I consider myself and the people I work with to be pretty innovative PR professionals. We really do work hard to send timely, informative information to editors at engineering publications. I realize that we aren’t always perfect, and that a lot of PR professionals suck at doing their jobs.
Which is why I got a huge kick out of this video from TechCrunch about PR professionals.
This video made me laugh, but it covers a lot of common mistakes that PR professionals make including:
1. Following-up too soon
PR Pro: Hi I’m just checking you got the email I sent.
Blogger: When did you send it?
PR Pro: Five minutes ago.
2. Sending news with an embargo
Blogger: No. What did it say?
PR Pro: I’d love to tell you, but you’ll have to agree to the embargo first.
Blogger: Ok whatever, I agree, now tell me more.
PR Pro: Can you email back first saying you agree to the embargo?
Blogger: Look, I honor the fucking embargo. Now tell me more.
3. Pitching bloggers who don’t care
PR Pro: A Silicon Valley based startup is going to announce a new revolutionary software as a service for social media companies targeting B2B. It will change the way social media marketing is done forever. Are you interested in a briefing with the company’s CEO.
Blogger: No, I don’t cover B2B.
PR Pro: But I thought you wrote about social media.
Blogger: I do, but not B2B.
4. Thinking your product is revolutionary when it’s not
PR Pro: But it is revolutionary.
Blogger: So are all the others.
So what can PR professionals do so they don’t look like the idiots in this video? Don’t be annoying, be timely, target the right editors/bloggers and don’t just say that your product is revolutionary, prove it.
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But Blake, our product is new! I promise! And our target market is everyone!
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