By Lindsay Hull
Kara Arundel, Education Reporter at K-12 Dive
I’ve been fortunate to collaborate with Kara Arundel, who currently serves as an education reporter for K-12 Dive, on various educational stories over the years. Normally, it’s Kara who works her journalistic magic to interview my clients. However, today, I had the honor of interviewing Kara to gain her perspective on working with public relations professionals and achieving effective communication. She also generously shared some valuable advice for those in the field of PR.
Thanks to Kara for taking the time to conduct this interview with me! You can read Kara’s stories on K-12 Dive here: https://www.k12dive.com/editors/karundel/
Introduction
LH: Can you briefly tell us about your background as a K-12 education reporter?
KA: I knew I wanted to be a news reporter since I was in middle school. I still feel so lucky I am still working in a job I love and am passionate about. I am a senior reporter at K-12 Dive, a publication of Washington, D.C.-based Industry Dive, which is a business journalism company. Here, I cover national education issues from birth through grade 12. Specific education topics I write about include early childhood education, special education, education funding and Congress.
LH: How long have you been reporting on education topics, and what motivated you to focus on this field?
KA: I have worked as an education reporter for the past two decades, first at newspapers in Virginia and Florida, and more recently for online publications. Everywhere I’ve worked, I’ve met people dedicated to improving schools and supporting students. I’m so grateful to everyone who has helped me tell these important stories.
Collaboration with PR Professionals
LH: Can you share examples of successful collaborations or interactions you’ve had with PR reps?
KA: My daily reporting is very much influenced by PR professionals, whether they are alerting K-12 Dive of an upcoming release of a report, a meeting about a top-of-mind topic, or an innovative school-based program.
Some of the most successful collaborations I’ve had with PR professionals happen when they hear about a school- or district-based promising practice and share that information with me. I can then dig into that topic and ask school and district-based educators what steps were taken to make that program successful, what were the roadblocks and what advice would they have for others who may want to replicate the model. Our readers appreciate learning about how schools and districts are addressing barriers in education, such as chronic absenteeism, teacher shortages and funding shortfalls.
We like to focus on these advice-driven stories and include the real-life examples of the efforts educators are undertaking in the schools. PR professionals are extremely helpful in alerting us to these examples.
Effective Communication
LH: What communication strategies do you find most effective when working with PR professionals, such as pitches (length), press releases, research, etc.?
KA: The communication strategies from PR professionals that I find most effective are emails pitching a unique education-related angle, a promising practice, insights into school and district operations, and data or research about timely education issues.
LH: How can PR professionals best tailor their communications to meet the needs of education reporters?
KA: We receive many emailed pitches a day and honestly it can be difficult to sort through all the messages. This is why the subject line is critical to encouraging reporters to open the message to learn more. I do try to read all my messages, but I would encourage PR professionals to send follow-up messages or to call reporters if they don’t get a response.
It is helpful when pitches are as specific as possible. That said, I also respond to and appreciate shorter emailed pitches that give a brief overview and ask if I’m interested in learning more.
At K-12 Dive, we write a mix of shorter articles, called briefs, and longer articles. The longer articles often take several days of reporting and interviews with multiple sources. I appreciate pitches for both of these story formats.
LH: Are there any specific elements or information that you consider essential in a press release or pitch related to education topics?
KA: One of the biggest pieces of guidance I can share is how important it is for education PR professionals to read the education news so they can help put a spotlight on unique activities that relate to current issues facing schools. I really appreciate pitches that highlight real-life examples or case studies of how a school or district is addressing problems in education.
Pitches that are sent ahead of an anticipated news event, such as an offer to review an embargoed report or an interview with an education professional, are most helpful as we plan our short- and long-term news coverage. Also, it is key for reports and press releases to include dates so we can verify how timely the release is.
Story pitches that are overly promotional of a product or service from a for-profit business tend not to get as much attention because our news stories cannot be viewed by readers as being influenced by paid or sponsored content.
Advice for PR Professionals
LH: What are some best practices for PR professionals to build positive relationships with reporters of any beat?
KA: I view the work between news reporters and PR professionals as teamwork in sharing stories with readers to help them better understand a topic. It’s most helpful when PR professionals understand that our news stories can’t promote a for-profit service or product.
LH: How can they effectively pitch stories and information to you and your colleagues?
