There's More To Life Than Twitter

By Samantha Evans, Intern (@samevans24)

Every time I browse the latest PR-related blog posts and articles, the one reoccurring theme throughout almost all of them is social media. After reading some, it seems that having a smart phone in hand and being Twitter savvy is all you need to succeed in PR. However, I did find a blog post, which of course spoke about traditional vs. social media, but also touched upon a subject that many PR pros seem to forget. It is not only about keeping up with the latest technologies, media outlets and trends, but holding on to strategies and values that were around in, dare I say it?, the old world of media.

Rohit Bhargava explains in his blog, Influential Marketing Blog, that one of the oldest and most important PR strategies is how a PR executive interacts with journalists and other members of the media. He makes it clear that just like print media, social media requires an interaction between a PR person and a journalist, editor, blogger, tweeter or whatever it may be. In Rohit’s blog post What All PR People Should Know About Journalists, he explains this interaction from a journalist’s perspective. He describes what journalists are really saying about PR and pitching.

The first and most blunt being: “Your BS is obvious.” The next and harsh reality is “Timing trumps all.” I have experienced the importance of timing first hand when contacting the media for story placement. Social media outlets help to almost eliminate this timing issue that, at times, seems to be a toss up. Most members of the media have Twitter, Facebook or LinkedIn (many have all three), which allows for information about proper pitch timing.

With the help of the Fusion team and my own personal research, I am now able to understand and at times already know about the topics being discussed in blog posts and articles written by esteemed PR and marketing pros.