Getting journalists and other influencers in your market to respond to your story pitches comes down, as they say, to building relationships. This takes time—years, in fact—and time may not be what you have much of these days. Perhaps you need to get someone to respond to a pitch within the next three hours.
These six tactical media pitching do's (and one media pitching don't) from Jane Carpenter, head of public relations for online home products and furnishings retailer Wayfair, and a presenter at PR News' Jan. 28 "Pitching the Media" webinar, will help see you through the anxiety of short deadlines and high media placement expectations.
1. DO invest in great photography and send images with every announcement.
2. DO get your CEO and key execs on Twitter (if only to engage with journalists).
3. DO keep meticulous records on all reporter touch points and history.
4. DO take advantage of every time your CEO or execs are in a key media city (San Francisco, New York) to squeeze in in-person meetings.
5. DO insist on time with top execs to brainstorm new media angles and pick their brains for insight or news they may have discovered in their regular interaction with other industry leaders.
6. DON’T get in the way if a reporter wants direct access to your company’s top executives but DO stay in the loop on all interaction.
There's still time to register for the Jan. 28 webinar "Pitching the Media: How to Cut Through the Clutter." Wayfair's Jane Carpenter will be joined by Beth Monaghan, principal and co-founder of InkHouse, and Tracy Schario, communications officer and clean energy lead for the Pew Charitable Trusts.
Follow Jane Carpenter: @JaneCarpenter
Follow Steve Goldstein: @SGoldsteinAI
Getting CEO’s to participate in the p.r. process and not simply look at p.r. as something others do ‘for’ but rather WITH them is critical