At Pubcon 2014 in Las Vegas, I had the opportunity to catch up with two experts on PR and getting publicity: John Boitnott of Inc Magazine, and Lisa Buyer of The Buyer Group.
One is a reporter and the other is the CEO of a PR agency. If you have been trying to get coverage on major news outlets but haven’t seen much success so far, you’re going to want to watch the interviews below for the best tips.
How to Pitch to Inc, Forbes, and Other Major News Outlets: An Interview John Boitnott
Here are some key takeaways from the video:
- If you’re pitching on behalf of a client, it better be a pretty darn interesting client John says. He mentions frequently getting boring pitches that involve a business trying to get coverage because a similar type of business has gotten coverage recently. Those type of pitches never fly.
- If you have a new product and want to get some coverage for it, John gives some tips on how to pitch it. Give it your best shot he says, and don’t be formulaic. Avoid mentioning things that have been written before, just make it quick and to the point.
- Following reporters on social media and interacting with them is a good idea only if what that reporter writes about falls in line with the kinds of things your business does.
- The bottom line, John says, is the only way you’re going to be successful at pitching a story is if the reporter is really infatuated with whatever you happen to be pitching to them.
- It usually comes down to pitching the right story to the right person at the right time. There are probably stories they need or are looking for already, and if what you’re pitching falls in line with that then you’re likely to get some coverage.
Social PR Secrets: An Interview With Lisa Buyer
Here are some key takeaways from the video:
- Lisa is the author of a book called ‘Social PR Secrets’, which is all about how to leverage social media and search to get more publicity.
- Lisa comes from a traditional PR background, but over time has transitioned into online by bringing in social and learning how to get a company’s news out via social media and via search.
- Back in the day journalists used to be the gatekeepers, but now we can report our own news and get brand advocates to share that news and spread the word.
- When it comes to reaching journalists today, Lisa suggests creating a Twitter list for the media your interested in getting coverage from and interacting with them.
- There’s a fine line between interacting and stalking, Lisa says. The best way to go about it is to be generous and selfless by sharing and liking their stuff regularly, and not just sharing stuff when they write a story about your brand. That’s the the kind of thing that will get noticed.
Please visit SEJ’s YouTube page for more video interviews.
Photo Credit for John Boitnott: ad2sf.org
