By Dan Pecchia
I had a conversation a few weeks ago with a guy who apparently has spent many years in marketing communications yet was astonishingly uninformed. Here’s a rough recap:
Him: “How often should we send out press releases?”
Me: “We like to do that whenever we have something we know will interest the media, or whenever we can create something they’d appreciate.”
Him: “We’ve been doing releases once a month. I’m thinking maybe we try twice a month?”
At that point I realized that this individual didn’t “get” media relations. The principle that connected approaching the media with having something worthy of an approach was completely lost on him.
I don’t think he’s alone. Years ago, when I worked in the news business, I regularly received news releases, pitch letters and phone calls that were totally devoid of news value. Whenever one of those dreaded calls came through, I suspected the poor caller was on some calendar program mandated by a supervisor who had never seen the inside of a newsroom.
And years later, despite all that’s been delivered on blogs, seminars, webinars and books, we still have “marketing consultants” telling their clients to approach the news media at regular intervals without regard for whether there’s anything worthwhile to say.
The only logical answer to the question, “How often should we approach the media?” is “Whenever you have something worth sharing.”
Figure out what’s worth distributing to news professionals
What is worth sharing? Here are two ways to figure that out.
- Study the media you’re pitching. Do you see a lot of things that seem similar in impact and uniqueness to what you’d like to share? If so, there’s a great chance your idea will also ignite that publisher’s interest. If what you have in mind has no peer to anything you’ve ever seen published there, then you might want to save your company or client some time (which is money) — and tell your boss about your research.
- Put yourself in a media gatekeeper’s shoes and be honest. Think about how an editor flooded with coverage requests would view your idea/pitch. Would he or she really think this is something that readers/listeners would want to read/watch? Is your idea likely to be viewed among the best potential stories that gatekeeper has room/time to print, broadcast or post?
Unfortunately, some folks in public relations overdo media approaches because they see themselves as senders of information. (Send employee email, check. Deliver ad, check. Post website content, check. Send out news release to media, check. Task list complete!)
In that context, there’s a bias toward sending the media as much information as you can with hopes that some of it will stick. (Let’s try once a week!)
Aim not for frequency but for results
But others in PR understand the unique reach and credibility of the news media and treat media relations with more care and respect. They understand that the goal is not “sending stuff out” but landing coverage.
Reaching that goal can’t be mapped to a calendar. It has to be focused on delivering adequate news value.
Dan Pecchia is a Youngstown public relations consultant and president of Pecchia Communications.
