Taking Notes: Press Releases

Following up on my post about taking notes on how interviews are structured, I now bring you a prime example of why public relations professionals should do the same with press releases.

The example I'm linking to confirms that untimely death of a professional hockey player in the middle of his career. In the hockey world, this type of press release might be written a few times a decade. In sports in general, it will probably be written 10-20 times a year. So even if you're not in hockey PR, but lets say in baseball PR, you can still find reviewing this press release useful.

Now I know this example is a depressing example, but tough news is always harder to deal with emotionally and mentally then others. Tactfulness and compassion are paramount and time is often short at best. That's why reviewing bad news examples are more important because they have a sense to be more "on the money".

Again, review it, take notes, and stash it away in a folder labeled "Just In Case - PR". Sooner or later, you'll be looking at this folder for one reason or another and it's always better to be prepared with examples that you have previously found to be a great that look over.

And remember, topics you want to look out for can be about anything - good or bad.

Taking Notes: Interview Preparation

One important responsibility of a good PR department is preparing a subject before an interview. This isn't something that's taught in school and they more you do it, the better you get at it. But that doesn't mean you, as a PR professional, need to actually prepare an interview subject to gain valuable experience.

One exercise that I like to do to watch interviews about important, controversial or breaking news. I try to study the interview process to see how the journalist is shaping the interview, how the questions progress, what types of questions are being asked, etc. I do this so I can have a better understanding of what to expect if I ever have to prepare one of my clients or supervisors for an interview about a similar subject. (I do the same with reviewing press conferences, press and media releases, website/social media coverage.)

"60 Minutes" reporter Steve Croft recently interviewed President Barack Obama about the raid on Osama bin Laden's compound and spoke to Poynter about how he structured his interview that the entire world would be watching.

While I will probably never have to prepare the President of the United States for any type of interview, being able to get into the head of a veteran journalist like Steve Croft holds invaluable lessons that every PR professional should take note of.

Reminder: Bring Your Camera

Whenever a PR or Social Media professional is out in the field on an assignment, there are many things one has to make sure they pack: media kits, extra press releases/advisories, business cards, etc... But don't forget your digital camera because you never know when you want to/need to snap a few photographs.

Digital photos are great for websites, Twitter, Facebook pages, to send to a news desk or to keep for the archives. And truth be told, most of our knowledge of taking a good quality photo ends with shoot-and-point (at least for the majority of us). So stopping short of taking a digital photography class, here's a link that gives a few tips on taking photos.

Tips: 5 Digital Camera Mistakes to Avoid

Link: Selling Social Media to the Boss

If you're like me and have immersed yourself in the social media revolution, you might not realize that some people are not buying into it. If you're in the public relations/marketing industry, that might be a problem if you believe social media can become a big advantage for your product.

SocialMediaExaminer.com takes a look at this potential problem and offers eight suggestions for overcoming this hurdle.

Aside from the suggestions, the biggest takeaway from this blog article is that it's easy to forget that not everyone has bought into social media and the positive effects it can have. It's OK for people not to necessarily jump into the social media universe, but as PR or marketing professionals who are, it's our responsibility to convince them.

LINK: Pitching to Bloggers

PR consultant Susan Young discussed what she believes are the eight best practices when pitching stories to bloggers. Overall, she presents pretty good suggestions that even seasoned PR professionals can read for a refresher.

My favorite/most relevant tip:

4. Observe for a while. Watch their conversations and who they engage with. Follow them. Retweet their messages, a nice form of flattery. You’ll soon be on their radar screen.

It's alwasy better know the journalist before pitching them. Knowing them means both have a previously formed relationship and have a good understanding what they write about and to whom their target/intended audience is.