5 Reasons Why Your Press Release Didn't Work

I've spent a lot of time in this space talking about all of the little things that can make the difference between a successful PR push and one that ends in miserable failure.  Hopefully you have been following along and have learned some valuable lessons without actually having to, you know, go out and make the kinds of mistakes that rookie PR pro's make every day.

We've discussed building relationships, crafting your story, making the follow up phone call, writing your release and timing your efforts.  We've covered just about everything from A to Z.  There are still a ton of tricks to be revealed and insight that will help you succeed in getting your story covered by a local news outlet.  But in the end, good PR comes down to some very simple techniques that, if followed, increase your chances of earning news coverage. 

I don't do this very often, but I want to share with you an article written by an actual reporter working in an actual newsroom that discusses some of the major mistakes all PR pro's make when pitching a news story.  The article comes from the website, "Localnewser.com" and I think it is one of the best written articles about why some stories get covered and others don't. 

In a rare move, I'm going to paste the entire article here, because I think it's that valuable.  I'll have some analysis after the article and some insight into why these five issues matter so much.  In the meantime, read this article, take it in, and then re-read it just so it's ingrained in your mind. 

Five Reasons Why Your Release Failed:

So you spent all that time crafting the perfect news release and—full of confidence and high hopes of massive news coverage and a satisfied client—you sent out your releases.
And zippo.  Something went wrong.  Systems failed.  The news trolls (like me) somehow missed the chance to make you happy.
But why? Why would a reporter read a solidly written news release with a beefy story to back it up and not jump at the chance to do a story--a minute and a half on the local news or a few inches of copy in the local paper?
Here are five common reasons why:

1.  You Didn’t Make Me Feel Special
We just got off on the wrong foot, that’s all.  I’m an overworked reporter and my feelings are very, very easily hurt.  I was interested when I saw that you’d sent me a possible story (you thought of me!) and then, quickly, I realized you hadn’t truly thought of me at all.  I was just a number to you.
The “Dear Mark” on your cover letter proceeds to suggest that a story I might do—and remember, I’m a television reporter—would be of interest to my “readers.”  My what? I don’t have readers.  This isn’t a personal letter—it’s a mass mailing.  My feelings just got hurt and for better or worse, you’ve started to lose my interest.  Now I’m not looking for a way to do the story, I’m thinking of how many other reporters have the same release in their hands.  It feels far less special.  It feels like wire copy to me now.
Recently, I got an email early on a weekday, tipping me to a potential story.  It was fantastic, because I was about to walk into the morning editorial meeting, where reporters are called upon to have story ideas.  I hate not having story ideas.  So your email was perfectly timed.  I felt good.  I felt good about you thinking of me.  And I was ready to pitch your story.
Then I got into the meeting and another reporter pitched your story.  In fact, everybody had gotten your email.  I didn’t feel so good about you after that.  And for that matter, I was even tempted to bust on the story when the other reporter brought it up.  Instead of making me feel special, you made me feel ordinary and I decided to work against your story, instead of for it.  Yeah, she's been shopping that thing around to everybody...

2.  I Was Ready, but You Weren’t
Okay, so you got me.  I read the release and I thought it would make a good story.  And my producers (or editors, at a paper) agreed with me.  If I’m a television reporter, I may even have been assigned to a newscast immediately—they wrote your story on the newsroom's assignments board in dry erase marker, which is as good as it gets! Pending breaking news, you’re a lock!
And so I called you.  I said we wanted to get interviews and shoot some video and do a live report at noon—basically, we needed to go directly from the television station to you, so that we could have a story ready to air in less than three hours.
And you said “today?”
Yes.  Today.  In fact, now.  In broadcast and print, when that release goes out, you better be ready to jump.  If you mention an executive who has news, he’d better be ready to do interviews immediately.  If you mention a new cattle-combing machine, it’d better be in town, up and running, and ready for cameras.
If you say, “let me make some calls,” I have to go to the producer of the noon newscast and throw cold water on my own story.  “Hey, looks like it’s not as much of a go as I thought.  Sorry.  This might not happen for noon after all.”
Now the noon newscast producer doesn’t like me anymore, and the executive producer wants to know why the story didn’t make the show.  When something falls through, news producers don’t think, “okay, cool, we’ll do it tomorrow.”  They think, “okay, it’s dead.  What else do we have?”

3.  You Buried the Lead
Look.  I’m in a newsroom that’s about three-quarters the size it was just two years ago.  Some of my friends lost their jobs and nobody’s been hired and I have to work a lot harder than I used to.  I’m not quite as happy with my job as I used to be, and I’m a bit cranky about that.  Short tempered.  Irritable.  I’m also forced to work fast and I don’t have a lot of time to chat or read.
So your news release—the one your client finally approved—well, it was just too long and too boring for me.  It had all the stuff the client wanted in there, all that corporate stuff, but I just read the first two paragraphs and didn’t see a story.  It didn't jump off the page and scream why are you sitting there?  You're missing a great story!
There was all this stuff at the top about the company and how it was responding to global this and that and how a green initiative something or other resulted in… I don’t know.  I couldn’t figure out what the story was.
That’s not to say there wasn’t a story in there.  But it didn’t read as a story the way I report stories.  It read like a news release.
Put yourself in my shoes.  Would you go on the news at six o’clock and have the first thing out of your mouth be the first line in your news release?  Would it make any sense at all?  Or would it sound like corporate blather?  If the top of your news release reads corporate, and not NEWS, you stand an excellent chance of losing me.  Because I’m just too damn overworked, tired, and coffee-deprived to do the work for you, sifting down to the fifth paragraph and then thinking of how to translate what you wrote into the language I use to tell stories.  So I move on.

4.  It’s Like… You Don’t Get Me
I read the release and I liked it.  I saw a story in there.  I thought it could even be a good story.  I told my bosses and they agreed with me.  I probably told them all about your story in my language, describing how I’d make it into a kickass television story (or newspaper story).
So I called you.  And we weren’t getting each other.  It was trouble from the start.  You see, as a television reporter I’m always thinking about who I’m going to interview and what I’m going to show.  If I can't think of a way to tell that story with images, I'm probably going to think that's a story that's never getting onto the air at my television station.
Maybe it's better as a newspaper story.  But newspapers like pictures (and, increasingly, video), too.
At any rate, I called you and said I wanted to do the story and you suggested that I interview your company’s PR guy in the company conference room at headquarters.
That sounded horrible to me and I almost gave up right there.  But I said, well, the story’s about your new aircraft baggage loading device that you say will cut airline costs.  So let’s meet at the baggage area, you show me the device in operation, we’ll get some great video and interview a few of the crew members who will be working on the machine—baggage handlers (you know, regular people, not spokespeople).
And you freaked.  Baggage area?  That’s going to be tough, you know, with regulations and stuff.  And we’d really rather you didn’t speak with any employees.
And my story started drying up before my eyes.  Because a PR guy in a fancy conference room—even with your company’s super nifty logo on the wall in chrome—bores me and gets me in trouble with my boss.
Watch my newscast and see who we interview.  Do you see a lot of conference room talking heads?  If you don't, then you know a story with spokespeople and handout pictures (no matter how nice your press kit is) just won't be cutting it.
Don’t you get me at all?

5.  My Day Changed…and You Got All Offended
So we agreed we had a good story here and I called and you were happy and your client was happy and we both decided to do the interviews with regular people (I know you prepped them—and that’s cool with me as long as they don’t sound like they’re reading lines) and we were going to get a look inside the factory with some great video opportunities.  And then—to top it off—you said the magic words:  “and we’re only giving this to you.”
Heaven.
And then an elementary school caught on fire.  That dry erase board with all the cool stories listed?  They grab the eraser sometimes when schools catch fire, or planes miss runways, or mayors turn up in handcuffs.  Suddenly everybody in the newsroom’s working the same story.
And our cool factory exclusive gets scrubbed.
I call—really sorry, but we’ve got breaking news… and I’m hoping we can maybe do the story later in the week.  (Odds are we’ll be doing a full day of follow-up coverage on the school fire tomorrow)
And you are irritated.  You’ve made calls, put things in motion, you know?  The company’s switching things up to accommodate the news crew and they roped off a parking place for our live truck and they've moved fast to give them everything a news crew could ask for (even bottled water, for heaven’s sake!) and now… you feel like you’re going to look bad.
So you say fine and hang up and you want to forget you ever pitched me the story.
But here’s the thing.  I totally still like the story.  I even feel bad and will argue with my bosses that we need to do the story.
But you took the hit with the client (don’t they know that reporters cancel all the time?) and you did damage control and pushed the story somewhere else.  But the TV story never happend, and nobody ever parked the big shiny TV truck outside the factory, which would've made everybody so happy.  But why?
I thought we had something special.

