How to Pitch on Twitter.

Pitching on Twitter is becoming more of a commonplace every day. For some reporters, it’s much more convenient for them to be pitched on the web than it is to answer phone calls and emails. Also, much like with the more traditional methods of reaching a reporter, you will be more successful if you have already formed some sort of relationship with them.

Nobody likes to read lots of text, so be concise. Why write two sentences when you can pitch your story in one? Remember that reporters are pitched many times a day, so they appreciate it when it’s short and to the point.

So you’ve formed a relationship with the reporter and sent them a nice, concise pitch and you still don’t have a response? Be patient! People often give up if they don’t get a result quickly, but the fact of the matter is that sometimes journalists are too bogged down by all of the pitches that they receive and simply cannot get to your story idea.

Also, if your pitch doesn’t quite fit what they are looking for at the moment, it doesn’t mean that they wouldn’t run a story on it later; it just might not fit what they are looking for at the moment. There is also the other possibly that since they probably are communicating with a lot of other people, they could have accidently overlooked your tweet.

One last thing that you should make sure of is that you are pitching the correct reporter. Every journalist hates bad, long-winded pitches that don’t apply to their audience. Make sure that your pitch has an angle that would appeal to the particular journalist that you are pitching.

Why You Shouldn’t Name Drop Often

I am not a fan of name dropping. I understand that sometimes it is necessary to bring up a famous person that you know or have met in conversation to clarify a point or something along those lines, but a lot of people take it too far. Think of conversation as a gourmet five-course meal that fills you up, and name dropping as the unnecessary desert at the end. The conversation should be good enough that the name drop isn’t necessary.

Over embellishing yourself is bad. Nobody likes the person who constantly talks about themselves, and that fact definitely translates into the business world. Would you want to be around a person that constantly talked about who they know or what they’ve done, let alone do business with them? Of course you wouldn’t. Modesty goes a long way.

Does PR exist in Oprah’s world?

Even if we thought the day would never come – it was inevitable. Oprah announced she will pull the plug on her show during the 25^th anniversary on September 19, 2011.

What does that mean for PR? There is less than 18 months to land a spot on the legendary day time talk show that knows no borders or boundaries. And while there may be no guaranteed step-by-step process on how, there are some important tips that will help lead the way on the “O” radar screen.

The first three premises to understand are quite simple:

1. The Oprah Show does not serve as a product peddler and exists to meet the needs of her viewership, not your client’s.
2. There is a real “No Spin Zone” on The Oprah Show. Oprah’s staff researches and covers every angle of a possible guests life – there is no disguising an element of a client’s past or using a PR technique to make a client appear more credible or significant.
3. Oprah doesn’t receive calls, she makes them. Ninety-five percent of Oprah’s guests are invited and rarely is their story, service, product or message pitched to Oprah or her staff.

So how does one grab the attention of Oprah Winfrey? Easy, create a publicity campaign. Start locally, targeting the Internet, local newspaper sites and other media forums; Oprah’s bookers, producers and coworkers find out about unique guests through these mediums.

Next, stand for something! Rather than appealing to the majority of the population, withhold strong views that cause controversy and conflict – two guaranteed attention getters. Lastly, create an impact. It’s not enough to stand behind the scenes – get out there, use a voice of passion and participate in public actions to advocate a client’s message.

Plenty can talk the talk but only few can walk the walk; and those selected few are the ones The Oprah Winfrey Show wants to book.

2010 Texas PR Leadership Day and Gala

Have you signed up for the 2010 Texas PR Leadership Day and Gala? Signing up is quick and easy – click here to register online or you can download the registration form here.

The conference provides great opportunities to learn, participate and network with PR practitioners from every corner throughout Texas.

This year, the conference will be held in Austin, Texas at the Hyatt Regency Hotel. It will be a day long event filled with opportunities to connect with attendees and presenters while being introduced to today’s hot topics in communications.

Still have questions? Just visit www.tpra.com, click on the link for the Leadership Day.

See you March 5^th!

Santa’s Public Relations

You wouldn’t think of Santa Claus having a publicist, I mean, why would he? He’s Santa Claus.

However, over the years Santa has employed various publicists and techniques to ensure his autonomy and presence in the hearts and minds of people all over the world during December.

For starters, Santa has done an excellent job capitalizing on his appearances and his own brand. Hiring look-a-likes to increase productivity was genius!  Christmas existed long before Santa, however, rarely can you find anything Christmas-related without those rosy cheeks and twinkling eyes.

Santa’s control of media relations comes busting out the proverbial chimney annually. Not only are there constantly articles, photographs and video, making their way into the media over the holidays, he also has the feature story running every Christmas Eve. Santa almost never worries about a negative image being broadcast of him through the media. Small exceptions to this would include impostors who don shiny black boots and throw open the bank vaults.

Internal communication at the North Pole is also strong. Santa and his elves do a great job giving the appearance that they work around the clock every day of the year to ensure that they will make their Christmas deadline. This idea helps tailor one of many messages that Santa communicates to the public about his jolly, yet productive, personal brand.

Still, there is always room for improvement. For instance, how has Santa adapted to use of social media? We all know that if he used Facebook more of us would end up on the naughty list. What about Twitter? We all know he could have many uses for tweeting around the holidays. What about the use of statistics to analyze the effectiveness of his message? How many from previous naughty lists eventually end up on nice lists after they get lumps of coal?

Thomas Nast, perhaps Santa’s most famous publicist, originally branded Santa as a jolly cartoon-like figure who brought toys all around the world in a single night to the boys and girls on his famous “nice list.” Since Nast’s origninal caricature of the famous figure, Santa’s been re-branded and updated many times by top media figures and marketing guru’s alike. But in the middle of everything, how does Santa feel about the way he is perceived?

Before Santa’s voice gets lost in the message carried on by popular culture, Santa would like to offer his Confiteor. He does not care about cookies/milk, eggnog, lights or whether you’re naughty or nice. Santa’s greater purpose for doing what he does is to spread joy, love and cheer around the world to people who have nothing. Even to those who were naughty this year, the love he graciously wishes to spread is unbiased.

So, before you rush out in the craziness to buy presents, send holiday Tweets, or spend long evenings wrapping, keep in mind all Santa wants: spread a little love and hope to those in need. That’s the only press release he ever wanted to send.