Three Myths of PR or, What You Always Hear About Public Relations
February 9, 2009 by Mary Ellen
Myth One: You need a big budget.
Advertising sales wisdom suggests you buy the audience. “Run more spots.” “Mail more prospects.” “Buy more display.” That’s PUSH sales. The solution for too much product and not enough traffic: buy more advertising. In traditional public relations, businesses look at clips. Every time your story gets published somewhere you add it to the clip pile. Meanwhile, the PR specialist PUSHES your pitch to dozens or hundreds of journalists. (In the email world we call this spam.)
These techniques fail more often than not today. PULL marketing means consumers select their medium and in some cases even their message. You purchase an appliance like a washer, return the warranty card, check the box to receive direct mail offers, and hear about soap from a different company. In this scenario, you choose to no longer receive washer offers. “Dear Occupant,” mail is the opposite of Pull marketing. (NOTE: Impersonal email blasts are today’s “Dear Occupant.” Emails to 10 people may save you time, but they hardly get the message across.)
My Dad, a farmer, used to make an analogy about one-quarter inch. A quarter inch on the end of a mile-long fence line is nothing he’d say. Then he’d add, “A quarter inch on the end of your nose is a LOT!” So, treat your pr as if it were your nose. It is. Make your quarter inch count. Talk specifically and emphatically with two journalists, not twenty. Spend more time in the planning stage than in the outreach stage. It will pay dividends. Remember, it’s relative.
Myth Two: You can’t reach journalists.
Blasting 700 messages out on the web doesn’t work. It’s unlikely you’ll get seven responses, let alone 70. What to do? Develop your points and then send seven targeted, specific pitches. You’ll likely get three to four responses.
Who do you know? Posting your question on a FaceBook page would be more effective than unsolicited email blasts. I’m suggesting you develop a specific strategy and it begins with thinking. Less is more in this case.
One committee chair, for example, assigned each person to contact someone they knew at media outlets. She provided a flyer with talking points. The result? Her event received widespread coverage. The power of personal relationships added an oomph she couldn’t achieve on her own. How can you think differently about contacting the media.
Do you have a favorite columnist? Is there a particular publication you follow all the time? Focus on making your message relevant for the publication’s or the column’s audience and you’re on the way to success. Do your research and make the contacts. Journalists want to hear from business people like you who have a story to tell.
Myth Three: You must have special expertise.
It doesn’t work that way. You know your product or service. With a little focus you can put together a pitch that works. Scratch expertise and replace it with passion. You must have a passion for getting the word out. In the words of Calvin Coolidge:
Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful people with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan “press on” has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race.
Act now. Move forward in some small way and get the word out.
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