What This Means To You:

I hope you read this in its entirety and that you took every single reason to heart.  In essence this is a short recap of everything this space has tried to convey over the past year.  Most of these examples are easily fixed, and yet they are the kinds of things that paid PR professionals do every day!  It's understandable that you might make some of these mistakes.  I mean, hey, let's face it, these faux-pas are being made by folks who are supposedly experienced PR pro's.  That's their job and yet they manage to screw it up on nearly a daily basis.

You have a business or a non-profit to run.  How can you be expected to get everything right?  The answer is, you don't.  You're allowed to make mistakes, you WILL make mistakes, it's a given.  Don't stress too much over the mistakes you make, they will happen.  The key is to minimize the damage that those mistakes make.

That's why I liked this article so much, I just HAD to post the entire thing in this space.  If you follow the advice this space has given in terms of creating your story, putting together your press kit, building relationships, timing your release right and making sure your follow-up is solid, you can overcome a number of superficial mistakes.  But the five reasons listed above aren't just superficial oversights.  They constitute some major reasons why stories aren't covered by a local news outlet.

Let's start with #1.

Like actors, I've always said that reporter have huge egos.  One of the best ways to ingratiate yourself with a reporter is to play to that ego.  Producers and editors don't have the kind of egos you'll find with on-air talent.  You have to woo them with facts and a good story, but if you make a reporter feel special, you'll have a good chance of having them carry your story into the news meeting, which is vital to the survival of a pitched story.

Here is my one quibble with this point:  Unless you're pitcing a story to a reporter that you already have a relationship built with, pitching several individuals in a newsroom is actually a good strategy.  I have a few individuals in the Denver media that I have very close relationships with.  For instance, if I pitch the local CBS affiliate, I pitch to one person.  This is a person that I have worked with for years, a person I have the utmost respect for and a person that I often run stories by to get his opinion of the pitch.  When I send a pitch to that station, I send one pitch to him, so he gets it first.  I give him the first shot at the story.  If he doesn't want it, there are no hard feelings and I simply ask that he forward it to the desk or to others in the newsroom that might be interested in the story. 

However, there are a few newsrooms in the city that I don't have personal relationships established.  In those newsrooms, I send my releases to three, sometimes four individuals.  I send it to reporters, the desk, a producer and an executive producer.  This covers my bases.  If one person doesn't like the story, I have three others that might like it enough to take it into the newsmeeting. 

Point #2:

There is no excuse for this.  I have covered this more than once in the past few months.  Sending out your release is really just the beginning of your work.  If you send out a release, you HAVE to be ready to step up if a reporter actually decides to cover your story.

Remember, you only get one chance with a local newsroom.  If you pitch a good story, and they accept it, but you're not prepared to actually follow through with a quality interview, then you're shooting yourself in the foot.  Reporters and producers remember when an interview doesn't come through.  And the next time you pitch a story, they'll remember that you failed them once and they'll be less likely to schedule you for another chance.  If you send out a pitch, you had better make sure your schedule is cleared and you're ready to do what it takes to make sure the interview comes through.

Point #3:

This is a mortal sin when it comes to pitching a story.  When I taught PR to college students, one of the biggest challenges I had was breaking them of their 12 year habit of writing thesis statements and english papers.  Your first sentence had better be compelling and it had better tell the story immediately.  Imagine your first line as the first line of TV story or as a headline of a newspaper atricle.  Once you write your first sentence or two of your release, take a moment, then go back and read it out loud.  If it sounds like something that a TV story would lead with, then go with it.  If it sounds like an english paper, scrap it and start over.

You have to grab them with the first sentence, period.  Most journalists won't read past the first paragraph, hell most won't read past the first two sentences.  If you haven't captured their attention in that time, your pitch is doomed. 

I recently pitched a story involving homeless cats and the financial impact it has had on local taxpayers.  I didn't wait until sentence number three or four to get my point across.  I stated loudly and unequivocably in the first sentence: "Homeless cats in Denver are costing taxpayers over one-million annually in housing, adoption and euthanization."  That's the story and that's the kind of lead that a tv producer can lead with, or a newspaper can make a headline out of.

Point #4:

This point might seem tricky, but it's really not that complicated.  This is an aspect that needs to be considered long before you ever send your pitch out to a newsroom.  As you're writing your release, you have to consider what kind of visuals are available for your story.

In fact, you should even mention the available visuals in your pitch letter.  Letting journalists know what kind of visuals they have to work with can mean the difference between being covered, and being relegated to the dead list. 

Plus, and this is important, newsrooms don't take a story and decide to cover it hoping it will work out.  They expect you to come through.  The best line in the entire article was this:  

When something falls through, news producers don’t think, “okay, cool, we’ll do it tomorrow.”  They think, “okay, it’s dead.  What else do we have?”

I know this was written as part of point number 1, but it applies to point number 4 as well.  If you don't have the kind of visuals a journalist is looking for, they may scrap the story and move on to another story.  And this doesn't just apply to television anymore.  Newspapers, radios and even magazines are using video more and more.  Even if they aren't looking for great video, they'll at least want good photos.  If you promise quality visuals, and you should, then you have to come through.  Otherwise you'll be labelled as a person who doesn't come through and that will make any future pitches that much harder to sell.

Point #5:


Finally we get to the last point.  This requires that you have patience and understanding.  One of the best things you can do is be amenable to change.  By understanding the stress and deadlines and pressure that reporters and producers and editors are under, you'll quickly endear yourself to local journalists. 

Be aware that breaking news, especially on the local level, supercedes everything.  If you're scheduled to be interviewed and they have to cancel, don't get upset.  If you throw a fit, you don't get anything.  Trust me, journalists feel bad if they have to cancel a story.  They'll do everything they can to reschedule and get the story on at a future date.  But if you get angry and throw a fit, they'll let your story just die. 

By understanding their situation, you'll build relationships and grow a rapport with journalists you'll want to work with again in the future.  We've covered this in several posts here, and being respectufl of a journalists time and limits will go a long way to getting more stories covered in the future, even if it means sacrificing a story today.

As a small business owner or non-profit, understanding and embracing these five tips will go a long way to making sure your story pitch succeeds.  And in the end, that's what it's all about.  Certainly you have work to do long before you make your first pitch, and the follow up is equally as important.  But by keeping these tips in mind, you can definitely increase your chances of a pitch success.  And really, in a world and an industry where there are no guarantees, that's the best you can hope for.

Don't Get Hijacked!

I've been seeing a lot of tell-tale signs on my Facebook pages and in Twitter lately that had me scratching my head.  After doing some research, I had an "ah-ha!" moment and decided to share some of my thoughts on what I perceive as a common threat to anyone handling their own PR or social media.

I'm talking about two things here:


1.  The Target Boycott
2.  Campaign Hijacking

To be fair, even though I started seeing the "Boycott Target" posts on Facebook a couple of weeks ago, I wasn't completely sure what the fuss was about.  Many of the posts were vague, the links were to confusing sites and in some cases, there was simply an icon that represented the Target boycott but with no follow-up information.

I had to go do my own research on the subject.  It didn't take long, a simple google news search and I felt I understood the issue.  This was clearly an example of social media doing its job.  It caught my eye after several postings and forced me to go out and find the information so I would be fully informed.

To that, I say, "Kudos!"  

Social movements can be extremely effective in terms of raising awareness and spreading a message.  Every day I'm hit with posts and links asking me to remember the starving children in Africa, to honor breast cancer survivors, to give to one organization or another.  Sometimes I click on the link, most of the time I don't.  Regardless, simply by reading the post, whether it's on Facebook or Twitter, the subject has, at least temporarily, been brought to my attention.

Non-profits can, and should use social media more often than they do to motivate thousands of others who share the same beliefs to help raise awareness.  I think I'm pretty much a great example of the common consumer in America, and I can honestly say that while a single posting may not catch my eye, several postings generally will move me to click a link or at least try to educate myself on the issues involved.

This is the power of social media.  A single news report can go unnoticed or be missed completely.  However if a handful of my friends begin posting on the same subject, I begin to take notice.  Something similar happened a few months ago when suddenly my Facebook and Twitter were both inundated with postings about breast cancer.  It was something very simple.  People started posting what, to me, looked like random numbers and colors.  I was confused.  There were so many postings that I finally had to ask what the hell was going on.  Within minutes I had 20-plus messages telling me it was to raise awareness of breast cancer. 

