Posts Tagged ‘pitching’


PRSA-NJ Panel Discussion: PR Strategy Tools for Effective Online News

Thursday, October 27th, 2011

Colleen Flood*

Effective Online News

Earlier this week I had the opportunity to attend the PRSA-NJ panel discussion on Tools of the Trade:  Effective Online News sponsored by BurrellesLuce.  The event was held at the beautiful Monmouth University campus and had a great turnout of emerging journalists and up-and-coming publicists. 

The panel had one consistent message across the board for students and professionals in attendance: 

  • Know who you are pitching.
  • Know your news hook.
  • Be relevant, specific and succinct.

Judith Feeney —  digital editor for NJ Press Media,  Asbury Park Press (app.com), Daily Record (dailyrecord.com), the Home News Tribune, and the Courier News — started the discussion by reminding us there are a vast number of new tools and a lot less time to get the job done.  She suggested that PR and media relations professionals need to become familiar with all of the tools out there.  Know who you are pitching and don’t blanket your pitch to multiple people.  Look at the type of material the publication and journalist produces and tailor your pitch accordingly.

Christopher Sheldon, the Long Branch editor of Patch.com, a hyperlocal publication, said to make sure to include the who, what, where, when and why in the first paragraph.  If it’s not local to his area, he cannot write about it.  His audience is looking for community news.

Christy Potter Kass, assistant editor of The Alternative Press, agreed with Chris and said her publication is also hyperlocal and stories must tie into the values and interests of local readers.  She emphasized not to confuse hyperlocal publications with national publications.  When asked the definition of “hyperlocal,” Christy said the more local the story the better.  News must be about something going on in town or have a connection to the community.

Joan Bosisio, group vice president of Stern & Associates said that (with all the recent layoffs) PR people have an opportunity to help journalists, who are working on stories, do their jobs.  Journalists are now doing more than one job and by presenting them with not only the story, but the materials to help them write the story (e.g., video, spokespeople and social media) you make their job easier.

Kristine Brown oversees PR for St. Barnabas Health, the state’s largest hospital system.  She gave us some real life examples of crisis communications and advised that essential PR skills have not changed with all the new online tools available.  Kristine said you still need to know your audience, know your story, cultivate relationships with the media (this has helped her in time of crisis) and move at the same pace the news is moving.

As for journalists and PR professionals alike, essential skills include: spelling, grammar, and attention to detail. The ability to take your own photos, as a journalist, will also help prospective media professionals stand out.

How are you using online tools to help you connect with journalists and the media? As a member of the media, what other ways can PR and communications professionals work with you to get their stories out? Please leave your comments below on BurrellesLuce Fresh Ideas.

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*Bio: Colleen Flood has been a sales consultant with BurrellesLuce for over 12 years and is eager to become a more integrated part of the social-public relations community. She primarily handles agency relations in the New York and New Jersey metro-area. She is not only passionate about work, but also about family, friends, and the Jersey Shore. Twitter: @cgflood LinkedIn: Colleen Flood Facebook: BurrellesLuce

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Posted in Industry Events, Media Industry, Media Outreach, Media Relations, News Coverage, Public Relations | No Comments »

Creating a Successful Elevator Pitch

Monday, October 24th, 2011

Lauren Shapiro*

iStock_000013177296XSmall“So… what does your company do?”

How many times have you been asked this question? What is your response? Whatever it is that is your elevator pitch… the 15 second – schpeel (or the amount of time it would take you to ride an elevator) you give to someone who has no idea what you or your company does. It is a simplified, condensed version given in layman’s terms to explain the complexity of your inner working knowledge of the industry and your organization. The goal of the elevator pitch is to leave the listener with not only an understanding of your company/service but with some excitement and curiosity.

According to an article on MoneyWatch.com by Robert Pagliarini, “An elevator pitch isn’t about cramming as much information into a minute as possible. A well crafted elevator pitch is much more about finesse. It should evoke emotion more than thought.” 

 Elevator pitches are used more often than you may think! They are used at the initial stages of selling (whether you realize it or not), during networking events or just in passing. But what are the key components of an elevator pitch? According to Pagliarini, an elevator pitch must contain the following elements:

  1. A “hook.” Grab the listener’s attention with either a question or statement that gets them interested and wanting to know more about your clients, products, or services.
  2. About 150-225 words. Keep your pitch short. Remember, this is an elevator ride not a plane ride.
  3. Passion. If you talk with gusto and excitement… they will also be excited!
  4. A request. When finished with your pitch, be sure to exchange business cards and request a time to discuss in more detail.

The key to an elevator pitch is to be confident. This is your job, your company and your industry… you know what you are talking about! 

Do you have any tips to share about elevator pitches?

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*Bio: Soon after graduating from the Richard Stockton College of New Jersey, in 2006 with a B.A. in communication and a B.S. in business/marketing, I joined the BurrellesLuce client services team. In 2008, I completed my master’s degree in corporate and organizational communications and now serve as Director of Client Services. I am passionate about researching and understanding the role of email in shaping relationships from a client relation/service standpoint as well as how miscommunication occurs within email, which was the topic of my thesis. Through my posts on Fresh Ideas, I hope to educate and stimulate thoughtful discussions about corporate communications and client relations, further my own knowledge on this subject area, as well as continue to hone my skills as a communicator. Twitter: @_LaurenShapiro_ LinkedIn: laurenrshapiro Facebook: BurrellesLuce

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Posted in Advertising/Marketing, Career Advice, Client Services, Public Relations | No Comments »

Needs don’t change; solutions do

Friday, July 15th, 2011

Valerie Simon

While evaluating Google+ last weekend, I couldn’t help but notice a lot of questions regarding how to engage in this new environment in the ways that we are familiar with on Facebook or Twitter. While that is understandable, perhaps, we can get to even better answers, not to mention engagement, if we stop focusing on how to replicate the way we currently do things and start asking about how to address a need not currently being filled with existing social Social Needs Don't Change; Solutions Domedia networks. In other words, let’s use this new platform to break out of our comfort zones and reconsider our social needs.

