In today’s marketing and PR world there are a lot of online content producers (aka Publications, Newspapers, Blogs, etc.). The higher the readership that targets a market, the more desirable it is to have content included. That said, the days of “pitching” are long gone and marketing and PR professionals need to approach placing content (formerly known as by-line articles and press releases) with a new mindset.
David Meerman Scott’s chapter one title of “The New Rules of Marketing and PR” sums it up best: The old rules of marketing and PR are ineffective in an online world.
Why are online content producers different than more traditional content producers? Well, like traditional content producers, some still have editors, reporters, editorial guidelines, timeframes, readerships to cater to and, more importantly, competition. But unlike traditional content producers, a lot of online content producers offer a way for readers to comment on content. Meaning it’s no longer a one-way avenue to content sharing or message pushing. readers have the ability to “talk back” and share their opinions, thoughts, suggestions, disagreements, etc. In doing so, often a community forms around the content producer and when new content is available conversation happens on the content producer’s site, but also extends beyond it to places like Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, blogs, forums, etc.
So what does this mean for the marketer or PR pro and what steps can they take to help their content be included?
Stop Pitching!
The first place to begin is a change of mindset and vocabulary. Pitching is for baseball and softball, not content. To be successful at content placement the marketing or PR pro needs to have a firm understanding of the content producer’s world.
- How many writers participate? Do you need to know them all?
- What’s the style of writing?
- What topics do they cover (breaking news, tips, opinions, educational, etc.)?
- Where do they participate outside of their own site?
- How do they drive traffic to their own site?
- What conversations do they have?
- What do their readers think?
Until a marketer or PR pro understands those key things (and probably much more depending on the content producer) they won’t be able to produce content that’s a natural fit.
Natural Fit
Producing content that’s a natural fit is often a struggle for marketing and PR pros…that’s why they pitch. But the fact is square pegs don’t fit in round holes no matter how good the pitch may be. It’s the job of the marketing or PR pro to make sure their content seamlessly fits.
- Read the content producers content every day
- Read the comments to get a sense of what the community’s reaction
- Look for search engine optimized (SEO) keywords built into the content
- Check social networking sites to see how popular the content is (number of retweets or shares) and what the reactions are (comments)
- Participate in the community and get a sense of its vibe
Community
I’ve tried to write this post without using the words “social media,” but it’s the ability to be social with content producers and their readers via social tools that has changed the game for marketing and PR pros. There are unspoken rules in each and every community and no two are the same. It’s the marketing or PR pro’s job to understand what those unspoken rules are. And the only way to truly find out what they are is to “listen” (i.e. read for clues, monitor, etc.) or actively participate. Some key items to becoming a part of the community you are trying to reach include:
- Be human first and a marketer/PR pro second (i.e. it’s not about branding or message pushing)
- Educate your client, employer or co-workers to join the conversation (especially if the content includes them)
- Share your thoughts, interests, opinions, agreements/disagreements
- Don’t self-promote that the content producer picked up your content, let the community help you out with that
- Be polite and have manners (sounds obvious, but there is often a lack of both)
Getting Seconds
With traditional marketing and PR getting seconds was always easy once that relationship was established. That’s not the case with a lot of online content producers–especially content producers that have a strong relationship with their communities. They will watch to see how you handle the fact that your content has been placed and this is where manners come into play.
- Was there a thank you?
- Was there participation with the community that responded?
- Was there self-promotion on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, etc. without mentioning the content producer?
- Was there interaction from the client or organization mentioned?
If any of the above questions can be answered with a “no,” chances are there won’t be a second chance.
Is pitching and getting that one hit worth it? Doesn’t it make more sense to put forth more effort, become a part of the content producer’s world and potentially continue down the path of success for placement, reach, and brand awareness that goes beyond just a name but to an association of actually knowing the folks behind the brand?
What other tips would you offer to marketing and PR pros who are trying to reach out to content producers?
Tags: Content Marketing, Marketing, PR, Public Relations, Social Media
Superb summary and very relevant. Well done.
I especially appreciate the comment about “manners.” A lot of people seem to lose civility over the web, in fact there often seems to be an aura of entitlement. I’m amazed at how even common courtesy is frequently ignored. Thanks for crystallizing this point, Beth.
Thanks Mark. I hope organizations that are working at placing their content with content producers find it as useful.
Great post as always Beth. So much of this comes down to being a person first and a ‘PR’ second. I think the stumbling block with may agencies is that the old scatter gun approach took less time that this more focused, strategic one. My feeling is that this extra time is a great investment if you manage to create a positive relationship with the content producer. Surely that’s the end goal, right?
And may I apologise for my dreadful spelling. It was a little late when I read this
Well said. And many thanks for mentioning my stuff.
As a journalist / blogger / author myself, I’ve written about hundreds of companies. 99% of what I write about comes via search or via things others send me. Almost nothing I write about is via pitching. My journalist friends say the same.