For the next two days, every time I saw a post similar to those that caught my eye, I knew it was about breast cancer.  It was impossible to ignore. 

Which brings us back to the Target boycott.  If you aren't aware of the boycott or the reasons behind it, click on this link to the Minnesota Pioneer Press for some background.  Essentially it boils down to a political donation given by Target to an anti-gay politician.

Boycotts tend to be polarizing to begin with.  It's an "us against them" situation that will divide people along idealistic lines.  But more important than the boycott itself, the originators of the boycott were likey more interested in simply raising awareness of Target's actions.  Most boycott organizers understand that boycotts are rarely effective, at least from a monetary point of view.  The most successful aspect to most boycotts is that it raises awareness of the actions of the ones being boycotted.

I know that Coca Cola, McDonalds and Disney participate in actions that I find deplorable.  I know these things because of previous boycotts against these organizations.  These boycotts forced me to look up the issues, do my own research and find out exactly what kind of employment, civil rights or political practices these companies indulge in.  And while I still will buy some Coke products, and I've been known to slam down a Quarter Pounder every now and then (I still won't shop at Wal-Mart) I do so with a better understanding of what is going on around me. 

If nothing else, the boycott of Target should have raised awareness of the company's support of anti-gay politics.  Instead, the movement was hijacked and has become the center of a much larger political fight, one where the intial message has nearly been lost completely.

Move.On's Movement:

A quick note here before we go forward:  I do not belong to MoveOn.org, nor any other political activist group.  I claim no party affiliation and this blog is not mean to side with any side in the political spectrum.  This space is merely meant to observe, educate and inform in the subjects of public relations and social media.

There that's done.  I normally have very little problem with MoveOn.  I don't dislike their message generally even though I often find myself at odds a bit with their methods of spreading their message.  Like some environmental groups or PETA, it's not really the message that outrages folks, it's the delivery.  Sadly, the message is overlooked by the stunts pulled by these extremely activist organizations.

Something similar has happend to the "Boycott Target" effort, and it happened as soon as MoveOn got involved.  I'll say one thing for groups like MoveOn and PETA; they certainly know how to attract attention.  They are masters at getting publicity and raising awareness of a particular issue.  Unfortunately, in many cases where these organizations get involved, the message takes a back seat and the organizations become the story. 

In this case, MoveOn has created online ads, videos, banners, posts and other collateral meant to raise awareness of the political donations of Target, particularly it's CEO, who is admittedly very conservative.  Taken by themselves, these efforts are excellent use of social media and PR.  However, when a group as polarizing as MoveOn becomes involved, its opponents immediately mobilize to strike back. 

What ensues is a series of name-calling, personal attacks and a clouding of the real issue.  The losers in this are the ones that simply wanted to create a grassroots campaign to raise awareness of which politicians Target was giving money to. 

Furthermore, MoveOn has a separate agenda than the original organizers of the boycott.  MoveOn is deeply involved in politics and is working hard to get progressive or Democratic candidates elected in the upcoming midterm elections.  To MoveOn, this is simply one more opportunity to help their cause.  To those opposing the boycott or MoveOn, this also is a political battle for an elected seat in government.  The actual topic of who Target gave money to and why is being lost in the all the rhetoric. 

In fact, the boycott seemed to be working on some level, forcing investors to question the political contributions of the retail giant and even nudging Target executives to the negotiation table with representatives from the Human Rights Campaign.  The HRC was calling for Target to pull back it's $150,000 donation or at the very least make an in-kind contribution to a pro-gay rights candidate or organization.  But once MoveOn became involved, Target execs pulled away realizing that regardless of what actions they took, they would continue to be hammered by MoveOn, so why make an effort of goodwill at all.

Certainly awareness has been raised and Target will lose some money at least from gays and their supporters across the U.S.  But what was meant to be a simply awareness campaign has become a campaign battleground for idealogues and political parties.

On A Smaller Scale:

Hijacking of a campaign happens all the time.  Usually it's not on this grand of a scale, but it happens and as a small business owner or non-profit you have be aware of it before you lose control of your good efforts.

We know that nothing happens in a vacuum.  Generally when a small business or non-profit gets involved in a campaign, others are either impacted, or involved on some level.  Say you own a small bike shop and you create a campaign to encourage more people to ride bikes (and hence buy more bikes or get them serviced more often).  Part of your campaign might be that bike riding is healthier or a great way to get in shape.  Or maybe you want to encourage a "greener" lifestyle.  Either way, your efforts could catch the eye of other organizations that have similar goals. 

It would not be surprising to see a non-profit approach you about joining forces to spread the message about a greener or healthier lifestyle.  It makes sense and, in reality, it's a good idea to join forces when possible.  But beware when you do that the goal of your "partner" might not be your goal. 

Your messages may be similar but your goals are different.  You want to help bring business through your doors.  Their goal is to promote a healthier or greener lifestyle, it doesn't matter if your shop makes money.  To them, you're success is secondary to their mission.

This doesn't mean you should take on partners when considering a campaign.  In fact, in many cases a partnership can be very beneficial to both parties.  You can work together to reach new audiences, fund a larger campaign and spread your message through channels you otherwise might not have been able to use. 

But if and when you take on a partner to help with your efforts, make sure from the very beginning that your messages and your goals are compatible.  In the end, it comes down to money.  The "partner" may be willing to pony up a lot of cash to help fund the campaign, but know that if they do this, they likely will feel entitled to make decisions that you don't always agree with, despite the fact that the effort and idea was yours in the first place.

An Example:

I have a client that is a non-profit and, thus, has a board of directors who sits in judgement of the organizations actions and decides on funding.  This non-profit wanted to create a social media campaign with a distinct message and aimed at helping many other, smaller not-for profit organizations that all work towards the same goal. 

The problem is, there are members of the board who's goals aren't exactly in line with the goals of the campaign.  It's not that they are against the campaign or against the smaller organizations involved, they simply have an agenda that is slightly differet than that of the campaign.

In this instance, the campaign was created with a particular message in mind.  The board, however, rejected the message and required a change before funding would be approved.  You might have found yourself in a similar position.  What did you do?

In our case we made the change, keeping two of the three message elements and finding a way to include the third message element.  Instead of giving up on the campaign, we found a way to inject that third message element into the efforts, satisfying everyone involved.

You will always find obstacles in your way whenever you propose to begin a PR or social media campaign.  Instead of giving up, find ways around them.  One of the advantages of a well-run social media campaign is that you have the power of individuals at your disposal. 

Being hijacked isn't the worst thing that will every happen to you campaign, but if it happens, know that your message might very well get lost as you try to regain control.  If you absolutely lose control of your original efforts, one of the best ways to regain control is to start a separate campaign.  You have the basic elements already as part of your original efforts and it doesn't take much to restart a separate campaign.

In this instance, you can ride the coattails of the original hijacked effort and even become a sympathetic character in the process.  By using the awareness raised by the newly-hijacked effort, you can bring the story back to the original message and refocus the story.

New Frontiers!

You've heard it before, "If Facebook were a country, it would be the third largest country in the world."  This is really just another way of saying, "There are a LOT of people using Facebook these days."  As a small business owner or non-profit, it's natural that you see the potential of social media and your heart beats a little faster, your eyes get a little wider, you salivate at the thought of so many potential customers. 

With so many users on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Foursquare and every other social media platform, reaching new audiences seems like it should be an easy task.  But as many of you know, it's not as simple as it sounds.  To use an old business cliche; reaching new audiences requires you to think "outside of the box," particularly when using social media to do so. 

Identify, Target, Pursue:

When you initially enter the social media fray, your first instince will be to simply post your messages randomly to your existing audience.  This is fine.  It will help you establish a base from which to grow.  This is true for Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc.  You have friends, family, existing customers, staffers that will sign up and gladly read your posts.  And this is a great way to establish a solid base. The more you post, and the more interesting and entertaining your posts are, the more your links will be forwarded and retweeted and sent out to thousands of new sets of eyes who may not know you yet. 

The issue comes when you're ready to take the next step and stop talking to those who are already familiar with your organization and want to branch out to new audiences.

Many clients I work with already have a solid group of followers and friends on their social media sites.  In many cases these number in the hundreds, maybe even over a thousand.  The problem is, these are existing customers or fans.  You're preaching to the choir when you simply maintain the status quo.  In order to truly make an impact on your bottom line through social media, you have to reach out to new audiences, speak to those who might not otherwise be interested in your product or service.  You have to shout from the hilltop so everyone can hear you, not just the select few that already follow you or are interested in what you do.

