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PR Pros Pig Out Over Pitches

The Public Relations Association of Louisiana and local chapter of the Public Relations Society of America have partnered to hold a series of summer Lunch and Learn seminars. The first, New Rules for Successful Media Pitching, was recently held at Covalent Logic. Stafford Wood, APR, PRSA President and PRAL Board Member, hosted PRAL and PRSA members to view media expert Michael Smart’s webinar and learn about new techniques that can land more share of media coverage, such as:

Expand your definition of the media. While some organizations aim for traditional outlets such as The New York Times, there are newer and better options available. Organizations can get a bigger return faster by adjusting their focus and taking advantage of the new media channels like podcasts and social media influencers.

Social media influencer Esther the Wonder Pig (yes, a pig) is a best-selling author and has 457,000 followers.

Develop resources that drive traffic to eventual placements. In this era, journalists must be especially mindful of the page views and website traffic to each story. Identify resources that can drive traffic to each placement and the reporter will be rewarded for coverage with a bigger audience. Consider including coverage in your email newsletter, your social platforms or even a prominent spot on your website.

If you don’t have one of these resources, or if it’s not strong enough, do yourself a favor and start building it up.

Build before you pitch. Identify your top ten influencers and spend ten minutes each day reacting to their content. You should do this from your personal accounts, so they will notice your name. This will get you quicker email responses and help to build relationships.

Some of you may need to clean up your personal account...or just create a whole new one.

Nail your pitches. Journalists get hundreds of pitches daily, and 95% of them are really, really terrible. Take time to craft specific, sincere pitches customized to the journalist and their audience.

Be part of the 5% that stands out.

Do some of the work for them. Journalists have a growing need for visuals but have little or no time to get them. Share visuals with them, even if it means going out with your cell phone and snapping a few pics.

Make their jobs easier and you increase your chances of getting placed.

With these great webinar takeaways, everyone was eager to find their next social media influencer.

Please take note that while the always-popular Mike the Tiger doesn’t take sponsorships, there is always Esther the Wonder Pig.

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