KA: The PR professionals I work with most frequently have proven track records of being trustworthy and reliable. They have delivered on promises of interviews with education leaders, are available for clarifying follow-up questions and are familiar with our news coverage. They also are understanding when an interview or pitch doesn’t lead to a story. I am often working on several stories at the same time and, depending on the news cycle, I may request an interview or information right away or several weeks or months after the first pitch was sent.
It’s helpful for PR professionals to know the “beats” or focus area of each reporter so they can tailor messages to the reporter for that specific topic. The K-12 Dive team talks regularly, and we are all familiar with what stories each of us is working on so there is no duplication of efforts.
Closing Thoughts
LH: Is there anything else you’d like to share with our readers about the dynamics of working with PR professionals?
KA: I strongly believe that there are a lot of untold stories in education. Don’t be hesitant to pitch a story idea to reporters even if you are unsure how it may land. There are several times I will get a story pitch and it aligns with an article I’m already working on — or sparks a new idea. We all need to help tell the stories about the challenges and successes our schools are facing.
By Annmarie Ely
When you think of the interviews you have genuinely enjoyed listening to, what kinds of communicators come to mind? They probably captured your attention early on, got to the point, included interesting anecdotes or stories, and spoke with confidence. Are some people just great communicators, while others are destined to lose their audiences? According to Bill McGowan, being an engaging communicator is something we can all learn.
McGowan is a former journalist turned media trainer and communications coach who helps clients deliver their messages with “enthusiasm, conviction, and confidence.” His clients have included executives from well-known companies as well as professional athletes. He co-authored the book, “Pitch Perfect,” with Alisa Bowman to share lessons he has learned from helping clients improve their communication skills. These lessons, which are distilled into seven principles, can be applied to public speaking, interviews, or any important conversation.
Of the seven principles in the book, below are three that are especially relevant for PR and media interviews.
- Scorsese Principle – This principle, which McGowan named for director Martin Scorsese, is about approaching your communication like a film in the mind of the listener. McGowan suggests that speakers use anecdotes, visuals, and analogies to entice the listener to follow along. A great example of this principle is an analogy used by Lora Bartlett, an associate professor of education at the University of California, Santa Cruz. In an interview with The Hechinger Report, instead of simply saying teaching remotely while teaching in person is challenging for teachers, she used a compelling comparison. Bartlett compared the teachers’ experiences to having to drive a car while playing a driving video game at the same time. This memorable visual is a much more engaging way to share information. Consider how you can incorporate visual comparisons to help an audience understand or connect with your message.
- Pasta Sauce Principle – This principle is about “boiling it down.” McGowan recommends considering what is truly necessary to communicate your most important points. Could you cut a third? Could you cut half? Boiling down your message to the most important information ensures you’re getting across what you need to while still making the interview engaging.
- Conviction Principle – This principle is about believing in your message and conveying confidence. You can convey confidence by practicing avoiding phrases like “kind of,” “sort of,” and “like.” McGowan also recommends that speakers skip using industry jargon. If your topic is highly technical, make sure you’re communicating in a way that is accessible. Replacing industry jargon with clear, easy-to-understand language will allow you to reach more people and make the conversation appealing to a wider audience.
McGowan recommends practicing the seven principles and focusing on gradual improvement. He suggests watching interviews and speeches and trying to determine which principles are being used. When applying the principles, he recommends focusing on improving one at a time instead of all seven at once. McGowan suggests recording and watching or listening to yourself speak, when possible, to track progress and areas where you could continue to improve.
To read all seven principles and to learn more, you can find the book here.
By Lindsay Hull, Director of Media
You secured a media interview for your client. Yay! Now what? When you are asked to facilitate an interview, it is important to remember that the goal is to position your client’s organization in the best possible light – whether it’s for a product launch or a profile piece on an executive. If you (or your client) are not prepared, interviews can be nerve-wracking and sometimes frustrating. To facilitate a successful media interview, there are a few key things to keep in mind. Here are five tips for making the most of your next media interview.
1. Prepare Your Client
Preparing for a media interview is all about managing expectations and setting the stage for success. To do this, PR people need to consider the message they want to communicate and the audience they are trying to reach.
Once that framework is in place, the PR pro should develop a briefing document for the client that includes potential questions and key talking points, along with other important information like details about the reporter, past articles by the reporter, the logistics for the call, and so on. These details will help the client understand the goal of the interview, stay on message, and position the interview for the publication’s audience. Coordinating a prep call with your client to rehearse their responses is also a helpful tactic, particularly for high-profile interviews. For some interviews, it’s also important to practice how the client will react if confronted with tough questions or unexpected follow-up questions. By simulating different situations ahead of time, both you and your client will feel more confident when it comes time for the real interview.