In many cases, this means not only revamping your message a little, but also venturing into areas a little out of your comfort level.  When making this kind of move, you have to do three things:

1.  Target - There are a million different audiences you can target.  Do you want to reach a specific demographic, like, say, women 30 to 50?  Are you trying to reach a competitor's audience?  Are you trying to reach out to an audience that traditionally hasn't used your product or service?  You have to figure out exactly who, or what kind of new audience, you want to go after.


2.  Identify - Once you have targeted your new audiences, you have to figure out how they differ from your current audience.  In some cases the wants, needs, desires of the new audience may overlap your current audience.  In this case, you have to figure out why this new audience isn't already using your product or service.  Maybe your organization seems too old or stuffy, maybe you come across as too expensive.  Maybe you're not viewed as an essential product or service and your new audience can't justify spending money on you during these difficult economic times.  Whatever the reason, you have to identify what their needs and desires are and then tweak your message to appeal to the needs and desires of this new audience.


3.  Pursue - Like any good hunter, or salesman, you have to go where the quarry is.  If you want to reach a primarily female audience, but your friends and followers are mostly men, you have a problem.  You have to go where the women are.  This means joining groups that cater to women or have a strong female following.  This requires a little legwork on your part.  Take a Saturday and browse groups that have a large following of the audience you're trying to reach.  Sign up for as many groups as you feel comfortable with and then begin posting your message in these groups on a regular basis.

A Brand New Brand:

Another mistake many small businesses make when pursuing a new audience is that they feel the need to completely overhaul their message and image.  Again, this is a mistake.  Unless you really feel that a massive change is needed, you're better off simply tweaking your message and image to appeal to the new audience.  A major change could result in losing some of the loyal customers who are comfortable with your organization right now.  A big change could send the message that you're not happy with them as customers and might send them looking for a new organization to do business with. 

You have to stay true to your base message.  You can tweak your image to appeal to a new audience, but if you have built your image on being dependable, traditional and businesslike, then a change to a newer, flashier, more extreme image might bring in a few new customers, but scare off more older ones in the process.  There's no need to completely rebrand yourself when, most of the time, a simple tweak will do the job.

Some Examples:

Here are three examples of organizations trying to reach out to new audiences and how social media has been, or could be, an effective tool.

Non-Traditional Theater:

I spend a lot of my free time performing improv.  I love it, it has become more than just a hobby, it's a way of life now.  I belong to a handful of groups that perform in the Denver area fairly regularly.  Like most big cities, Denver offers a multitude of recreational activities for people to spend their money on.  There are movies, plays, outdoor concerts, amusement parks, four pro sports teams, three major college programs (I'm including Air Force, four if you include DU hockey) and, of course the mountains are a big draw in both summer and winter.

Improv groups face a major challenge to draw an audience.  Unlike traditional theater or stand-up, the vast majority of people don't really understand improv.  It's simply not on the radar for a lot of folks.  Like Burlesque, or rollerderby, it appeals to a specific audience.  Thus, many of the shows are attended by fellow improvisers.  This is great on one level, as it shows community support.  But in order to truly grow the improv "scene", non-improvisers need to attend shows on a regular basis.

But how to reach the new audience?  That is a question that has dogged every improv theater in town for as long as I can remember.  There are really only two improv theaters in town, The Bovine Metropolis Theater, and Impulse Theater.  For the purposes of this example, I will focus on the Bovine, since Impulse, while offering improv, is very limited in its scope, providing only short form which people understand a bit better thanks in large part to the show, "Who's Line Is It Anyway?"

Recently, owner Eric Farone took a look at what was popular among the masses and decided to tweak his usual weekend lineup.  Instead of the normal sketch comedy or double short form improv shows, he created an improv version of American Idol.  It was an improv competition that would crown Denver's Next Improv Star.  Week to week, several improvisers would be put the paces of long form, short form, musical improv, etc.  And each week a panel of judges would vote one performer off the cast.  It was a daring concept and one met with some skepticism in many corners of the improv community. 

The show didn't change the ultimate message or image of the Bovine.  It is still a theater dedicated to all things improv.  But it DID create a format that was readily understandable by the masses.  It also brought in guest judges, as well as their followers, to the theater every Saturday night.  But the show change alone wouldn't be enough to bring in a whole new audience.  That's where social media came in.

One of the first orders of business for the contestants in the show was to create a video about themselves and why they wanted to be "Denver's Next Improv Star."  Each contestant posted their video, as did the Bovine and sent it off to friends and family. The videos allowed non-improv followers to get to know the contestants, get a bit of understanding of what the contest was about and showed some of the characters involved with the show.  Many of the videos were funny. For those not familiar with improv, they got to see someone who made them laugh, received some information and, in my opinion, the videos sparked interest among those who otherwise might not have attended an improv show.

The campaign worked, along with a weekly blog, written by one of the contestants, numerous messages on Facebook and Twitter and a bevy of quality guest judges, the theater was packed for every show.  The best part was that many of those in attendance were first-timers to the theater.  Those folks left after the show having seem some great performances, with a little more knowledge and respect for local improv and now the Bovine is on their radar when considering what to do on a  Friday or Saturday night.

Even with the success of this weekend show, the theater still struggles at times to draw for the long-form shows during the week.  One of these shows includes a Thursday night show that showcases the best improv groups the theater has to offer.  The show draws other improvisers, but not so much outside of the community.

Let's think about the potential audience for The Bovine on a Thursday night.  


1.  Downtown Residents
2.  Downtown workers

The theater is smack dab in the heart of downtown Denver, easy to get to for those who live and work downtown.  It's unlikely a family living in Arvada is going to venture downtown, find and pay for parking to watc a 90-minute improv show.  Many downtown residents are older and most likely are drawn to more traditional theater.  The younger ones who live downtown are likely at more traditional bars or working on a Thursday night.

That leaves the downtown workers who are all ages and have a myriad of interests.  Why not join forces with a local bar and encourage the workers who go out on a Thursday night to make a night of it.  Offer a "Happy Hour" show that starts a little earlier than most of the other shows and offer anyone who buys a ticket gets a free drink at a local bar.  Since the theater doesn't serve alcohol, many downtown workers shy away from The Bovine since they want to drink and party.  By tying in a traditional happy hour with the show, you might appeal to those who are looking for something different, but still allows them to enjoy a few adult beverages.

The challenge comes in getting the word out once a decision has been made.  In this case, targeting a platform like LinkedIn, which caters to a more professional user, might be successful.  Or joining business groups, young professional groups and Tweeting the special show at every opportunity will do a good job of getting the word out.  It's a simple process, but it requires the theater to expand its reach into an area that they normally don't reach out to.

The Denver Press Club:

As a former journalist, I have spent many, many nights drinking, telling stories and playing poker at the Denver Press Club.  For years, though, the club has been a haven for long retired newspaper reporters and old-timers who can still remember when The Rocky Mountain news was an afternoon paper.

Not only was I one of the youngest regulars at the bar, but I was also one of the few broadcasters that imbibed at the club.  There are a number of reasons for this.  First, the club was, and has always been viewed as a newspaper club.  Local broadcasters never felt like they fit in.  Worse yet, local PR pro's who are also allowed in, simply felt it was too old and stuffy.  And while the new President of the club came in and made it financially viable again, outside of specific events, the club is still frequented by primarily older, retired newspaper men. 

I was talking to a local TV personality last Friday and the subject of the club came up.  He complained that the club simply wasn't the kind of place he wanted to spend time in, specifically because it still seemed too old, not enough fun, even though he's been asked to guest bartend on a regular basis. 

Here's what we know about journalists and PR folks.  They like to have fun, they work hard and they play hard.  They like to drink.  They like to see and be seen.  Outside of being able to drink, the club doesn't provide the kind of atmosphere that will attract most broadcasters and PR pro's, most of whom are below the age of 35. 

If the club offered a special night specifically for broadcasters, or for PR pro's, complete with drink specials or an extended happy hour, they might begin to make some headway into growing their customer base.  But it can't be just one night.  It needs to be an every week thing.  So, say, every Wednesday is a special for broadcasters (show your TV/Radio press pass or credentials and get dollar beers) they'll start to grow that audience.  If every Thursday were set aside for PR pro's, offering a simliar deal, they'd start to attract more young public relations folks as well. 

The club already has a communications pipeline to local newsrooms and PR agencies, but they don't have a large social media presence.  It would simply take a strong Facebook page and Twitter account, join the TV, Radio and PR groups in town and start messaging the specials regularly.  In no time, this new audience, who is already somewhat familiar with the club, will make it a point to check out the club at least once.  In this case, the club needs to tweak its image a bit and then use social media to get the word out.  Just by using the existing social media platforms of Facebook and Twitter, they could begin to draw customers that have traditionally avoided the club.

