What To Do First: Email or Phone Call?

I was taught to always pick up the phone and call a reporter because it's more personal. More veteran (older) PR supervisors wanted me to do the same when I mentioned I was going to email a journalist. Picking up and dialing the phone was how so many PR - Reporter/Journalist relationships were built for many years. But now in 2011, is it better to send an email when reaching out to a reporter/journalist?

It will always depend on the reporter or journalist in question. You might be contacting a reporter who is 75 years old and hates email. Obviously a phone call is better in that case. But how many times have you as a PR professional unknowingly called a reporter who was on a tight deadline to pitch a story? Do you remember how annoyed they were when you called?

This topic was discussed in an ABA Journal article that also had responses to the question.

I'm a big proponent of emailing a reporter first because you give them a chance to read your pitch on their time, one that is good for them. If you do not get a response back, then follow up with a phone call. But maybe first contact doesn't have even have to be through traditional email: You can use Facebook, LinkedIn or Twitter if you know how to use it correctly.

The main thing is know how the reporter/journalist wants to be contacted. At first you might not know how. There are websites and programs that try to provide this information for the price of their subscription fee. But you can also try contacting their news desk and ask if they know how.

For me, it usually email first. Times have changed and PR professionals have to change their communications habits as well.

Using Social Media to Make Connections

Social media platforms offer an avenue of communication for public relations professionals to make contact with or reach out to journalists in any realm of publication. Social media platforms such as LinkedIn, Facebook or MySpace offer the opportunity for these connections to be made in non-pressure situations.

Instead of a potentially uncomfortable or ill-timed introductory conversation via a phone call (we've all had more then we would like to admit), connections between public relations professionals can be made through social media platforms. Then, when the situation presents itself, a public relations professional has a means to contact the journalist they are attempting to reach out to for a particular story or event.

Public relations professionals must be able to use social media platforms as a way of communication. Not only is it simple, quick and direct, it is now becoming a preferred way of communication as opposed to cold-calling.