There are 6.4 public relations professionals for every news reporter, according to a Bloomberg report last week. With such a disproportionate ratio, it’s more important than ever for PR pros to do what they can to make their pitches stand out. However, according to Cision’s 2019 Global State of the Media Report, 75 percent of journalists say they receive relevant pitches less than a quarter of the time.
This was one of the most alarming statistics from the report.
We’ve all been there. You’ve crafted a genius pitch, built the perfect media list, and even added a witty and captivating subject line. You send it out to your contacts and… no response. Baffled by what happened, you don’t accept defeat. You believe someone must be interested. So, what do you do? Follow up.
Last week, the world went into a tizzy when Facebook and Instagram were temporarily down. Immediately, it seemed as if everybody rushed to Twitter to discuss, resulting in #FacebookDown being a top trend in the United States. In the business world, losing two social media networks was a major roadblock for some companies, since they were suddenly unable to speak to their audience through these two popular channels. Other companies that have mastered social media, though, understood how to navigate away from the roadblock and were able to use it as a chance to position themselves in front of a larger audience.
Social media and online news have made the possibility of a story going viral (when it’s picked up quickly by dozens, or sometimes hundreds, of sources) greater than ever before. However, you will never know you have a viral story until after it’s, well, gone viral.
As PR pros, we try to make connections with reporters to secure coverage for our clients. Ideally, we’ll be creating a mutually beneficial relationship where our clients get coverage, and reporters get an interesting story or a source who provides important insight or background information. But not every PR pro follows best practices, and it’s not uncommon for public relations professionals and journalists to be at odds.
There are three sides to every story: Side A, side B, and the truth. But it seems we’ve lost a couple of those sides recently, as every story is a battle between side A and “fake news.” Originally, “fake news”…
In a recent vlog, the BPR staff recorded video letters for journalists, which addressed a variety of things from letting them know we’re paid subscribers to thanking them for responding to our pitches. In my video letter, I said that…
It’s the most wonderful time of the year! No, not Christmas – March Madness. According to a recent study by Office Team, 32 percent of managers say March Madness activities are not welcomed in the workplace. And while 57 percent…
As a male in a predominately female office, I’ve had to learn to adapt to the likes and dislikes of the female majority when it comes to pop culture. One of those things, which I have now grown to love,…
Many of us in the PR industry have faced this issue at some point: you just finished up a few projects, and looking at your to-do list, you notice that you need final approval from your clients before moving forward…