Spay and Neuter:

One of my clients is the Animal Assistance Foundation and we're in the process of creating a new campaign designed to reach a new audience for spaying and neutering issues.  Up to this point, much of the conversation about spay and neuter has taken place either between others in the animal care field or among Bob Barker fans.

This is troublesome since the conversation actually NEEDS to be among anyone who has a pet or cares about animals.  On social media, though, the message has been sent to others who are already aware of seriousness of the homeless pet issue.  As the campaign started, we knew who we wanted to reach.  We were going after people aged 21-35, primarily females, as a recent PetSmart study showed they were the least likely to get their pets spayed or neutered. 

The first order of business was to tweak the image of spaying and neutering.  The message remained the same, at it's core level, "Get your pets spayed or neutered."  But we had to dress up that message to make it appealing to that particular demographic. 

Let's face it, spaying and neutering isn't a flashy or particularly fun topic.  Our challenge was to create an interesting, fun image without losing the overall message.  We had to identify what the desires and needs of this audience was.  These are people who are working to establish a career, they are looking to establish their own adult relationships, they are looking to grow personally and professionally.  Money is probably tight and they like to play hard. 

We created a campaign that this demographic could relate to on a very personal level.  This is a demograhpic that has been inundated with numerous and often conflicting messages about sex and promiscuity.  We created a character that was instantly recognizeable and put it into a format that everyone is already familiar with, a sex ed. video.

But as you've notice, creating the campaign is only half the battle.  We have created several different platforms to reach a variety of differnt audiences.  This includes InkedIn, a blog, Foursquare, Twitter, Facebook, Flickr and Youtube.  Once the campaign rolls out, these different platforms will hit groups that are populated by those that fit into the demographic.  This means hitting profesional groups, social living groups, theater and educational groups, any group that focuses on hitting this demo.

It may sound wierd to post messages about spaying and neutering pets in a group that caters more to the club life or nightlife in Denver, but that is exactly the kind of group that will receive the videos and photos created for the campaign.

In this way, the campaign will reach a group of people that ordinarily would never hear about spaying and neutering their pets.

So take a risk and reach out to new audiences.  You don't have to do a complete overhaul to do so.  You can bring in more viewers, followers and fans and ultimately more customers by making small tweaks to your message and image.  More importantly, it means expanding your scope of friends and followers into areas that you might not have thought of previously.  Any audience can work for you if you think about their desires and needs and tweak your social media efforts to let them know that you can meet those needs and desires.

The Meet n Greet

It's been a week since our last post here, thank you for your patience in checking back as I've been busy working with some clients and taking a bit of a break as Growing Communications heads into what looks to be a very hectic fall.  One of the great things about taking a short break, though, is that when you return, there are a myriad of topics to discuss.  Today is no different.

A quick side note, and one of importance to every small business and non-profit out there.  If you've followed this site for the past year, you know that good PR is more than just sending out a press release.  There's a lot of preparation that goes into the effort before you even write your release and there's a ton of work after the release goes out in order to snag that interview and make it successful. 

I had a conversation with an acquaintance the other day who mentioned that, as part of her social media consulting business, she also did some PR for her clients.  The "PR" consisted of sending out some press releases.  That was it.  And while that might qualify as PR on some level, it's only one, very small aspect of public relations.  As a small business owner or non-profit, you can create and manage your own PR efforts.  But if your efforts consist simply of writing a press release and sending it out en-mass to the media, you likely will be wasting your time.  If you don't put in the time up front to do your research, monitor your local newsrooms and journalists, figure out your timing, create your press kit and compose a quality pitch letter, your efforts will be hit and miss at best; mostly miss.

Which leads us to today's topic:  "The Meet n Greet"

I'm not talking about the usual political definition of the meet n greet, where you venture out into the public, shake some hands and kiss some babies.  In PR parlance, that's generally considered "community outreach" and it does have its benefits.  But in this case, I'm talking about the media meet n greet.

This blog has continuously hammered the importance of building relationships with journalists in your area in order to help make your pitches more successful.  It's important that you know who your local journalists are and which ones are most likely to cover a story that you might pitch.  But it's even more important that they know who YOU are. 

Building relationships with reporters, producers and editors isn't easy.  They are busy, busy people.  They work long hours, they are under high stress and they have little time for visits to your office, unless they're already working a story.  So the question that gets presented to me time and time again is; "How do I start building relationships with the media?"

There a number of different ways, and, honestly, sometimes you just have to get lucky.  You might find the local watering hole where they hang out.  You might try throwing a party with free drinks and inviting them to attend.  These methods can have some success.  But the best way to get to know a journalist is to visit them where they work.

Most journalists are hard to reach.  You can't just wander into your local TV station and ask to see the producer of the 5pm newscast or the 10pm anchor or the morning show reporter.  It doesn't really work that way.  However, if you show up at 4 in the afternoon with a press release and a bevy of large pizzas, you might find yourself in the newsroom, chatting up the assignment editor or exectuive producer.  You'll have more success doing this on a weekend, when there are fewer obstacles in the way such as security and a front desk person.  But even then, it's a crap shoot. 

Tricks like these can work, I know, I've used them and they've been successful.  However, there's a better way to get into a newsroom and make a real connection with local journalists; it's called an editorial meeting.

The Editorial Meeting:

Before we go much further, I'll say this; an editorial meeting is generally reserved for non-profits and municipal representatives.  If you work with a hospital, a non-profit, law enforcement, the city or state, you likely will be able to schedule an editorial meeting.  But private and small businesses can still schedule an editorial meeting, you just have to have a good reason for scheduleing it.

As a small business owner, you're probably not on the radar of most journalists in your area.  You have to provide a reason for them to take time out of their busy schedule to sit and meet with you.  The best way to do this is to prove that you can provide some value to their newscasts from time to time.  You don't have to be the big fish in the pond to provide value, you just have to be able to show that you bring something to the table.

Here are some ways to get your foot in the door and get that meeting scheduled:

1.  Bribe them.  This is a lot like showing up on Saturday evening with a case of beer, only this time, they know you're coming.  If you own a small business, offer to provide lunch or dinner to the newsroom when you show up for the meeting.  Trust me, this works more often than not.
Value added = Free food


2.  Promise to be short and to the point.  Make sure they understand that YOU understand they are under a tight deadline.  If you say, "hey, le'ts meet for a bit," you're less likely to get scheduled than if you say, "Could you spare five minutes to meet with me?  And I'll bring food."  Journalists are nearly always willing to meet for a few minutes, especially if there's free food involved.
Value added = free food + short commitment


3.  Flatter them.  This doesn't mean you have to tell them that you watch them every night and that you absolutely love their work.  That doesn't hurt, but let them know that you came to them specifically because you are familiar with their work and that you wanted them to be the first ones to receive your releases.  
Value added = short commitment + first shot at potential quality stories in the future


4.  Come to them for advice.  This one is a great way to break the ice.  Journalists love to complain, and one of the things they complain about the most is incompetent PR pro's.  If you approach a newsroom and let them know that you're a small business, that you are putting together a PR plan and you simply want to meet with them, briefly, to get a better understanding of what to pitch, who to pitch to and when to pitch.  They will appreciate your efforts and like the fact that you don't want to waste their time.  This is a particularly effective way to schedule an editorial meeting.
Value added = establishing a relationship with a small business who understands their needs


5.  Be a community leader.  As a small business owner, you work everyday with those in and around your neighborhood.  You hire locals as employees, you give money and time to neighborhood issues and you get to know the people who live and work nearby your establishment.  Because of this, you have a good feel for the needs and the concerns of the people you cater to.  For a media outlet, these are all either current audience members, or potential audience members.  Either way, these people are important to them.  As a community leader, you can provide a newsroom with insight to what is happening in your neighborhood.  Plus, if and when a story breaks in your area, you will be an individual they will know and that they can contact for information if need be.
Added value = a reach into a specific neighborhood and a potential news contact in the future

Again, as with any PR effort, nothing is guranteed.  Some newsrooms will be very receptive to your editorial meeting request.  Others will simply ignore it.  And don't get picky.  If the third-rated TV station and your community paper are the only ones that agree to meet, schedule the meeting.  Don't worry about not hitting the big boys.  Starting small is the first step to going big time.  Get a few good stories in your community paper and on the third-rated station in town, and the big boys will start to take notice. 