Building a list or circle is not a need; organizing and managing our communications in a more efficient and effective manner is. What are our real social needs?  For example, I don’t think the question is whether the “Plus 1” feature in Google+ is equal to a “like” in Facebook. Perhaps it is more about, “How do I indicate that I am nodding ‘yes’ in agreement as I read your post or acknowledge that I have seen and read your post without actually having to comment?” And if I “Plus 1” a post does that mean I am endorsing you and how does that effect SEO? And maybe that leads to a greater need to convey additional emotions in a single-click and move beyond conventional algorithms.

(more…)

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POLL RESULTS: Should PR Interns Pitch The Media?

Wednesday, July 6th, 2011

This post first appeared on PRconnection (7.5.11) and is cross-posted with permission.

Poll Results: Should Interns Pitch The MediaIt’s been nearly two years since I first broached the subject of whether PR interns should pitch The Media. At that time, it seemed, most people had a very strong opinion one way or the other so I decided to do a quick poll and report the results.

And it is a topic that still sparks a lot of debate today. I’ve seen some recent chatter on Twitter about who should be pitching The Media and thought it was time to resurrect the poll and see what, if anything, has changed in the past couple years.

To the question, “Should PR interns pitch the media,” I got 71 votes and 11 comments using the LinkedIn polls tool. Since there are more women in PR than men, it’s not surprising that the respondents were mostly female.

Respondents could choose from the following answers:

  • Yes
  • Yes with direct supervision
  • Depends on the circumstances
  • No

Only 15 percent said “No” (as in, “never”).

Of those that replied with a “No,” Mitch Leff, owner of Leff & Associates PR firm, commented, “Wow…If I was a client, I’m hiring the agency for their expertise and to have their best people on my account. No way I’d pay an agency to have an intern pitching! Wow again.”

Of those that replied, “Yes with direct supervision,” Rodger D. Johnson, PR pro and professor (aka @getsocialpr) suggested:

“Interns need to learn how to pitch and the best way to do that is to pitch. They also need coaching, which is why it is best to have supervision early on. I might add that supervision should be in the roll of coach, teacher or mentor. And agency owners need to understand sometimes interns make mistakes. At the same time, a good agency owner or corporate communications director who be in the business of building people. After all, investing in people is how we build relationships, right?”

My personal thoughts are in-line with Rodger’s – how can you learn without doing?  And, isn’t this business all about investing in and building relationships with people?

There were other great comments as well.  If you’d like, you can review the comments and full results here, but let’s continue this conversation. What do you think?

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Posted in Media Outreach, Media Relations, Public Relations, Social Media | 10 Comments »

Everyone’s a Journalist: Beyond the Beat

Thursday, November 11th, 2010

This post first appeared on PRSA’s ComPRehension blog 11.10.10 and is cross-posted with permission.

This year’s PRSA 2010 International Conference was my 11th in the past 12 years. As the date approached, I found myself wondering if it was going to be worth it. Would I really learn something new?  Now that the Conference is over, I can report a resounding, “Yes!”

One of the sessions I attended was led by my BurrellesLuce colleague, Johna Burke (@gojohnab). She offered so many great tidbits of social media/media relations-related information that it would be impossible to include them all in this blog post. However, there’s one point that stood out the most to me.

Burke began by discussing the changing media landscape. For example, according to the Pew Research Center, some 44 percent of online news users get news at least a few times a week through e-mails, automatic updates or posts from social networking sites. You must decide where social media fits into the strategy, and how to take advantage of it.

She advises:

  • Participate in the dialogue, but don’t broadcast.
  • Messages need to work in tandem and support other messages. In other words, consistency is key.
  • Communicate to the whole organization, not just the media. Who are your other audiences? Who are our stakeholders?
  • Be where your audiences hang out online. Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn are the “big three.”

So what about pitching via social media? Burke prefaced these best practices with her PR101 golden rule: everything is on the record!  She says, at the bare minimum, know what sort of journalist they are — print, online or “MOJO” (mobile journalist). You should also:

  • Know what they are writing about.
  • Think about how to build a relationship with them. Comment first, pitch later.
  • Find a way to provide information without giving away the scoop.
  • Tell them why they should care.
  • Do NOT send multiple requests to one reporter/blogger on multiple platforms. (You don’t want to stalk them!)

Obviously, not all of the tips are necessarily “new,” but there were new applications of old principles, and some were simply solid media relations refreshers.

Tressa Robbins, vice president, Media Contacts, BurrellesLuce, is a regular contributor to BurrellesLuce Fresh Ideas blog, a member of the St. Louis PRSA Chapter and a PRSSA mentor.  She recently served as a panelist for PRSSA’s National Conference and speaks at the local and regional level. Connect with Tressa on LinkedIn and follow Tressa on Twitter @tressalynne.

For more coverage on the PRSA 2010 International Conference: Powering PRogress, visit PRSA Intelligence, follow #prsa_ic and the Conference blog.

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