Comments on: Relationships Are the New Currency

By: David Reich

David Reich — Fri, 25 May 2007 05:12:29 +0000

Toby, excellent post and some very good tips for p.r. people to follow when pitching bloggers. As I’ve said before when this topic has come up, these are basically the same concepts a p.r. person should keep in mind when pitching someone in mainstream media.
I wear two hats here — a blogger (albeit a total newbie compared to you), and a p.r. person. I’m lucky in that I learned from pros who understood media and how reporters work, so I always try to put myself into the shoes and mind of the person I’m pitching in terms of how to approach them, what to pitch them (and what not to pitch), etc.
Unfortunately, there are too many people in p.r. who are, to my mind, unprofessional in how they pitch. They go about it in an amateurish manner when they pitch mainstream reporters, so of course they’re just as unprofessional when they go after bloggers. Those are the people who, rightfully, tick you off.
There are, however, some of us in p.r. who handle media relations tactfully and tastefully, and hopefully we’ll be just as tactful as we now start pitching bloggers.
We’re not all of us hacks.

By: CK

CK — Thu, 24 May 2007 21:19:54 +0000

“Hi, Toby. Just wondering… Why do you think there’s still resistance and reluctance for PR professionals (both internal and external) to embrace Web 2.0?”
Elaine: Because it’s threatening and because it’s “scary”. Not all are threatened and I am in no way saying that…but many (the majority?) are not seeing the cred of enough bloggers and many are SPAMming the heck out of this one.

By: Toby

Toby — Thu, 24 May 2007 21:09:49 +0000

CK – Your rules are a must read for anyone thinking of contacting bloggers for promotion.
Elaine – From what I’m seeing it’s not that PR professionals are reluctant to use social media, it’s that many don’t understand how to work with bloggers. The biggest under valuation is not realizing the impact of the culture.
Think about excellent PR professions. They spend significant time and resources understanding a publication’s focus, the reporter’s beat and interestes. Relationships are built perhaps over a lunch or two. My thoughts are that many PR people think of bloggers as a quick, easy, free ride to buzz marketing and internet awareness. And it shows in how they “pitch”/treat bloggers. The Rodney Dangerfield line, “I get no respect” might be appropriate. If PR (and others) did respect bloggers I would think their entire process would be vastly different. Sometimes it seems that “blogger relations” is a throw away tactic but one that is cool to tell the client is included in the mix.

By: Elaine Fogel

Elaine Fogel — Thu, 24 May 2007 19:41:04 +0000

Hi, Toby. Just wondering… Why do you think there’s still resistance and reluctance for PR professionals (both internal and external) to embrace Web 2.0?

By: CK

CK — Thu, 24 May 2007 18:15:16 +0000

Great piece, Toby. I’ve published a list of rules on my side. When I get a pitch…I just copy and paste the URL into the reply email and end on “you’re welcome” as I did them a huge favor in educating them in how to approach bloggers. It’s been working like a charm .
That list of rules is here (and have a lot of commonalities with your list!):
http://www.ck-blog.com/cks_blog/2007/04/pitch_policy_le.html

By: Toby

Toby — Thu, 24 May 2007 16:48:59 +0000

Lewis – Great tip. Now if that information is relevant to the focus of your blog it just might find its way into a post.
John – You are so right. I was actually thinking that I should write a post titled “I was so wrong relationships have always been the most important currency.” Thanks keeping me honest!

By: john harper

john harper — Thu, 24 May 2007 14:59:48 +0000

What is Relevant? Here is the answer to that question - http://open-secrets.com/2007/05/23/what-is-relevant/ Relationships are not the NEW currency they continue to be THE currency. Your thoughts remind me of the video - The Breakup - which we posted on our blog yesterday. http://www.theharperteam.com/blog/our-team/san-ramon-valley-real-estate-blog-2/ You gotta love people who haven't learned to listen.

By: Lewis Green

Lewis Green — Thu, 24 May 2007 14:03:43 +0000

Nice post Toby. Like you, I receive more than a few press releases. The ones that I read do not begin with “For Immediate Release.” Instead, the sender writes a note that starts with “Lewis, I read your blog and thought this information might interest you.”
Now dear public relations person you have got me to at least read the first paragraph.