2. Make Introductions
Once you’re on the line with the reporter and your client, it’s time for introductions. As the PR pro, it is your job to set the stage for a productive discussion and help everyone feel at ease. Be prepared with the client’s name and title and have a short synopsis of what they’ll be talking about during the interview (it’s a good reminder for both the client and reporter). If there are any topics that are off-limits, or if the discussion is under embargo, now is the time to remind the reporter.
Following introductions, it’s also important to communicate what your role will be during the interview: to support your client during the interview with additional information as needed, and to handle any follow up items that need sending – images, additional information, etc. This gives everyone on the line full transparency.
3. Monitor the Interview
Once introductions are complete and you hand the conversation over to the reporter to begin their questions, you have several jobs to keep in mind as you monitor the interview. The most important thing is to listen carefully and take good notes. Being an active listener in the interview ensures that you can intervene (if need be) so that the message you want to communicate is accurately represented in the story. Listening carefully is also critical for Step 5 when you provide performance feedback to your client. Plus, you may be able to pick up on some new details or tidbits from your client that can be used to craft your next great pitch! Lastly, if your client forgets to mention an important talking point, now is the time to bring it up. If you’re off exploring what your next pie recipe will be and not paying attention to the interview, you may miss your chance.
4. Close the Interview
As the interview comes to a close, always thank all parties for taking the time to conduct and participate in the interview. Second, you should invite the reporter to contact you if they have any further questions or need clarification on anything. Finally, while you have them on the line, you can ask the reporter if they had a sense on when the article will be published. This is key information so that you can send your hard earned media coverage to your client in a timely manner.
5. Provide Your Client with Helpful Feedback
It’s important to provide feedback to your client after a media interview, whether it was positive or negative. You can help them understand how they did and what they can improve upon for next time. This feedback is crucial for helping your client learn and grow as a media personality.
Following these five steps will help you prepare for and facilitate a successful media interview. Planning ahead and being prepared are essential to ensuring a smooth and stress-free interview. Let us know of any additional tips or information you may have!
By Patrick Reilly
We’ve all been there. The client has no upcoming announcements and the proactive pitches just aren’t hitting the mark. That doesn’t necessarily mean the pitch angles aren’t ideal or that the topics aren’t of interest, but as public relations professionals, we are in a results-oriented industry where it’s our job to deliver media opportunities and coverage.
In this scenario, the best option would be some good, old-fashioned rapid response pitching. For those unfamiliar with the term, rapid response pitching entails some due diligence in searching the internet to find relevant media coverage that aligns with your client’s industry or a particular pitch angle and, well, responding to them rapidly. This practice is a great way to build media lists and create new relationships while securing interviews and coverage. Here are a few tips to get the best results from your rapid response pitch:
Track Your Client’s Keywords
This can be achieved by using services like Google Alerts or Talkwater, where you set up alerts for keywords that are relevant to your clients. For example, if your client is focused on “Cloud Cost Management,” you should include everything that is related to this topic, which may include a broader term like “Cloud Computing” to something more niche like “Cloud Cost Optimization” or “Collaborative Cost Management.” Major players in this industry should also be included, such as “AWS” or “Azure” in this example, to see who is writing about these organizations.
You should also include your client’s top competitors in your search. These might actually end up being the “low-hanging fruit” in terms of getting interest from reporters. Rapid response presents an opportunity to reach out to editors and explain what your client is doing and how they are better, different, or deserve inclusion in future story ideas. In addition, you should also customize all of your alerts to get notified as soon as they happen – this way, you’re one of the first to get the hot news stories.
Check Media Alerts Often
PR professionals should start the workday by checking their media alerts and repeat the process throughout the day. While scanning keywords for proactive pitching, you can identify whether the article is a good fit, as you will quickly find that a good portion of articles that come through are not relevant or come from small outlets outside of your client’s target geographies.
If you find a great article from a desirable outlet, you then move on to the next step (see below for how to go get ‘em). Another avenue to consider is a simple Google Search on related topics and see what the media is writing about in the last month that might be worth some outreach.
Go Get ‘Em!
