While we might not all be familiar with the Roman poet Horace, we all know his famous phrase, “carpe diem.” It’s a great principle to live by, but in PR seizing the day isn’t enough. You need to seize every moment, every trending story, every bit of news you can harness to elevate your client’s standing. We’re talking, of course, about newsjacking. Successful newsjacking demonstrates your… Read more »
This is the first blog in a new series called Writers Workshop, where we will share writing tips and strategies to help PR and communications professionals sharpen their skills and become faster, smarter and more effective. Spending 14 years in the newsroom as a reporter and editor, I was quite familiar with various journalistic writing formats, from the straight news story to the op-ed and human… Read more »
Newsjacking is the art and science of injecting your ideas (or your client’s) into a breaking news story to obtain media coverage and ultimately elevate the brand. Since most clients aren’t wired with a journalist’s brain, it’s our job as PR pros to make those connections and advise clients appropriately. By newsjacking, PR teams can catapult their client into the forefront of trending conversations that are… Read more »
Almost any brand can benefit from great PR, but not every brand is ready for media relations. Earned media is part of a much larger PR picture, and a solid, strategic foundation can make all the difference when it’s time to step into the public eye especially for early-stage companies. Here’s a few effective media relations strategies to deploy before the first pitch goes out the… Read more »
Get to know the media you’re pitching As a PR professional it’s your No. 1 job to get media results for your clients. In order to accomplish this task you need to know who you’re pitching; plain and simple. This doesn’t just mean looking up their bio on software such as Cision. Read recent articles they’ve written, follow their Twitter feed, learn their interests. Knowing… Read more »
Meeting new people. Learning new things. That’s what it’s all about. As a former journo, that’s the very reason I got into journalism in the first place. The writing always came second. What I craved was the interaction with all different types of people with varying views and knowing what they know; what makes them tick. As a PR professional it’s not much different. Human interactions… Read more »
By Emily Quirk After 14 years in journalism, I made the switch to public relations in 2013. My colleagues harangued me with the typical mockery: “so, you’re going to the dark side” and “now we’ll be getting lame pitches from you too?” Part of me felt guilty over the decision. I had put blood, sweat and tears into my journalistic craft. I put in my share… Read more »