David
Especially appreciate your thoughts about community. Online content isn’t preaching from the mountaintop, it’s rubbing elbows with the community and sharing what you know.
In the white paper “Is Anybody Following Your Thought Leadership?” we expound on similar ideas: Be human; Educate; Share.
That’s a significant change in approach for many traditional marketing pros.
Beth, terrific advice for PR professionals. Really then, this is an exercise in change management for the PR function because pushback is; “that approach would take too much time,” or “this is the way we’ve always done it”. It almost comes down to “spray and pray” vs a targeted “get to know your audience” approach…
Really well thought out article. This is hard, detailed stuff to sort through as several of the other comments mentioned. A question I have for Beth is, what are strategies you employ for clients to break though the content “noise” and get them noticed. Thanks
Beth
Great stuff as usual. One place I might have a different POV is re: “Don’t self-promote that the content producer picked up your content, let the community help you out with that”
I actually think it is not only ok to self promote but encourage folks to do so for one reason. If I or my client thinks enough of a blogger or other content producer to reach out to them and try and insert our brand into their content, then wouldn’t my client’s brands’ followers likely also find that content producer’s stuff valuable? So by promoting that a blogger wrote about my client’s hotel, I’m intro’ing the followers of that hotel (travelers) to lets say a travel blogger they may not be currently following but maybe should be.
Seems that would be just good manners vs being “that guy” no?
@TomMartin
Gemma, putting down the ‘gun’ is going to be the first challenge for a lot of internal PR/marketing folks and agencies because, as you know, a more focused approach that reaches less people a) takes a lot more time and effort and b) doesn’t proliferate as quickly. With the mindset of pickups, clips and equating all of it to AVE’s the fear, I would think, is that PR will appear to not have “mass value” and therefore it doesn’t work. Which, we know not to be the case.
She was definitely a follower of your manta: Be human. Educate. Share.
David, you’re welcoms, I am a fan of your books. I’ve heard that same sentiment from a lot of other bloggers and writers…not to mention analysts and customers (!!). They seek out information from sources other than the company/agency and make their own determination of its value long before contacting the company or listening to a pitch (PR or sales).
Paul Mc., I worked with an amazing though leader a few years ago and she would produce white papers that would make analysts blush for not being on the same industry wave length. It was a great way to help analysts get industry information, which in turn they would share with their clients with …. wait for it …. a recommendation to our services.
Paul B., exactly. The other issue is that “spray and pray” has a good SEO return, right? Well, we have all these links on Google now… Hooray! Okay. Well, how does that help? What happens when they click on the link? Does it go to an article pick up (which is easily dismissed) or does it go to great content where lots of folks are discussing the content and hopefully the organization, etc.
Chris, the only way to break through the noise is to get beyond it. The only way to do that is to stop having an inside-out approach. Organizations really need to understand what is going on in their industry and accept that while they are part of the industry, they are a small part. Marketing gobbledygook terms like “industry leader” are hollow. The leaders aren’t the vendors, but the people doing the actual work…the customers. This is opinion is based on my high-tech B2B marketing background, but I would think it’s the same for the B2C world. Just look at scrapbookers…they are helping vendors to create new products everyday because they use products in ways they weren’t meant to be used (out of necessity) therefore helping to create new products (and new revenue!). But if the organization isn’t an outside-in thinker…it’s a challenge. It’s the same with content…there needs to be an outside-in strategy.
Tom, good point and POV. I think it’s a fine line and knowing the community helps to determine where that line is and when it’s okay to cross it (as in your great example). Where I was coming from is PR/marketing folks that don’t make the effort to be a part of the community and they then use the brand of the content producer to self-promote. For example, say someone pitches MarketingProfs over and over (without being a part of our community) and we finally run their piece. If they then go out and say on Twitter (or wherever) “Look at us! We’re in MarketingProfs!!” It’s them using our brand to promote themselves. Versus if they comment here on the Daily Fix or in our resource area, know us on Twitter, get to know our members and what they want to read and then we pick them up and they then say “10 Steps to XYZ…Thanks MP for sharing our content!” while MP and the community are doing the same. See the difference?
The challenge is getting PR/marketing folks to see the subtleties. And, as you know, there are no hard and fast ‘rules.’ But I still think, and have seen, that if PR/marketing folks make the effort, there are greater benefits…and like I said seconds (and thirds) for continued content placement.
Beth
Yes, a very different scenario than the one I painted. I think the shame on your scenario is that the company/pr person pimping that MarketingProfs had published their stuff (but yet they still are not a member) obviously understands the value of the brand but won’t actually help pay to support the existence of the brand. Which is kind of cheesy I guess
As always, you make me think more, which is why I love ya. Keep it up.
@TomMartin
Excellent post, Beth. I especially agree with your thoughts about manners. It’s so important to keep in mind what we all learned in kindergarten: be kind, say thank you, etc.
Love it. Now can you fit this post into the header of my blog? Or maybe on a bumper sticker?
Might just add a page to my blog titled “Stop Pitching”