Ok, you identified a perfect article – so, now it’s actually time to respond. The subject line I like to use is a simple “In response to your recent article in the Wall Street Journal” or something more broad and ambiguous that is more likely to grab a reporters attention. They are getting hundreds of pitches a day, so a subject line that is not too specific might encourage them to open the email – especially when you are talking about something they already wrote. The best way to start an email is to politely touch the reporter or editor with a simple lede that starts off something like the example below:
Hi xx,
My name is Patrick Reilly and I help conduct the PR efforts for “Clients Name.” I notice that you recently wrote the article entitled “XYZ,” and I’d love to connect you with “Spokespersons name”, “Title” of “Clients Name” – “Clients Key Message” to talk about “pitch angle.”
After your intro, customize the rest of the pitch to fit the angle and make it more personal. Sometimes the article might follow exactly along the lines of the angle you are pitching, and the reporters might not be that interested in speaking to your client since they just wrote about that topic. In this situation, it is still a good idea to reach out, as the reporter might have a follow up story or want to keep your client on radar for any related stories they’re working on. With pitching, the worst answer you can get is “no” – but you can move on and find another article of relevance to rapid respond to.
Responding to Rapid Response
I think this might be the most overlooked part of rapidly responding to the media – forgetting to follow up with the initial email. It is a good idea to respond directly to the email you originally sent, which gives you a ‘second chance’ to send another broad and ambiguous subject line that references what the reporter already wrote. For example, the response email can look like the example below:
Hi xx,
Just bumping this email to the top of your inbox!
Let me know if you can set up a future call with “Spokesperson name” “title”, of “Companies Name” to discuss “relevant pitch angle” for a story idea. Let me know what time/date works best to schedule a call.
Let me know if you also might be working on future related stories where you can use “spokesperson’s name” as a source.
Thanks!
XX
I wouldn’t follow up more than once on a rapid response via email – but you can also call the reporter on the phone to follow up with a similar message. Since the first note is a rapid response, the follow up is more of a courtesy reminder, after that – you are just annoying the reporters.
Timing – How Soon Is Now?
The ultimate idea of rapid response pitching is exactly that – responding right when a news article is fresh. However, since we are not robots and because systems like Google Alerts are not always reliable, it’s not always possible to get to every relevant story immediately. Ideally, rapid responding to articles should be within a few hours to days after they run – but it’s ok to reach out as far as three months after the story has ran. This also depends on the angle you’re pitching and the story itself of course. If the original article is a feature on “sustainability in cloud management,” you have more time to respond. However, if it’s a major announcement from a company, I think two weeks might be the most time you have before it’s considered ‘old news.’
Rapid response pitching is a fantastic way to create new and strong media relationships, build media lists for reporters that might not be listed on Cision or other media monitoring platforms, and above all, get a new interview in a desirable outlet that will hopefully turn into coverage.
Pursuing FDA approval for your medical device can be an exciting time for any company in the healthcare space. Whether you are taking the path of the FDA’s premarket approval (PMA) process or the 510(k), the regulatory milestones along the way create multiple opportunities for a company to begin generating visibility and awareness for the product.
These key milestones include:
- Clinical Trials
- PMA/510(K) Submission
- Advisory Committee Meeting
- FDA Approval
- Launch
A PR strategy that beings at the start of clinical trials and keep key stakeholders informed along the way will enable you to be prepared for each step, maximizing visibility throughout the process, and hit the ground running once your product receives FDA approval.
Clinical Trials – Announcing the commencement of clinical trials (first patient enrolled) and the achievement of key milestones can be announced through press releases and promoted to the media. At this stage, it is important to identify your top media contacts and influencers so that you can keep them informed throughout the process. Phase I and II clinical trials will generate the most interest among trade publications, while Phase III trials will be of interest to a wider array of media, potentially including mainstream media.
Once the clinical trials end and the submission is being prepared, it can be a good time to launch an issues campaign that supports the need for your device in the industry, educates stakeholders and helps build awareness. This type of campaign can help lay the groundwork for the filing and advisory board meetings.
PMA/510(K) Submission – Prior to the company submitting its application for FDA approval, it’s important that all the pieces of the communications strategy are in place to support the company through the advisory meetings and begin the push toward launch. This includes finalizing key messages and supporting points, identifying and preparing KOLs, and conducting any non-clinical research that will help support the launch of the product, such as market research or surveys. The PMA submission should be announced through a press release and interviews with key reporters should be scheduled with company executives.
