Focusing on PR work after your hopefully-as-relaxing-as-possible summer vacation can feel like quite the task, and you may have tons of questions. No need to worry – we at San Francisco Agency have come up with a few tips to get you back in the PR saddle!
How do I choose the right PR partner?
PR is hard work! You can’t expect people to do all the PR work in the empty two-hour time slot your employees might have in a week. If you don’t have a PR person in your own team, it is beneficial to hire an external PR partner. But how do you know who’s a good match for your company?
When choosing an external PR partner, do your due diligence well to make sure their way of working, ethics, and quality of work match your expectations. And make sure to communicate openly. You shouldn’t expect PR professionals to be mind-readers – share your goals, challenges, and hopes with them to make sure they understand you and your business as well as possible. Check that your partners work transparently and together with you.
And then let them do their job. They do PR and media relationship management for a living. They know what they are doing. Mutual trust is key!
What is the function of a press release?
You don’t want journalists just to publish what you have written. Your press release works as an information source that helps the journalist to get the facts straight. Think of it as a teaser – you want journalists to read it and want to learn more about your company. And when journalists show interest, you need to be prepared to give great interviews so they can publish a great version of your story that adds to your credibility.
And here’s an additional tip: if a top-tier media outlet wants to do an interview – do it! As simple as that.
Just closed your funding round? And it’s a lot of money? And you wanna tell the world? Sweet!
“We want to announce our funding except we won’t disclose the amount.”
No. You’re going to need to disclose it to get journalists to care. Don’t believe me? Think your company is so special that it won’t matter if you keep those numbers under wraps?
Okay, just go check out the startup news on TechCrunch and scroll through the headlines – they include the sums. Yup. It’s important. It adds a lot of weight to the story and lets journalists evaluate the significance of the bigger picture.
Now, let’s disclose that sum in an eye-catching headline, and we’re off to the races.
What does it really mean to localize a press release or pitch?
Oftentimes, your company’s HQ is somewhere out there in NYC or San Francisco and has control over the content pipeline. It’s then up to the local offices around the world to bring those stories to the press in their cities or countries.
But translation – even great localized language – is just not enough.
What’s relevant in NYC is not automatically of interest to the press in the UK or the Nordics. Put in the extra effort to find the local PR angle. Use local spokespeople who are in tune with the interests of the local audience. Show local data. Make it relevant.
If the pitch doesn’t say why a journalist writing for The Times or Monocle should care, you won’t get many results at all.
Don’t underestimate the power of follow-ups!
PR campaigns don’t end when the press release has been sent out. Following up with journalists is just as important as initial pitching and mass send-outs. Before the embargo date, ask politely if they have seen your pitch email and offer some new info, and after the embargo is lifted, ask your VIP journos who may have shown interest if they have had the time to take a look at your press release.
Journalists receive hundreds of pitches and press releases daily, so by following up with a personalized message you can stand out from the crowd! If they have previously written about your company or covered a topic close to your heart, let them know.
