Helping Junior PR Execs Help Themselves With Media Relations

Jan 26, 2004

The Bcc field on an e-mail. A fax machine. A speed dialer. If the competent use of these three tools were all it takes to garner consistent media coverage about your organization or client, life would be easy. Well, perhaps, not life for PR execs working in media relations, since we would be completely replaceable for a few hundred bucks. But for your organization, yes, getting ink would be effortless.

But since you're still reading instead of firing your entire communications department, I'm guessing that you know it takes a lot more than technology to get good ink. But do your junior professionals? Too many journalists would probably say no. Many in the media see the PR pros contacting them as annoying, glazed-eyed telemarketers, spammers who have no idea who they're talking to or what they're talking about.

Reaching out to junior PR pros helps them to more effectively reach out to the media. Here are seven tips for managers that may just help change journalists' minds, at least as far as your junior pros are concerned.

Remind newbies that journalists can talk

In addition to the fact that journalists are inundated with e-mail, if a time-sensitive pitch lacks a piece of information required to decide whether it's a fit for publication, an editor is more likely to trash it than to try to chase down the answer. Tell your juniors they should want to 'be there' while the decision is being made - and that the telephone makes that possible. While some journalists don't take calls, most are amenable to a quick, efficient conversation.

Replace scripts with real understanding

Assure your media professionals always understand what they're pitching. A "cheat sheet" can be a helpful tool, but never send someone to the phone lines solely with a script in the hope they may interest journalists in a story. Journalists are actually intelligent beings who ask follow-up questions. If your juniors can't competently communicate the basics about the organization and relevant details on the piece of news they're pitching, they will fail. Worse, unprepared professionals undermine the reputation of your organization or client.

Make your media relations professionals customize every pitch

Each pitch should be a personal communication that considers journalist preferences as far as deadline, beat, delivery format, length and personal style. Journalists respond better when they can discern that you are communicating with them as individuals rather than as a faceless member of a distribution list. When conducting outreach via e-mail, discourage your juniors from overusing the BCC field. Don't allow them to become spammers. One quick, personalized note to each target will always yield better success than the shotgun approach - and some journalists even have filters that block BCCers.

Focus on "which" more than "how many"

Help your juniors understand that a single placement in the right publication may be more valuable than dozens in poorly targeted media. Likewise, work with media relations execs to assure they always uncover exactly which journalists within a publication or broadcast source are the best ones for their initiatives. Sending multiple editors within the same organization the same pitch promotes editorial conflicts at best, and a staff's perception of ineptitude at worst.

Don't force your media relations professionals to cry wolf

Eliminate buzzwords, marketing hype and, most of all, self-delusion when it comes to pitching. Not every product is groundbreaking or revolutionary and not every story is worthy of coverage by the top newspaper in town. Don't force your media relations pros to say otherwise - or the relationships they are striving to develop will sour. Good journalists know when someone is laying it on thick and will not take subsequent pitches seriously.

Tell juniors to get personal - professionally, of course

Just as salespeople record their dealings with each prospect, your juniors should do so with journalists, on everything from communications preferences to hobbies to favorite sports teams to their pets' names. As superficial as it may sound, a question like "how's your daughter's softball team going?" can make a difference in whether a reporter remembers your junior's last pitch call.

Encourage conversations without agendas

There's nothing worse than a friend who calls only when he wants something. So if you truly want your junior professionals to foster relationships with journalists, you should support outreach to key targets in the absence of news. Your media pros should be encouraged to spend a few hours each month on outreach to key journalists just to touch base and get a sense of the stories they're planning. Regular conversations such as this also increase the likelihood that the journalist will contact your organization for an expert and usually develops into a casual way to keep a journalist up to date on your organization. Also encourage your junior professionals to arrange lunch briefings with the same media. Amid quantum leaps in technology, face-to-face meetings still work best.

Contact: Ian Lipner, the founder of YoungPRPros.com, is an account manager at Washington, DC-based Stanton Communications. He can be reached at 202.223.4933, ilipner@stantoncomm.com.