2. Publicists Can Handle a Crisis
While your web-designer may be great at taking technological problems off your plate, there is only one person you want speaking for your brand during a crisis –- your PR Team. They are experienced in quickly managing crisis situations, and in the fast-paced world of Social Media, you want someone smoothing over unexpected problems as quickly as humanly possible.

3. PR Strategy Directly Influences Social Media Strategy
In any successful business endeavor it’s paramount for all departmental strategies to be in-line with each other. Nowhere is this truer than Public Relations and Social Media. Online engagement with the public is not an island –- it must be bridged with your PR Team’s goals.

4. Publicists Are Trained To Answer Media Inquiries
With more and more journalists and bloggers using Social Media platforms like Twitter to inquire about interviews and possible media coverage, it’s very important that your publicist be the first person a member of the media encounters.

4 ½. It’s One Less Phone Call You Have To Make

Drew Milford is Social Media Strategist for Much & House Public Relations and Marketing in Los Angeles.

Let’s face it…..the world is FULL of companies launching products, charities having events and the ever popular celebrities promoting their new projects!  So, with the media being inundated day to day, what can a PR pro do to stand out?!?!  This has been a popular question for years and one that needs to be addressed on a consistent basis, with new technology (social media PR) and other tactics being developed each year!

Gaining attention can be defined as acquiring or obtaining someone’s awareness.  In this case, PR pros would be grabbing the interest of the media. Whether it be an editor, producer, contributor or programmer, something MUST “grab their interest” in order for them to read your email!!!

How do we get on a journalists’ radar screen?

A timely, well-crafted press release or pitch angle can certainly secure coverage for your client. However, a bad one will almost immediately make its way to the “Deleted Items” folder. The very bleak truth is that most media outlets are plainly interested in solid, relevant news and features that will interest their readers or viewers. And while finding a newsworthy standpoint is a very important part of getting their attention, that is just the beginning of a MUCH bigger process.

Want to become friends with the media? Sure, you do!

Here are 5 key points to help that along……Familiarize yourself with the media outlet (inside and out)Familiarize yourself with the media outlet (inside and out)

• Familiarize yourself with the media outlet (inside and out)

It cannot be stressed enough how important it is to know ALL pertinent details about the various publications you intend to approach before constructing your pitch. Secondary to that, you should also attune yourself with the stories and topics each individual editor, reporter or producer typically covers to make sure yours is relevant.  The following is a blog post from an anonymous editor…..”I’ve had it. I get more than 300 emails a day and my problem isn’t spam (Cloudmark Desktop solves that nicely), it’s PR people. Lazy flacks send press releases to the Editor in Chief of Wired because they can’t be bothered to find out who on my staff, if anyone, might actually be interested in what they’re pitching. Fact: I am an actual person, not a team assigned to read press releases and distribute them to the right editors and writers (that’s editor@wired.com). So fair warning: I only want two kinds of email: those from people I know, and those from people who have taken the time to find out what I’m interested in and composed a note meant to appeal to that (I love those emails; indeed, that’s why my email address is public)”. He later goes on to say that (and this is paraphrased), your pitch as well as future pitches will likely be ignored and you will be added to my blocked list. So, I think we see the importance of having the right audience for your pitch!  Keep it short, sweet, relevant and punchy with your contact information and a note of action (I’ll contact you once you’ve had the opportunity to review this information).

• Refrain from sending the same pitch to contacts at the same publication.

In today’s world of email, you can send the same pitch to many different sources within just a few seconds. Reporters and editors, especially those who work for the same outlet, surely speak with one another frequently. Think about it? You speak to your co-workers daily so why would they be ANY different?  Spamming them will depersonalize any professional relationship you’re looking to develop with this media source. The editorial process is quite calculated….an editor at a major publication will pool pitches and review them together to determine which ones they will actually pursue.  Frequently, they will see duplicate pitches from the same person. This only displays that the PR pro believes that someone within the editorial group will cover the story, so the sender blasts it to the world. That just doesn’t work. The EDITOR likes to feel like the sender has taken the time to research what they are interested in…so, send one pitch to one contact at an outlet. If it is relevant and spunky, they will pick up the story!

