A good relationship between the media and your Lakeland public relations team can do wonders for your business. That is why it is important to make sure that the PR team you hired works well with the media and has connections you can use to your business’ advantage. A PR team must also be knowledgeable about dealing with the many idiosyncrasies of a media outlet and its journalists.
Here are the six ways that PR teams and firms annoy journalists (that you must definitely avoid doing, too):
Try to tell reporters how to do their job
Do not ever attempt to tell reporters how to write their stories or when to give exclusive or when to release their articles. If you want your story embargoed, make sure you have a good reason for requesting that from a media outlet. Reporters hate being told how to write their copies since most of them look down at PR writers and their “strategies.”
Badger the reporter for coverage
If a reporter is interested in your event, he will contact you. While you are only focused on generating positive attention for your event, sending an email once or twice as a reminder is enough. Badgering reporters through their phones or their email addresses will not generate a good response. If they say no, move on to your next agenda or target.
Use corporate-speak
If reporters ask a company spokesperson about a certain issue, that spokesperson must be able to answer the question calmly and rationally. He must be personable and must be willing to explain in a friendly manner the stand of the company. Throwing jargons and pulling the big guns (talk to our lawyer) will not put you in a reporter’s good side.
Mention other media outlets interested in your story
What are you trying to imply by mentioning other media outlets that are interested in your story? Do you mean that the reporter doesn’t know how to distinguish a good story? Or that other media outlets are better than his company? Never insult a reporter lest you want to be officially stricken off their list of coverages.
Control the editorial process
As a Lakeland public relations specialist, you don’t have control over how the story will be written and when it will be published. You also cannot ask to proofread the story. Somehow, you just have to trust that you have done your job well and that all pertinent facts are included in the story.
Not knowing how to write a press release
There’s nothing reporters hate most about Lakeland public relations experts than seeing press pitches with the wrong angle. Do your research well and tailor the story in such a way journalists don’t need to do a surgery on your pitch to find the important information.
