Impress the Press

Thought leadership is not only about forward looking insights. It's also about influencing the market conversation.

If your ideas are not getting picked up by the third-party influencers who frame the conversation, you will never be perceived as a thought leader. With that in mind, it's critical to understand how to manage influencers such as the press and media.

"Like it or not, we need each other. You need us to cover the products you're responsible for, whether they're your own creations or you work for a public relations firm responsible for getting coverage for your company's products," writes Esther Schindler of the Internet Press Guild. "We need information from you in order to get our stories done."

"If you want our attention, please recognize that we writers are inundated with information," she adds. "Professional magazine and trade newspaper writers get dozens of press releases every day; sometimes hundreds of them, during busy times like the weeks before Comdex (or other events in our specific slice of the market). If you want to work with us effectively, fit yourself into our way of working -- or at least do your best to understand it."

In the case of the press, it's particularly important to look at how they like to be contacted. According to the public relations firm Bennett & Company's annual media survey, eighty nine percent (89%) of all journalists surveyed preferred email as the main way to receive information, followed by regular mail (6%). Only one percent (1%) said they preferred to be contacted by phone.

Personalized addresses are also important. Fifty percent (50%) of the media polled said they respond more readily to a personalized address and 4 percent (4%) said that a general editor address will do. The remaining 46 percent (46%) did not have a preference. Many noted that while they do not have a preference, personalized communications reach them quicker.

Multimedia is also an attractor. Fifty-nine percent (59%) of media polled said that the availability of multimedia (photos, charts, graphs,audio and video) does enhance the chances of a story being used. That suggests companies must not only think about developing a compelling story, but ensure that it is presented in compelling ways.

Of course, it isn't all about how you communicate. Relevance is particularly critical to PR success. PR maven Nettie Hartsock (who conducts an insightful seminar called "Impress the Press") warns against inundating journalists with useless press releases about mundane subjects.

Instead, she urges PR professionals to "really research what the journalist covers and email something about your client if they can serve as a good resource expert for that journalist or if there is a timely news story."

Great advice. Take the time to get to know the journalists (and other influencers) you need to know. As I've written elsewhere, it's preferable to reach the right press rather than the most press. To reach the right press, you need to know who they are, what they write and what they want to know from you.

Comments

[Lee Sellers]

Britton: You left out one important way to get mindshare with third-party influencers like the media: buy advertising. And lots of it. As much as they would like you to believe that there is a "Chinese Wall" between editorial and the money machine, the exact opposite is often true. There is nothing sacred about the press, especially the trade press, that protects them from the same vices that live within us all.

[Britton Manasco]

That's an interesting comment. It's simply undeniable that the media will pay attention to its advertisers. It gets you access -- and it gets your PR people some respect. It doesn't necessarily have to be a corrupting quid-pro-quo though. It's just good business for the publication. If you've been around (and yet get "free" subscriptions), you probably should get this. It's also true of the most influential analysts (like Gartner and Forrester). You can't "buy" coverage from analysts who get a majority of their revenue from end users. But you can buy access -- and consideration. You can ensure you get a fair shake.

A certain amount of "tension," shall we say, is inevitable in today's tech media and analyst business models. But it's still possible to defend your integrity (on both sides of the equation) while getting the job done.

Don't try to bribe them. (In the election business, they call this "walking around money.") It will backfire. But feel free to take the steps necessary to ensure you get a fair hearing -- and some real consideration.

[Esther Schindler]

Actually, Lee, you're quite wrong. There are indeed some publications -- and in particular some markets -- where the line between editorial and advertising is blurred, but in most cases it IS a wall that's several feet high. I now work as senior online editor for a significant print publication, and I have not the foggiest idea who the advertisers are. I'm glad there are images on the pages in between the articles (I know they pay the bills) but I truly do not notice them.

Do you *really* want to get my attention as a journalist? Become familiar enough with my publication to craft your message in a way that will appeal to my reader. If you can tell me why CIOs will care about what you're doing, I'll listen. And if you can't explain the answer, then I don't care about your ad sales status in the slightest.

You can't buy my attention. You can, however, earn it.

--Esther
yeah, the author of that essay

[Scott Adan]

Insightful. Seems like the PR world just continues to blast away -- smile and dial. When will they figure out that one doesn't impress anyone with a one-size-fits-all pitch?

[Nettie Hartsock]

Scott,

I think they are figuring that out slowly but surely. And there are several leading PR bloggers that speak to that.

And I gotta say Yey Esther! Yey! Yey! Yey! She's brilliant, well-spoken and should be heeded.