Don't Fluster the Media

At a meeting the other night, I was introduced to a woman who bombarded me with, “Oh hi, Kelly. I saw your profile in the paper. Did you get my packet?”

Flustered, I wasn’t sure how to respond because I had so little information. First, I didn’t have her last name. Second, I had no idea what she did or what kind of information would have appeared in said “packet.” Third, I didn’t know how or when I would have received it.

The moment gave me brief insight into how journalists feel when PR folks call up and say, “Hi Lois, this is Jim. I was just calling to see if you received my news release.”

Never insist that your representatives do this. It’s beyond irritating for the media, and it has the potential to damage not only your rep’s reputation, but your own.

Comments

[sherry borzo]

This building relationships with the media thing is hard work! I guess that is why businesses hire PR professionals to help them. My frustration is sending things to the media I think are interesting and having them ignored. I couldn't even get one item in the datebook recently, geeze.

[flirting tips]

Hey, they gotta build business, come on now. Sending out packets is one of the biggest, most well known ways to do this sort of thing...what would you suggest instead?

[Kelly Moore]

I would suggest that the business owner take the time to craft a personal message to the prospect, perfectly tailored to answering the question, "How can you help me?"

Simply blanketing the world with your packets hoping that one in 700 will hit the mark, is a waste of resources and potentially damaging to your brand.