• Face to Face Time

As most PR pros know, it is almost CRUCIAL to have face to face time with the media.  This goes back to point one, building a relationship is vital. Now, it is important to note that media contacts DO NOT have time to sit with every PR pro for every story angle they have.  However, it would be nice to set up a desk-side meeting with them just to introduce yourself and give a summary of a few of your clients.  Let’s go a step further, after a few meetings (maybe every other month), take them to lunch.  Show them that they ARE important.  AFTER ALL, they have the utmost potential to help YOUR CLIENT!!!!

• The Ever Important….Follow up.

Some PR pros cease to follow up after they send a pitch, and others follow up too quickly or too often.  Be smart about this….if your pitch is met with silence, it doesn’t always mean a media source isn’t interested. There are a few reason you may not hear back right away; journalists get thousands of e-mails per day and may not have the time to read all of them that day; there may also be an important deadline that they must adhere to; your e-mail may have gone into their spam folder.  It is more than appropriate to follow up with a media contact, but as we have all been told, e-mail is easiest for many of them. At this time, go ahead and resend the original e-mail within a couple days (3-5) of the first e-mail with an attached note stating that you are just following up on the pitch below and ask them to let you know of their interest.  After a second attempt, it would be wise to leave it be.  Now the ever popular question…”what about a phone call”?  A word to the wise, if you choose to call for follow up, keep it brief:  state who you are, what pitch you sent, when you sent it and ask if there is any interest.  DO NOT push the issue if someone is on deadline….ALWAYS be courteous and understanding so that you DO NOT blow that relationship! Chances are you will get voicemail if you call.

• Show Appreciation…ALWAYS!

If your story or pitch is picked up, the one CRITICAL step cannot be forgotten.  Be gracious….SIMPLY SAY THANKS!  Express your gratitude. This simple step will aide in building a lasting relationships and potentially get you coverage again the next time you have a story idea, or even get reporters to come to you when they need a source. If you want to be serious….go one step further, send a “thank you note”.  Media contacts like to be acknowledged. Don’t we all???  However, it is again important to keep it short.  DO NOT send a long, sappy note, just a simple THANK YOU!

Follow these simple steps and as a PR pro, you will be on your way to TRUE SUCCESS in any publicity campaign!!!!

Every individual has a brand and it’s their responsibility to manage. Here are some tips for creating a brand presence:

1.    Be open and increase your on-line communication/conversations

2.    Be consistent with your updates – don’t let your Twitter or Facebook accounts become static

3.    Figure out ways to enter the online dialogue – for example, comment on other posts so you get your name and thoughts out there…Get Noticed! Chances are, people will start to re-tweet your comments, etc.

 Melissa Rivers – @MelRivers

Sarah Hyland -@sarah_hyland

Shay Mitchell – @shaymitch

Joey King -@JoeyLittleKing

Thomas Ian Nicholas – @ThomasINicholas

Thomas Ian Nicholas Band – @TINBand

Reed Alexander – @reedalexander

Kewlbites – @kewlbites

Kathy Kaehler – @kathykaehler

Billy Burke – @billy_burke

Jennifer Stone- @comeagainjen

Taylor Spreitler – @taylorspreitler

Josh Golden – @joshgoldenmusic

Stephanie Pratt –  @stephaniepratt

Kimberly Cole – @KimberlyCole1

David Faustino – @DavidFaustino

Dara Torres – @daratorresswims

KidsPickFlicks -@kidspickflicks

Logan Miller – @loganyeah785

Vincent Martella – @VinMan17

Savannah Outen- @therealsavannah

Radical Axis – @RadicalAxis

Jes Gordon – @jesgordon

Madison Pettis – @MadisonPettis22