or (b) are just plain charitable.
At that point, your relationships become part of your PR toolbox and what you bring to the table. Position them in that way to your boss or a client, even if you say to yourself: “I couldn’t do this job without building relationships. I do it every day.”
Think about it like you’re trying to explain the value of relationships to Aunt Edna—and take credit for getting to know these people.
Bonus R: Respect
You might feel silly when you sit in front of a client during a results report and remind them you actually spent time “aligning strategies with their objectives.” Or that you called on relevant peers, media, and influencers with whom you’ve built relationships to help share a campaign.
You know what’s really silly? Making assumptions. When we assume that everyone else knows the PR industry as well as we do, we cheat ourselves out of recognition and credibility we deserve.
So don’t hesitate to claim the three Rs when you’re looking for some of the fourth R. I believe Aretha Franklin called it R-E-S-P-E-C-T.
By Justin Goldsborough | Posted: April 21, 2011
Justin Goldsborough works at Fleishman-Hillard in Kansas City, where he specializes in digital strategy and education. Previously, he worked at Sprint for two years, managing the company’s employee social network, Sprint Space, and led efforts to improve customer outreach via social media, specifically Twitter.