Advisory Committee Meetings – Advisory Committee meetings leading up to approvals are a key milestone for awareness and visibility. It is important to issue a press release in advance of each meeting – to announce the scheduled meeting date and to inform media of this important milestone – and also to announce the outcome immediately upon the close of each meeting, preferably the same day. Industry media are likely to attend these meetings, particularly if your device is high profile. You can contact the FDA communications team assigned to your device category for additional insight into which media have registered to attend the meeting or might be there. Therefore, company spokespeople should be prepared with media talking points and a QA in advance of the meeting for on-site interviews. Key media contacts not in attendance should be briefed via phone as soon as possible following a successful meeting.
FDA Approval – Assuming that all goes well, the FDA will alert the company that the product is “approvable” and a date will be set by which time your company will receive official word of approval. While it is sometimes hard to know the specific date that the approval will be received, you should be prepared with all materials and communications plans in place so that you can push out the press release immediately upon notice. All key reporters should be pre-briefed on milestones to date and the outcome of the advisory board meeting. Key KOLs, clinical trial sites that you are using for media, and others who will serve as media references should be media trained and provided with key message points. Photos, videos and other multimedia assets should be prepared, captioned and made available on your website for download (this page can be hidden until the approval is official.) Once the FDA approval is formalized, an aggressive PR campaign in support of the product can begin.
Launch
Likely there will be some time between FDA approval and the actual commercial launch of the product to target market. At this point, you should have a strong foundation of visibility and awareness for your product, which will help you build momentum towards the commercial launch. But that, my PR friends, is a topic for another blog!
Any tips to share for maximizing visibility through the FDA process? Let us know.
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As public relations professionals, one of our main responsibilities is to build relationships with the media on behalf of our clients. Developing a good rapport with a member of the media can result in interview and byline opportunities you’ve pitched as well as opportunities where a reporter proactively reaches out to use a client as an expert in an upcoming piece.
In order to foster a great relationship with a member of the media, a PR pro must first understand the keys to successful pitching. Understanding what a reporter is looking for will enable you to draft pitches that will not only be worthwhile to the reporter, but also to you and your client.
Here are five things to remember before you develop your pitch:
- Facts, Facts and More Facts: The media loves hard facts, so beginning your pitch with a reputable, eye-opening statistic to address a pain point is a great way to get a reporter’s attention and spur his/her interest in the topic you are pitching.
- Hard News Is Great News: You can pique the media’s interest by pitching them hard client news such as new products, acquisitions, partnerships, etc. In some cases – when newsworthy enough – you can even use these types of announcements to kindle their interest through embargos or exclusives.
- Breaking News and Events: Whether it a recent election or a major conference/event/holiday, you can use timely news hooks to get the attention of a reporter that may already be covering a related story
- Catchy Subject Lines: A subject line can make or break your chance of catching the eye of a reporter, as they are often working on-the-go or trying to meet a deadline. Your subject line should be as short and clever as possible, as well as readable from a smartphone or tablet.
- Ready-to-Go Content: Reporters are often juggling multiple stories at once, so they may pass on a story idea if it requires them to interview a source and ultimately write another piece. Having “Expert Tips” or “Top-10 Lists” at the ready can increase your chances of coverage. In some instances, it can also lead to a byline opportunity for your client.
Keeping these tips in mind, you can now confidently draft a pitch that will get a second look and help you open the door to new and greater opportunities for client coverage.
Related Articles
5 Tips for Building Relationship with Media
The Role of Research in Media Relations
The Anatomy of a Success Pitch
By Maggie Markert, Strategist
“What exactly is public relations?” I get asked this question all of the time (side note: mainly from my mother). For years my answer always included some form of “we work with the media and journalists.” While this still holds true, the answer has shifted a bit as the public relations (PR) landscape has taken on new forms and new channels.
The Media
While traditional journalists are still present and relevant, bloggers are now also regular targets to pitch. Bloggers have quickly made their rise in the PR world, and in some cases can be equally or more influential than a journalist. By definition a blog is a website on which a person writes about personal opinions, activities, and experiences. According to NM Incite, 6.7 million people publish blogs, and another 12 million write blogs using their social networks. With so many people blogging today, it’s important that PR professionals tap into this segment and build relationships with these writers, just as they would traditional journalists.
