I like to think of myself as a Rita Hayworth of public relations. I give good face.
No, I’m not lauding what my mama gave me. I’m talking about the care I take to, as often as possible, meet the reporters I regularly work with or those with whom I want to work. But, it’s not about impersonal networking and pitching my clients. It’s possible to accomplish challenging media placement goals via email or over the phone, but isn’t relationship building at the very core of our profession?
With the 24/7 news cycle, reporters are expected to deliver more, faster. They have little to no time for personal sit-downs. This, coupled with the pervasiveness of email and social media, has removed a critical human component from our work.
I’m sure you, like me, are offered opportunities through various professional organizations to network with reporters. I recently attended a Law Firm Media Professionals event in New York, which seated a panel of top financial industry reporters from the New York Times, Bloomberg News, Wall Street Journal and The Deal.
Most attendees live and/or work in NYC and are always surprised that I make the three-hour roundtrip trek from Philadelphia once a month. At the risk of sounding too elementary, vapid or superficial, I explain that I’m fortunate enough to realize the serious business of making reporters like me. Think about it—in a barrage of emails on any given day, aren’t you more likely to open a message from someone you know and like? Even if a reporter just takes a quick look and shoots me back a “no thanks” response, I consider that a huge win because they recognized my name and took a minute to consider my idea.
While I was familiar with each panelist’s beat and recent articles, I took extra time to learn about each individual’s background so that I could look for ways to make organic connections with them. For example, one reporter was from Seattle but now lives in NYC. I shared with him that I grew up on a farm but now live in Philadelphia. We talked for 15 minutes about the transition from a fresh outdoorsy youth to adulthood in a bustling city.
Another reporter, one of the smartest and nicest in the business, seemed to welcome a conversation in which he was not being aggressively pitched the entire time. I’d emailed him that morning letting him know how thrilled I was to finally meet him in-person that evening. I waited until the crowd had dispersed and then introduced myself. We chatted about everything from touring historic Philadelphia to white collar crime practice groups at law firms. He made brief mention of a few emails I’ve sent over the past few months; it was nice to get validation that his eyes were actually meeting my words.
Yes, an email or a phone call or social media is probably the quickest and least painful way (for both parties) to connect. However, face-time is critical in the PR business. Off the top of my head, I can list five stories I’ve secured solely on a face-to-face conversation with a reporter.
I am by no means recommending that you hound reporters for in-person meetings or manufacture camaraderie, but I am suggesting that when you have the opportunity, fully prepare to be sure your face-time is meaningful and memorable. Be prepared, be friendly and be genuine.
Get ready for your close-up.
Blair, I couldn’t agree more. Nothing will replace face-to-face relationships. We just met with a marvelous feature writer at the SF Chronicle over drinks. We enjoyed sharing stories of “quirky SF” without pitching any specific clients. But I guarantee you when we do approach her, she will look at our queries in a new light.