Face to Face:

Once you actually get an editorial meeting scheduled, the real work begins.  Again, you have to think in terms of what kind of value you can bring to the media outlet you're meeting with.  If you just show up and tell them who you are and then leave, you will have wasted your time and theirs.  You should have specific questions in mind when you meet and have your value already established in your mind when you meet with them.

Come prepared.  This is where your press kit is very handy.  If you have press kit already prepared, make sure it's up to date and bring it with you to the meeting.  If you don't have one, then put one together.  Remember, you want a history of your organization (one page) a brief bio on the important people, some photos, a list of FAQ's, (frequently asked questions) and a sheet with important and interesting information about you and your business or non-profit.  You want to leave something behind with those you're meeting with and a press kit is one of the best ways to make sure they remember you.


When you meet with them, you also want to make sure they understand why you're meeting and what they get out of it.  Let them know that you have strong ties to the community and that you interact with their audience every day.  You should have certain goals in mind when you meet them and you should let them know what those goals are.  If it's simply to get in front of them and let them know who you are, then say that.  You have to believe you bring something to the table and that meeting with you is not a waste of their time.


Ask questions.  When you meet with them, ask questions about what kind of stories they are looking for, are they trying to expand their audience demographics, when the best time to pitch a story, what kind of releases work best, if they take video they don't shoot, etc.  These questions will help you put together a better pitch, but more importantly, it will impress on them that you are serious about creating the best pitch possible and that you don't want to waste their time.  


Listen.  They will talk, they will tell stories, they will provide you with information that you might miss if you're too busy talking about yourself.  Certainly this is a time to expound on your many good qualities, but you also have to listen to the journalists you're meeting with, otherwise you'll miss information that could be the difference between a rejected pitch and a feature prime-time story.


As always, come bearing gifts.  It doesn't matter if it's food, or a monogrammed pen or drinks or coupons.  Bring something.  


Don't pitch.  This is very important.  You're not there to pitch a story.  You're there to learn and to teach.  You want to learn everything you can about them, and you want to teach them about you.  It's an exchange of information, not a pitch.  You can tell them about what you do and about upcoming stories you might have in the pipeline, but don't hand them a press release and say, "let's talk about this great story I have for you."  They'll patiently wait for you to finish and then see you out the door before forgetting who you are.

An Example:

One of the first things I do when I take on a new PR client is to  is to take them around to all the local newsrooms and introduce them to my former colleagues who still work in the business.  These meetings don't always result in immediate coverage, but it at least puts them in front of reporters, producers and editors they will be dealing with in the future. 

Recently, I took a friend around to all of the newsrooms in town as part of a PR campaign launch.  The campaign was a summer-long effort.  While there was a story to be pitched, I recommended that the meeting be more general, mostly to talk about the organization, not the story.  She baked cookies, wrote a short fact sheet about her organization, including the story release and she tossed in a funny visual trinket that included the message of her organization. 

Of the seven media outlets we visited that morning, we were able to get into only one of the newsrooms.  We left the packet at the other six with a note asking to set up a meeting.  That might not sound very successful, but she managed to schedule a story with the one newsroom we got into.  Within a week of meeting with them, she was on the air and her story was being covered.

Since then, other news organizations have picked up the story and in the past month, her non-profit has enjoyed some great coverage from a number of local media outlets.  This isn't to say that her one meeting with that one newsroom producer has been the key to her success.  She has put in some time and has continued to pitch her story all summer long.  But in doing so, she has managed to build relationships with a handful of reporters, some of whom came to her after seeing her story on tv, aired by the newsroom that took the time to meet with her. 

Remember, PR is an ongoing effort.  You can't just send out a release and expect to suddenly get a ton of media coverage.  You have to take time to build relationships and continue to pitch your story.  Follow-up emails and correspondence also goes a long way to staying in front of journalists.  Once they know you, there's still no guarantee that your story will be picked up.  But you certainly have an advantage over those who make a pitch cold, with no relationship with the journalist whatsoever. 


As a small business owner or non-profit, an editorial meeting is one of the best ways to begin to build those all-important relationships.  Yes, it takes time and yes, you will be denied by some newsrooms, but keep at it.  You only need one solid relationship to help you grow your PR efforts.  You have to start somewhere and an editorial meeting is, in our opinion, one of the best places to start.

All The News...

It's that time of year again.  The weather slowly begins to turn cooler, the days start to grow shorter and leaves begin to turn.  Sure, it's still 90 degrees outside, but the change is coming, it's inevitable.  And just to make sure you don't miss the changing of the seasons, your local news outlets are letting you know in not too subtle ways.

Here in Denver, August means the annual tradition of all things Denver Broncos making the headlines.  The newer tradition of following the Rockies' playoff push still hasn't quite caught on; football is still king here in the Rocky Mountains.  No one will argue that, but does it really qualify as "news"? 

This is a common question I hear from folks, including clients, when trying to determine why and how newsrooms decide on what to report on.  We've written on the newsmaking decision process in this space before, but it deserves another look before we go much further.

News is tricky, and even the most seasoned reporters, producers and editors will sometimes miss the boat on a big story or will latch onto a story that ultimately, has no legs.  And while news sometimes is more art than science, there is a basic formula that most journalists keep in mind as they decide on what will make the front page, the 10pm broadcast or the hourly updates.

1.  Timeliness - is the story happening now, or recently, or is it just about to happen?


2.  Proximity - "All news is local" is the mantra often repeated to newsrooms across the country.  If a story is local to the audience the outlet services, it has a much better chance of being reported.


3.  Impact - How much does the story impact the audience?  Is this something that impacts only a few individuals, or is it something that the public at large has a vested interest in?


4.  Relatability - This is often called, "The Care Factor" and simply means, how much can the audience relate to the issues or individuals involved in the story.  


5.  WOW factor - This is where news gets tricky.  Celebrities, sports, and all sorts of "non-news" issues fall into this category.  Certainly if Kim Kardashian gets married it has little proximity, impact or relatability to most of the audience, but it's timeliness and WOW factor will put this story squarely in the sights of newsrooms all over the country.

It's the WOW factor that often accounts for much of the confusion when it comes to the question of, "What is news".  We can all understand when a bank robbery takes place, or a murder happens or the city goes bankrupt, why it is a lead story in most local news outlets.  But when Tim Tebow's first (limited) practice of Bronco's training camp makes the front page of the Denver Post, many people end up scratching their heads, wondering how the story qualified for such a massive headline treatment.

The Competition is Tough:

When clients wonder why their story got bumped so the newsroom devote extra time to cover Bronco training camp, I have a simple one-word response; Audience.

Keep in mind that, despite all the noble tradition of journalism, it is, has been and always will be a business.  News is in the business of attracting viewers, readers and listeners.  Reporting on the simple events of the day might be the truest definition of "news" but it's also a sure-fire way to NOT attract an audience. 

Reporters, producers and editors have to keep their audience in mind when putting together a newscast or morning paper.  In the end, it comes down to the age-old argument that has raged in newsrooms for decades; Should news report only what the audience NEEDS to know, or should it report on what they think the audience WANTS to know.

In today's world of "infotainment" journalists walk a fine line between the two, attempting to report on the necessary news of the day while still providing entertaining stories that the audience wants to see and hear. 

Is the public good truly served by plastering a photo of a 3rd-string rookie quarterback on the front page, with accompanying story right below?  Probably not.  Is the paper going to sell more copies by doing so?  The answer is a resounding yes!  Like all newspapers, The Post keeps circulation and sales numbers dating back to the earliest days of publication.  Filed under, "not-so-surprising" is the fact that The Post, and The Rocky in its day, sold more copies after Bronco wins and whenever a Bronco is featured on the front page. 

Based on what I know has happened to day in training camp (I have a few friends left in local newsrooms) I can pretty much guarantee what tomorrow's headlines are going to be.  Elvis Dummervil Out For The Season!  The headline will trumpet across the front pages and lead all newscasts.  This will be followed by the news of the signing of LenDale While, a former Denver Public School superstar and more news on the QB battle between Tebow and Orton.  Look it up, I'm pretty sure I'm right on target here.

So while news of the Broncos' newest QB might have little to no impact on the daily lives of Denver residents, it's clear that there is an interest and that readers have a strong interest and appetite in all things Broncos.  Of course, there is still timeliness and proximity, but as far as impact, it falls way short when compared to stories dealing with the economy, public safety and law enforcement. 

This is why stories about celebrity screw-ups, football players and teams and water-skiing squirrels makes the news every single day.  These are cute, funny, interesting and fascinating stories.  They have a WOW factor that really can't be explained in terms of actual news, but the audience wants to see them and so journalists deliver. 

