Tips for Using Social Media to Boost your Traditional PR Campaign

November 23, 2011 Leave a Comment

There are times you can reach the traditional media using some nontraditional means.  Blogging, social media and online wire services can offer unique approaches to garnering coverage in print, TV and radio.  For example, sometimes the best way to contact a writer, editor or producer is through the back door.  For example, if you’re looking to garner a placement in the Wall Street Journal or Time Magazine, an approach could be to blog on one of their stories.  Newsweek and other publications have added blog round up boxes on their sites.  What they basically do is report on readers who have blogged about one of their articles.  Try picking a publication that’s of interest to you and blog on one of the articles.  Now link it using a backtrack line and then submit that to Technorati.com.  If all goes as planned, your blog will be reported and they in turn will link to you.  At least that’s how it should go.  If you’re up for a new approach, give it a shot.

Another way to keep in touch with, or at least in front of journalists is via social media sites such as Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter.  Twitter can definitely be useful since it moves so quickly and new information is constantly being posted.  Some journalists will tweet when they’re looking for experts to interview.  They’ll also post articles that they find of interest or previous articles they’ve written.  This is a great way to get a real sense of an individual writer’s interests, likes and dislikes.

Twitter Tips
You can also be proactive in your approach.  Tweet stories that aren’t necessarily direct pitches but that show your interest in that particular field.  If you find something that will possibly interest a particular journalist, Tweet it.  And when he or she Tweets something you find of interest comment on it or reweet in.  Interaction is fine, just don’t spend your time trying to sell or pitch. When you find something you think a journalist might enjoy, share it. And when he or she shares an interesting article or tweets something entertaining, feel free to comment and interact.  Remember the name of the game here is connecting and sharing – not selling and pitching.  Still, on those occasions that you do find that perfect story to pitch, go for it, but present it in a way that you’re bringing value to the table.  Do not use social media as a way to constantly pitch.  You’ll quickly overstay your welcome and lose a valuable connection.

Sharing Your Press Release
Using paid wire services isn’t something I generally recommend, unless your story is amazingly timely, has a celebrity tie in, or has to do with a breaking news story.  Your best approach is to send your press releases to a targeted media list and following up with phone calls.  Still, posting your releases on free wire services, and (judiciously) posting your release on social media sites can help.  If your release has enough useable information on it, you might find that some media outlets as reprinting your release as a short article.  Articles that offer tips, or secrets or bust myths can be the most effective.  For example: 5 insider tips to a perfect body or 5 secrets to perfecting your golf swing, or The Skinny on 5 weight loss myths.  Something else to consider is offer 7 insider tips, only cover 4 of them in the release and end it with the link to your website or blog to find the rest of the tips.

All of these are different ways to get your message and pitch in front of your target media.  Using trial and error, find the methods that work best for you and then stick with them.

Copyright © Anthony Mora 2011

Filed under Marketing, PR, traditional media Tagged with , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Why You Should Launch Next Year’s PR Campaign this November

November 4, 2011 Leave a Comment

You want the fourth quarter to end on a strong note, which is why it’s so important to launch a media relations campaign for the holidays, but even if your end of year plans are set and you’re looking to launch in a big way for the upcoming year, you need to start your PR and marketing no later than November.

There are a few practical reasons for this. To start, if you’re looking to place stories in any of the national monthly publications, keep in mind they work on a three to four month lead time; which means, at least as far as those media outlets are concerned, you need to pitch them in September or October to have any chance of landing coverage in January. Although other media outlets work on much shorter lead times, you want to place stories during the end of the current year to help build your brand going into the new year. You also want to start pitching in November to get on the media’s radar for New Year-oriented stories. January is going to be filled with stories that have to do with new gadgets, diets, approaches, products, and services that can help people get a fresh start in the new year.

Remember the media is looking for a hook and an angle that works for them, so approach your pitch from their perspective. For example, if you’re an accountant your pitch might be:
5 Insider Tips On How To Start Your New Year Accounting And Bookkeeping On The Right Foot,
or 5 Tips To Prepare For The Upcoming Tax Season

If your in the beauty, fitness or weight loss business, focus on such pitches as
How To Achieve Your Optimum New Look For The New Year


Focus on what makes your business, service or product special. Is there a different approach you use that can help people start the new year right? What problems do you solve? How do you, your product or service differ from others in the field? Maybe you’ve updated or modified your product or service for the New Year. Look at it from all angles; is it smaller, larger, brighter, less expensive, more user friendly, or more effective? How could you present what you do or sell in a way that’s different, offers a story and ties in with the New Year theme?
And don’t forget the most important focus; how does your business or product affect others? How has it helped change people’s lives? What solutions does it offer? Does it make life easier? Does it make people richer, thinner, smarter, faster, or happier? Perhaps you have clients who would be able to tell their story to the media? The most effective PR campaigns are those that tell transformational stories. If by launching an effective public relations campaign you can illustrate how your business has positively affected the life of others, people who see read or hear your story will want to know if you can do the same for them. And your phone will start ringing.

Copyright © Anthony Mora 2011

Filed under Entrepreneur PR, Marketing, PR Tagged with , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

How Important Is Traditional PR In The Age Of Social Media?

October 24, 2011 Leave a Comment

Although we’re in the age of blogging and social media, being featured in the traditional media (TV, print and radio) is still tremendously important.  In many ways it’s even more important than it was a decade ago.   PR specialists who are shifting their focus solely online are loosing sight of the value that traditional media offers.  Whereas any effective public relations campaign needs to include an online approach that embodies social media, it’s important to make sure that the core traditional elements are also in place.

Why is traditional media so important?  The recognition factor that traditional media offers is immense.  Most consumers will be able to recognize and identify popular newspapers, magazines or TV stations much more readily than they will the most popular blogs online that are not mainstream.  The traditional media have built credible brands that carry weight, influence and credibility.  If a story is featured in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal or CNN, that coverage is going to be more impressive to the average consumer than if it were featured in the top online blogs.  Perhaps even more importantly, if a story is covered in the traditional media, it is all but guaranteed to be covered online by blogs and discussed on social media sites.  Add to that the fact that traditional media outlets also have an internet presence and their sites generally generate more traffic than even the top online blogs.

Bloggers often write about what’s going on in traditional media, whether it’s a TV segment or a story that was covered in the newspaper. If you land an interview in traditional media, you’re likely to catch the attention of social media as well. Furthermore, appearing in traditional media gives you something to post about in your own blog and in social networks.

The truth is that social media and blogging should be a core component of any media relations campaign, and driving and controlling your message by placing stories in the traditional media is more critical than ever.

That said, it’s important to keep in mind that how you pitch the traditional media is different than how you approach bloggers or online media.  The online approach is more direct, you’re talking more directly to the consumer.  When pitching newspaper and magazine editors or radio and TV producers, you’re pitching the media, not the public.  You need to convince that editor or producer that your story is compelling and speaks directly to his or her target audience.

This is not an either or situation, you want a combined online and traditional media approach; but if you’re looking to establish yourself as an expert in your field and to gain the credibility and validation of being perceived as a news story, you need a traditional PR campaign.

Copyright © Anthony Mora 2011

Filed under PR, social media Tagged with , , , , , , , , , , , ,

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