Basics of media relations, how to write a press release, what is a newsroom, how to pitch journalists...

1. Media Relations 101
Catherine Daar
15th March 2011

2. 1 hour to cover ...
✓Is your news newsworthy?
✓Making Headlines
✓Reaching out to the media
✓News Release: Traditional vs Online Social Media
News release
✓How to create a news release (content, format,
subject line)
✓Bloggers
✓Online Newsroom
✓What to include in a media kit
✓Online PR
✓Social Media for PR
✓Q&A
Catherine Daar 2011
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3. Questions to ask yourself before
launching a PR campaign
✓Who is your target audience
✓How do they consume media (Online? Offline? )
✓Where do they hang out online? Social media,
professional forums, etc..)
✓What paper do they read? What do they watch
on TV? What do they listen on radios?
Catherine Daar 2011
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4. Is your news newsworthy?
✓Media are here to: Entertain, Educate, Inspire
✓Human interest: Get rich, Get sex,Get healthy
✓Will it help to find: Job, Solution , Success, Opportunity
✓Is it New? Innovative? Moving? Relatable?
✓Are telling a compelling story? Will it get people talking? Why should the reader
care?
✓Why is your news important NOW?
✓ Will they learn something ?
✓Remember! It is not about YOU but about how you can help the COMMUNITY
Catherine Daar 2011
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5. How to package your news to make
Headlines!
✓Try to make your news timely. Tie it with Events
(conferences, holidays, ...)
✓You should adapt your subject to the news
✓Check the current trends: read the press, follow
reporters on Twitter, sign up for RSS feeds, use Google
Alert,..)
✓Stand out from the crowd! Craft a compelling
message. Use your creative internal resources
create something innovative (tag line, video clip, etc..)
Catherine Daar 2011
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6. Be a source for the media
✓Offer to be interviewed as an expert (list 5-6 timely and relevant topics
you can discuss) *
✓Provide trends from your industry
✓Ask about the editorial calendar to see if you can offer help
✓Use HARO (http://www.helpareporter.com/)
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Catherine Daar 2011

7. Reaching out to the media
✓Make sure you know what the journalist writes about
✓Check that the same subject was not written about in the last 3-6 month
(http://factiva.com/)
✓Keep in mind the media deadlines
• Magazines work 4-6 months in advance.
• Television works about 4-6 weeks in advance (month in advance for
programs like «Temps Présent, TTC, etc..) «Magazine de société»
• Newspapers 1-3 weeks. Apart from the news
• Radio 1-3 weeks and 2 to 4 month for «society magazines»
• News websites vary from 1 week to several months
• Bloggers 1-3 weeks
Catherine Daar 2011
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8. How to pitch a reporter
✓Pitch via email. Fax is dead!
✓Send news release and send the media kit and more if asked
✓Via phone be careful..reporter can be on deadline. If you know
the media deadline stay away from the journalist the day before!
✓Email at first and then phone to follow up or even follow up
email in case the 1st got lost
✓Avoid sending a news release over the holiday.
Catherine Daar 2011
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9. Traditional News release Social Media News release
VS

