I had a conversation recently with a prospective client and that triggered this headline. They want guarantees. They want headlines. And the news is the opening of an envelope. Okay so I exaggerate a bit. But here is my message to these clients or anyone that is contemplating PR. Its a long game. Its not instant. It can be if the information is newsworthy enough and the editors are having a slow news day. Here is some perspective.
Commercially driven
Media these days are struggling with resources so while contributed content is welcome, they will prioritise (yes, even ethical editors need to pay their bills) based on who is paying their bills. So if the information is relevant, they might use it when they see the opportunity and that could be immediately or three months down the line. And the chances are its in a vertical sector magazine covering a particular sector rather than a general newspaper or business magazine. But it has to be good content, relevant to the magazine/blog/portal (which obviously you have to trust us to judge that) and not a sales pitch.
You’re a nobody
If you have never really used PR or any kind of communications, then the chances are they don’t know you. So it takes a lot more than one PR announcement to get their attention and that doesn’t necessarily mean it will get coverage (see above). So a steady stream of stories and information means that they are ready to notice when you really have something to say.
That headline you saw relating to your competition in the newspaper/online has a story behind it. There was probably a lot of planning, cajoling, pitching, convincing, back and forth and it probably took weeks/days to get there. The agency or the competitor probably had to kiss a lot of frogs to get that princely headline story. And its not necessary that it will get the attention of the people you want. Think about what you want to do with your story and hone it to suit the media’s needs (i.e. what their audience reads) and set realistic expectations. This is especially true in the B2B sector and in specialised industries. Its not low-hanging fruit for dailies and business because they want to appease so many masters. And you are not necessarily one of them unless you have really, really big bucks or are making radical changes.
Its not all bad news
Its not all bad. You have to work with a strategy and set real expectations on the results you want. Work WITH your agency and team and not demand obedience. Its in their best interests too to get results. We, as agencies, thrive on these. LISTEN to what they say and suggest and then follow through on it. Our job is to play devil’s advocate and not pander to egos. The best results have been when agency and client work in partnership and not as client and agency.
So don’t be discouraged from using communications and PR but use it wisely.