In the end, the audience is what matters to newsrooms.  Without an audience, a media outlet is doomed, just ask the Rocky Mountain News and the other myriad of newspapers that have folded over the past decade.  Larger audiences mean higher ad rates and subscribers, which leads to more money which means a healthy news outlet.  In Denver, the Broncos rule and people are interested in what happens to their favorite team.  The same holds true in Boston, New York, Dallas, Cleveland...everywhere (except maybe L.A. which seems to be interested in just celebrities in general).

Let's Play A Game:

Just a quick one, mind you.  But I'm going to repeat an exercise I used with my students at CU-Denver and one I give to my students taking my seminars today. 

I'll give you three news stories, YOU decide which one would make the headline of the daily local newspaper.  Assume that you are in Denver (or you could be in any city, just attach the local sports team to the headline)

1.  Scientists discover cure for cancer
2.  Broncos win Superbowl, Tebow named MVP
3.  City declares bankruptcy, many city services to close

Take a moment, I'll wait while you ponder the many possibilities.  (hum JEOPARDY theme here)

Done?  Okay.  I'll give you MY headlines in order and you can compare.

1.  Broncos Win Superbowl
2.  City declares bankruptcy
3.  Scientists discover cure for cancer.

Of course, that's how I believe our local journalists would rank them.  In my personal opinion, I'd make the cure for cancer number 2 and the bankruptcy number 3.  How did you choose?

Without a doubt the bankruptcy story and the cancer story impacts millions more people than the superbowl win, but the superbowl win is the story that the majority of people will want to read.  The cancer story matters, as does the bankruptcy story, but the real INTEREST from the audience is going to be in a recap of the win.  This is where the audience "wants" will dictate what story is bigger. 

The Impact On You!

What this means, in terms of small business and non-profit PR, is that you absolutely MUST take into account the audience when making your pitch to a news outlet. 

It also means you have to keep an eye on the traditional WOW factor stories that your local media covers every year.  If you live in Denver, you know that in August and September, local news will dedicate extra time and space to coverage of training camp and pre-season.  That space will be eaten up through the season, meaning less time for other stories on Saturday, Sunday and Monday.  You KNOW that the big news on Monday (or Tuesday) will be how the Broncos did the night before.  This means your story had better be a great one in order to beat out all the other stories battling for the limited time available.

Finally, it means you have to get creative in your pitching sometimes just to get a second look from journalists.  While you're always going to have better luck pitching a story with credible news content, there are times when you can use a WOW factor to help your story gain traction and get coverage.

Here's an example:

I am working with a client who runs a cat spay and neuter clinic in Denver.  Raising awareness of spaying and neutering isn't among the easiest things to do.  There are a handful of ways to grab the public's attention.  You can appeal to their wallet, pull on their heartstrings hit them over the head with scare tactics, or you can go the WOW factor route.

While talking to the client she mentioned that she used "cat condoms" as a funny way to help spread the message of cat spaying and nuetering.  Of course, they're not real.  Cats don't wear condoms.  But I was immediately struck by how effective the condoms could be to attract media attention.  It was something new, something unique, something funny.  More importantly, it was a cheap, easy gimmick that could be delivered to every newsroom in the city without breaking the budget.

The story of spaying and neutering has some real news impact, no argument there.  It has proximity, timeliness (although, since the story never goes away, it's more of an evergreen story), impact (due to the money spent by taxpayers on homeless and feral pets) and relatability (who can resist a cute pet?). 

But outside of Bob Barker, who really spends their time thinking about spaying and neutering pets?  No one, that's who.  And getting them to pay attention isn't easy.  Newsrooms know this.  It's one thing to bring on a shelter representative with a cute puppy or kitten and parade them in front of cameras to push pet adoption, but the visuals for spaying and neutering are, well...they aren't as cute.

But package the message with something funny and interesting like condoms for cats, and newsrooms will get a chuckle and take notice.  It's the WOW factor that takes a quality, but uninteresting story to journalists, and makes it worth reporting on.  Within just a  couple of months since delivering those condoms to the local newsrooms, the stories have started to roll in. 

The "Beat The Heat" campaign that featured the condoms along with a set of stills that espoused the vitures of having a spayed or neutered cat as a pet, has created a mini-stir among local journalists and has set the stage for a follow-up story that is more based on actual news content. 

The Feline Fix used a WOW factor to establish themselves within newsrooms and will find much more success in the future as they move forward with other campaigns and new pitches.  Any small business or non-profit can achieve the same with a little creativity and perseverance. 

Knowing the local audience and understanding that using a gimmick or WOW factor can be an effective way to get coverage, will help you in your efforts.  This is why, when I work with clients, I always say interesting AND informative.  You CAN be both.  You can provide content that interests an audience and still provides useful information.  If all people wanted was straightforward information, then public radio would be the most listened-to station in the country.  But it's not.  Not even close. 

So start thinking about your organization and looking for fun ways to get your product or service into the public eye.  You probably don't have cat condoms to work with, and it's likely you don't have a Bronco QB to help you hit the front pages.  But all you need is something different, unusual, fun and creative to catch a journalists attention. 

Making Friends, Influencing People

It's storytime at Real Public Relations!  It's the story of public relations "professional" who made a mistake.  A really big mistake.


The story comes courtesy of a longtime and very good friend who currently works as a producer at one of the leading TV news stations in Denver.  An award-winning journalist and a person who knows exactly what it takes for a small business to garner earned media coverage.


The funny thing about this story is that, up until the very end, the "professional" in question did just about everything right on behalf of the client.

It starts a few weeks ago when the KCNC newsroom receives a press release pitching a story.  As it turns out, it caught the interest of the morning news producer and within a short period of time, some calls were made and an interview was booked for the morning show.


This is a big deal for a small business.  An interview on a morning show means exposure to tens of thousands of potential customers at one time.  A saavy business can leverage a single morning show interview into massive amounts of social media coverage, and, if they're lucky, even more earned media coverage from partner outlets and competitive outlets.


The PR "professional" agreed to the interview at the scheduled time; 6:30 in the morning.  In the local morning news world, that's a prime spot.  It's regularly among the highest rated time slots for most local morning news programs, which makes sense, since most people are up, have showered and are eating breakfast or catching up on the day's events before they head on out the door between 7 or 7:30am.  In other words, the interview slot was good news for the PR "pro" and for the client.


Time passes, a few days go by, there is no follow-up communication from the PR "pro" to the newsroom.  The producer, who is already swamped by the daily routine of putting together a daily news program, moves forward planning on having the interview.


The day in question arrives, the producer gets into the newsroom only to find an odd and quite frustrating email in his inbox.  The PR "professional" has cancelled the interview with the client.  Not because anyone is sick, or due to unforseen circumstances, but, and here's the doozy of it all, the interview was being cancelled because it was, "too early."


Seriously, you read that right.  The PR "pro" just couldn't manage to drag themselves out of bed that early in the morning.  Certainly, it might have been the client who deemed 6:30 am too early in the morning to do an interview, but either way, the PR "pro" in this case was not serving the best interests of their client.


Bad Move:



Trust me, I produced morning shows in radio and TV for years.  I KNOW how early 6:30 am can be.  Even as a public relations professional, I have dragged myself out of bed at 4am so I could be at a television station to support my client during morning show interviews.  If the decision was made by the PR person, then they should be fired immediately by the client.  If the decision was made by the clinet, then the PR person needed to do everything short of kidnapping the client and dragging them to the station for the interview. 


There is always the chance that the PR "pro" did everything in their power to get the client to show up for the early morning interview, and if the client simply refused to the listen to the PR pro's advice, then the PR pro should simply drop them as a client.


Yes, this sounds harsh, and in a difficult economy, dropping clients is less than ideal.  But a PR person's job is to grab media attention for the client.  As a consultant, I always had to remind myself that, ultimately, the final decision rests in the hands of the client.  I could make recommendation, but in the end, the client made the final choice. 


Certainly clients have made decisions contrary to my advice.  It's their right.  But I have, and would again, let a client go if they make decisions that are not only against my advice, but downright destructive to their bottom line.  Remember, it's not just the client's reputation on the line, it's the reputation of the PR person as well. 


I can pretty much guarantee, with a fair degree of certainty, that this business and the person who scheduled the interview, will never get another shot at the KCNC morning show again.  In all likelihood, their reputation has also been damaged in other newsrooms as well. 


The media, especially local media, is a very small community.  Reporters, producers, editors all talk to one another and you would be mistaken if you didn't think that this story has already made the rounds at the other television stations. 