It’s also important to keep in mind that a blogger may be a journalist for a traditional publication, but who also blogs on the side- perhaps about the same beat they regularly cover, or something entirely different that they are interested in. These blogs can be as equally important for consumers, especially with 81 percent of U.S. online consumers citing that they trust information and advice from blogs.
One last distinction that should be noted is the difference between bloggers and vloggers. Bloggers typically write pieces, where vloggers capture videos. With so many social video platforms taking off- Snapchat ,YouTube channels, Instagram Stories- targeting vloggers should also be a standard practice for PR professionals as well.
Embrace Contributed Content
Pitching the same reporters, bloggers, etc., can sometimes feel repetitive. As PR professionals, it’s our job to think of new ways to get our clients into key publications. It’s easy to get a client’s hard news written about, but it’s a bit more difficult when the news is few and far between.
One popular and effective way to get clients into publications is to offer contributed content or bylines. In these contributed pieces, top-level executives or experts in a particular field can discuss forward-thinking thought leadership topics. Bylines are a good way to showcase a Company’s expertise on a certain topic. As a best practice, it’s good to vary the expert who authors the bylines to showcase the depth of leadership and experience at the company.
Social Media
People tend to think of social media as an entity that is separate from PR. However, social media is just another channel that PR Pros can use. PR pros should aim to leverage all relevant social media channels to further engage audiences and build awareness. Repackaging news or articles, or creating the perfect 140-character sound bite and hashtags are all part of the new PR.
Conclusion
It’s important for PR professionals to stay current with emerging and established channels to optimize brand awareness and engagement. Public relations goes beyond pure media relations to engage multiple publics through multiple channels- and in today’s world it’s about meeting your customer where they are, whether that’s a traditional trade publication, the daily newspaper, or the latest vlog.
By: Lindsay Hull
A client with a strong pipeline of newsworthy announcements is as exciting as winning the lottery to most PR professionals. The media craves hard numbers, customer partnerships, funding, and new products. More often than not, however, early stage companies don’t have a never-ending stream of announcements. This can be a major challenge, but nearly ten years in the industry and numerous start-up clients have given me some great ways to make sure that a lack of hard news doesn’t mean a lack of great hits.
Look to Executives and Unique Employees
It might be time to refresh your media contacts that cover entrepreneurial journeys. There are full publications that solely focus on productiveness, leadership, and management styles. Entrepreneur.com and Inc.com often feature small companies and start-ups with distinct perspectives. The New York Times has a recurring section called “Corner Office” dedicated to leadership and management.
In addition, find out if any of the company’s employees have any extreme hobbies or interests that impact their business style. Does the CEO fly a plane or volunteer with his therapy dogs? Sometimes it’s the people at an organization and their stories that grab the attention of reporters, which can lead to coverage of the company.
Stay Local
Local publications like to see the impact that your client is making in the community. Does your client participate in local volunteer work? Has their company grown recently in size and/or revenue, adding more jobs? Do they simply have a cool office space? All of these angles can lead to securing media coverage. Explore the various news sections of your clients’ local media outlets and see what angles are available.
Create Your Own Content
With a 24-hour news cycle, publications are always looking for high-quality, pre-packaged content from experts. Now is the time to pick a couple of “topics to own” – areas where your client is expert – and pitch targeted bylines to publications that accept them. If you’re not sure where to start, set up an interview with the executive you’re working with. Ask good, reporter-style questions and look for an angle that’s a little bit different than all of the other articles on the topic.
What’s Trending?
Chances are that you are already monitoring news in your clients’ industries. Use this to your advantage. If a competitor is getting covered, pitch those same media contacts. If a certain topic is trending that your client can speak to, introduce them to the relevant reporters and editors for follow-on stories. In times of sparse news, it also pays to think outside your core media list and look to writers in associated areas or verticals.
There is no shortage of PR professionals working to get their clients media coverage. In fact, it is estimated that there are four times more PR pros than journalists in the U.S., all competing to get their clients coverage. With that in mind, it’s important to remember that no matter which path you choose to secure media coverage, knowing your audience and standing out from the crowd should be at the core of your strategy. Happy pitching!
By: Alyson Kuritz
The last five years have seen a marked changed in the way content is generated online. Instead of relying on a newsroom staffed with journalists, online media platforms are trading on their infinite column length of free content from outside sources. What was first a cost-cutting measure is now a potential money maker has the views generated help bolster advertising revenues at a fraction of the cost of internal writers and editors.