10. SEO Optimized
Social Media
Press release
Hosted by a online press
release service or on your
website
http://multivu.prnewswire.com/mnr/pepsi/40085/
Catherine Daar 2011
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11. Advantages of Online News release
✓Hosted on your site or on a service like Pitch
Engine (template)
✓Keyword optimized
✓Reach your target audience directly
(consumers, bloggers, investor)
✓Link can be sent by email to journalists
✓Send to all your social media platforms and
easily shared
✓Infos and content can be used in
immediately by journalists
If you use online distribution services
(PRNewswire, PRWeb, etc..)
✓ Sent to online newsroom (Google News,
Yahoo News)
✓ Sent directly to the newsroom editorial
systems
✓ Hosted by distribution site online
Catherine Daar 2011
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12. When should you send an online news release?
!!Frequency: about one a month every month!!
✓ Launch of new product
✓ New Web site
✓ Comment on industry trends
✓ New customer
✓ Events (conferences, trade show, public
speaking..)
✓ Awards
✓ Funding received
✓ Joint venture
✓ New funding
✓ Hiring new employees
✓ Volunteer work
✓ New partner
Catherine Daar 2011
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13. How to write a News release
✓PR 101: Who, What, Where, When, Why, and How
✓Short (one page), sweet , Get to the point, accurate and factual. No
Gobbledygook* (cutting edge, innovation service that provide ...)
✓Give them a pitch that you would tell your friends around a beer and don’t
try to impress your parents’ friends
✓The pitch need to hit the journalist on the first sentence
✓Avoid hype or making it sound like an advertisement. Don't use words
like unique, magnificent or wonderful.
✓For immediate release: instruct when you want the news to be
published
✓Customize your pitch with a different angle for different journalists
✓In Context (Ex: «this follows up the xx story you wrote few days ago»)
✓No more than 4 paragraphs
1.What is your pitch (first sentence). Why you are writing?
2.Establish credibility
3.Why your news is of interest for the readers (Use 3 bullet points with data
that supports your thesis)
4.What you are expecting, call to action
Catherine Daar 2011
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14. Format of the traditional news release
✓The press release needs to be in the body of the email
✓ No pdf, as it is impossible for most editors to use a pdf release without
retyping it
✓Text not HTML (easier to extract copy)
✓No attachments (viruses, one more step), but links to additional material
✓No photos or illustrations
Catherine Daar 2011
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15. What will make the journalist open your email?
It’s all in the subject line!
✓Identify the news hook in the subject line, time
sensitive
✓Include a mention of proximity
✓Best subject line short and to the point
✓Catchy email headline
Ex: Learn Bill Gate’s marketing strategy
Catherine Daar 2011
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16. Bloggers Relations
✓77% of Internet users read blogs
✓89% of journalists conduct research on blogs
✓72% of bloggers blog to share their expertise
Same process than a journalist, just a different medium
The only difference is: You provide only a
summary in the body of the email and then link to
the entire news release!
Catherine Daar 2011
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17. Why your company needs a
Newsroom
✓ 99 % of journalists expect a company to have an online newsroom
✓ More than 77 % of journalists think it's important to be able to access a company's social media networks
from its online newsroom.
✓ 95 % want access to photos, company background, and product information within the online
newsroom.
✓65% want digital assets and 53 % consider video and audio files useful.
Survey by TEKGROUP International
Source: http://searchenginewatch.com/3641907
http://pressroom.toyota.com/pr/tms/default.aspx
Catherine Daar 2011
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18. Media Kit, Social News release or Newsroom?
What to include
✓Brief intro
✓Company background and facts
✓Bio
✓The current press release
✓Line sheet (when multiple products)
✓Past Reviews and articles
✓Quotes from experts *
✓Article you wrote that the paper can print or radio can read on air *
✓DVD Video Interviews (CEO, or anyone interesting...) *
✓Contact info
✓High resolution photos (300dpi)
✓High-resolution designs/logos (300 dpi) on the documents if electronic kit*
✓Marketing pieces (promo brochure, catalogue flyer,etc..)
✓Cover art
✓Demo reel
✓Product (Reporters cannot accept products that are over 20 Ch.-)*
Reporters don’t really need the actual product. If the reporter think the product is helpful the reporter will ask for it
For TV and radio stations:
✓Short Q&A (interview) with questions the TV or radio can ask (How long it will take to answer the questions Ex: question 1 -27
sec)*
✓Include other media appearances to show TV and radio know you are a good guest and speaker*
✓Endorsement letters from other producers and editors*
If you don’t have a newsroom or a social media press release, save the electronic media kit in pdf format, zip and name «press kit
for ....»
Catherine Daar 2011
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19. Why is the Web important for your PR efforts
Before Writing an Article Journalists and Editors perform Online Research
January 2010
91% use
65% use social media
89% use blogs
52% use
Source: http://www.gwu.edu/explore/mediaroom/newsreleases/
nationalsurveyfindsmajorityofjournalistsnowdependonsocialmediaforstoryresearch
Catherine Daar 2011
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20. What are the advantages of the
Social Web in your PR campaigns
✓No intermediary, direct access to your target market
✓Conversation possible with your audience
✓Trustable source 92% of consumer are influenced by
word of mouth
✓Wide reach in short amount of time
✓Viral (possibility to share content easily)
✓Measurable
✓Survey your market in almost real time
Catherine Daar 2011
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21. Social Media
Never pitch a journalist on social media but initiate a relationship
Be the voice of your industry on Twitter
Break up your press releases into 120 characters and tweet a part every day!
Catherine Daar 2011
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22. Take aways
1-Know who you want to reach and how they consume
media
2-Is your news newsworthy? Why should the reader care?
3-Innovate: use the multimedia news release!
4-You need a newsroom
5-Use hybrid PR: the best of both world
Catherine Daar 2011
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23. Questions?/Contact
www.commnation.com
c.daar@commnation
@commnation
@catherinedaar
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