Listen, Judge, Go To Bed Early:


There are two lessons to be learned from this episode in regards to small businesses and non-profits. 


Lesson 1:
Follow-up, consistency and commitment are essential to a successful public relations campaign.



You are most likely handling your own PR and social media efforts.  If you are, that's great.  That's the whole purpose of this blog; to help you save money by doing it yourself.  You can put together a great story, create a wonderful pitch and pitch letter and make your follow up phone calls in a timely and effective manner.  All of this might lead to an interview opportunity.  If it does, that's great news.  But just as I pointed out in the previous post, just getting the interview is really only half the battle. 


You have to be prepared with your messages and appearance.  You also have to show up when expected and you must deliver on what you promise a newsroom.  If you tell them your event will have hundreds of adorable children for photo ops, then there had better be hundreds of children smiling and happy to pose for the cameras.  If not, they'll be disappointed and they'll remember it the next time you pitch a story to them.


The same holds true to accepting an interview request.  If you say you'll be there for a 6:30 interview, then be there.  If they want you in at 2am, then get there at 1:30.  Get to an interview early.  Like Vince Lombardi used to tell his players, "If you're on time, you're late."  Show up early and show up prepared.  Don't get there five minutes ahead of time and then take 20 minutes to change clothes or put on your makeup. 


One of the best ways to anger a journalist is to take advantage of their time.  They are on tight deadlines.  Most likely, they have to file the story within just a couple of hours after talking to you.  They might even have other stories to cover or other video to shoot.  If it's a live interview, they want to see you in the newsroom, or on the phone line well in advance of the interview time.  This eases their mind and saves everyone a whole lot of confusion and panic. 


The time to tell a journalist that 6:30 in the morning is too early, is when they approach you for an interview. If you really don't think you can make it that early, let them know.  They might scrap the interview completely, but at least you didn't string them along. By the way, never tell a journalist that you can't make an interview because it "inconveniences" you.  They'll never ask you for an interview again.  They want interview subjects who will bend over backwards for them.  Sure, it's not totally fair, but then again, they ARE offering you a chance to introduce your organization to thousands upon thousands of potential customers, for nothing more than a few minutes of your time.


It's only fair that you meet them halfway, and if that means you have to drive to a studio for an interview, or get there hours before you normally get up, then you should do what it takes to make it easy for the journalist.


This also includes other kinds of interview follow-up.  Once you get that coveted interview, you need to do a few simple things which will endear you to newsrooms everywhere:

1.  Confirmation - Follow-up with an email to confirm the date, time and location of the interview.  Some interviews are set up weeks in advance, most are just days in advance.  Either way, a follow up email will confirm your commitment to the interview and ease the worries of the reporter, producer or editor.


2.  Send information - Reporters, producers and editors like facts.  Regardless of the interview venue, you should always send information to the newsroom.  This does a couple of things.  In the case of print interviews, it makes sure they spell your name right, it confirms your organization's name and services.  In the case of radio interviews, you can make sure they have the right pronunciation of your name or business.  In the case of television interviews, it allows them to create CG's, or cover graphics, that can be aired during the interview.  The same holds true for basic facts about you and your story.  


For instance, if you're interview is about a charity you run to help homeless people, you should send them a short list of facts about homelessness in your city or in the U.S.  These facts can be great additions to any story.  You might have covered them in your interview and just want to make sure the media outlet gets the information correct, or you may anticipate answering these questions during an upcoming interview.  In this case, a TV station can, again, put up CG's as part of the interview, a print or radio reporter can use these facts to direct their line of questioning.  Journalists love knowledge, and the more they know, the better an interview you will have.


3.  Provide Back-up - Every interview you do is an opportunity to show a newsroom you know what you're doing and that you understand how to make their jobs easier.  If you can make a journalists' job easier, they'll love you forever, kind of like bringing them beer and food.  For TV stations, send photos, for radio stations, send sound files, for tv stations, send ideas about graphics and send video.  Once again, the journalist wants your interview to go well so they can meet the expectations of their own standards and those of their audience.  This means providing great visuals and information to go along with the story.  If you can give them the visuals and information they need to make your interview really sparkle, they'll remember you and be more likely to schedule you for future interviews.

Lesson 2:
If you hire someone for their expertise and advice, listen to them whenever possible.


Let's face it, PR isn't rocket science.  Often, it's more like an art.  There are nuances that it can take years to get a feeling for.  You can, and should handle the basics of your PR campaign.  But there will be times when you need an expert.  This is when you might bring in a freelance PR pro, or a former journalist.  You brought them in for a reason, so listen to them when they give you advice or make recommendations.


You may not always agree with what they tell you.  You might be nervous about the direction they seem to be taking your campaign.  This is natural.  But they have years of experience that you don't have and they have a knowledge of how newsrooms operate that you don't have.  If they say a 6:30am interview on a local TV station is a "good get" then by all means, do what you have to do to make it to the newsroom by 6am, awake and prepared to shine. 


This doesn't mean you should turn all control over to any "expert", regardless of their credentials.  Ultimately, it's your business, your life's work.  You want any consultant to work with you, not against you.  Expect constant communication and expect teamwork.  Working with a PR consultant is a great way to get some quick media coverage for a big campaign.  But it will only work if you trust them and feel comfortable enough to voice your concerns to them.  It's also important that they listen to you.  Too often, I see a business bring in a consultant, spell out exactly what they want, and then the consultant goes off in a different direction.  Even if the consultant's motives are good, it shows they aren't listening to you.  And that's a recipe for disaster in the long run.


Here are a few tips to making your working relationship with a consultant the best it can be:

1.  Ask questions - Make sure you know everything you can know about your consultant.  Sit down with them and go over your campaign and ask them for their thoughts.  If they appear willing to work with you rather than try to control you, it might be a good fit.  Look to see if they answer your questions to your satisfaction rather than talk around the answer.


2.  Set your expectations - Make sure you set out exactly what you are looking for.  A good PR consultant will have questions for you about what you expect and will want to set parameters up front.  An experienced consultant won't rush into any work before they know what they're getting into.  Take note of what kinds of questions they ask you.


3.  Express Concerns - Once you start working together, you will likely have further questions and maybe even some concerns about their direction.  Don't let it go and think that your concerns will pass, they won't.  You don't have to be confrontational, but certainly you should approach the consultant with your concerns.  A good PR consultant will have no problem listening to your concerns and defending them.  Sometimes it's just a matter of perception.  Sometimes it's a difference of philosophy, which can't always be overcome.  If a consultant doesn't address your concerns, you always have the option of firing them.  Make sure there's a clause in any contract you sign that offers an out for differences of philosophy or an out for any reason with a 30-day written notice.  You'll have to pay some money, but not the entire contract, plus, if they've done any work at all, at least you'll be ahead of where you started.


4.  Don't Lower Your Standards - If a PR consultant ever offers you advice that goes against your standards or ethics, fire them immediately.  You don't want to work with a consultant that advises that you lie to customers or the media.  You can find out about a consultant's ethics by creating a scenario in which lying to the media would be the easy way out.  


5.  Listen - When creating a plan or a campaign or a strategy, listen to what the consultant has to say about the best options.  Hopefully, they will have listened to you and will work within your budget and stick to your code of ethics.  Make sure to ask questions if you don't understand why a consultant advises a course of action, but then listen to the answer.  Sometimes they will see an opportunity that you missed, or were unaware of.  They also have inside knowledge of newsrooms that give them an insight that you don't have.  You may think that a single, huge event that garners a ton of media coverage is the way to go.  The consultant might advise a longer-term strategy that takes up less of your time, but is twice as effective.  You might not agree at first, but listen to the reasons why that strategy is better than yours.  It might just change your mind.  Again, in the end, it's your decision, but when you DO make your decision, be sure to take their experience and knowledge into consideration.

You have much more on the line than a consultant does.  They don't have the kind of ties to your organization that you do, so it's natural that they aren't as invested in success as you are.  But here's what they ARE invested in; their own business and their reputation.  Their reputation within the business community matters.  More importantly, their reputation within the media community is of vital importance.  They don't want to ruin either, so they'll be looking for clients that will allow them to enhance that reputation, just as you're looking for a consultant that will help you in the long run.


If nothing else, whether you're handling your PR by yourself or with a consultant, if you do manage to get an early morning interview with your local TV station.  Don't party the night before, get your beauty sleep and make sure you don't cancel the interview because it's "too early" in the morning.  The last thing you want to do is become the butt of a joke making the rounds between the local media outlets.