This change has given individuals the ability to publish their work alongside journalists with only small cues to differentiate them to the reader (e.g. Crunch Network on TechCrunch or being labeled Contributor on Forbes instead of Forbes Staff). Becoming a contributor can build personal brands for an executive, but often times the company’s presence is reduced to a line in the author bio.
In parallel, the value of the company internal blog is diminished (setting aside the SEO and long-term thought leadership benefits). There is more reach to be had in writing content for an external platform with vastly greater views and social media presence than a company blog where it can be hard to break out beyond an existing bubble.
In addition to contributing content to online publications, the rise of Medium and LinkedIn Pulse adds another channel for companies and individuals to share their story. These platforms facilitate sharing and “following,” which makes them a stronger blend of social media and publishing than other “unconnected” platforms.
In spite of these new ways to publish content and drive reach, earned media generated by public relations holds onto its value for three key reasons:
Credibility
While Americans have flagging trust in mass media, the outlets and topics relevant to B2B companies, especially in the technology space, still hold relevancy. If a journalist or blogger who is a respected subject-matter expert writes a positive piece on a company or product, it provides outside validation that cannot be matched by a self-written or self-published article.
Visibility
Visibility can be twofold when talking about media coverage. First is the impact in the search engines. According to Google, 89% of all B2B buying researchers use the internet as part of their process. Odds are, the weight assigned to a media site by Google outranks most corporate sites, so if a media article hits a powerful keyword phrase that reaches buyers, it creates a new indirect path to a company.
Second is the audience of the publication and writer in terms of daily readers and social media followers. Anecdotally, editorial pieces often receive better placement on websites and more attention on social media. This varies from site to site, but typically when time, effort and cost have been placed into a story, the media promotes it at a higher volume.
Subject Matter
Surprisingly, when comparing editorial coverage to self-generated content, companies can see more of their message come across in the pieces they don’t write. That’s because when contributing content, pieces must remain vendor-neutral, and when self-publishing on a blog or social publishing platform, it’s poor form to drop in self-serving superlatives to thought leadership content.
Yet in media coverage, when executives are interviewed for a story, their words are often printed verbatim and can be reinforced by the writer. One company’s talking points can become anchors of a trend story or industry roundup that has broader appeal than a single company profile.
Content marketing has its place in the quiver for B2B companies looking to drive leads, engage audiences and build brands. However, to truly hit the bullseye, classic PR and media relations efforts must remain a constant and core part of the communications strategy.
By: Bob Minkus
A byline article is a great opportunity for a client to tell their story. They can use their own words and voice and are typically positioned as an industry thought leader. Often written by public relations professionals, these articles are published with the client’s name. For PR pros, that means delivering a well thought out and written piece. Luckily, with a little planning and attention to detail, your byline article can be perfect. Here are a few tips to remember:
- Research: This sounds simple, but there are many factors you need to consider before writing. Reading past interviews of your client is a great way to get a feel for how he or she communicates and will help you to determine the right tone. Reviewing approved language on the client’s website and in their marketing materials, such as brochures and case studies, will help you accurately describe things like the company’s mission, products and more. In addition, make sure you research the publication in which the byline will be placed. This will help you understand how the publication wants pieces written.
- Plan and Outline: Creating an outline for your byline before you begin to write will not only help with time management, but it will also strengthen the structure of the piece. In the outline, you can include statistics, facts, key statements and more. The more detailed your outline is, the easier it will be to write the article. If you need to interview your client (which is always a great idea), this helps keep you on track.
- Write: With your research completed and a strong outline in place, you can get started writing. Research shows the best time to write is first thing in the morning, so make sure you carve out some time at the beginning of the day. Take time to stop and read what you have developed every so often to make sure you are on track. Also, give yourself time to write a good first draft – some people can do it in one sitting; others need more time – fine what’s best for you.
- Review and Edit: One of the most important steps in the byline writing process is editing. You should review your piece at least three times and always have a colleague review it as well. This will help you catch and correct issues or errors before sending the byline to your client for review.
- Get Approval: Having your client’s approval to send in the byline for publication is crucial. Not only does this step allow the client to be aware of exactly what you are submitting, but it will give them an opportunity to make updates or changes to the piece. In addition, make sure that your client approves the piece in writing before you submit to the publication. When submitting the piece, make sure your client’s name and title are included and accurate.
Following these steps can help you write a great byline on behalf of your client. Your client will appreciate it and you will feel confident each time the opportunity arises!
By Maggie Markert