I have been reading a lot of tweets and blog posts recently about PR Pitches and how to deal with the good, bad and the ugly. I have had many, many years of experience dealing with PR pitches, not necessarily with products but with story and expert pitches.
I find it interesting how some decide to deal with the bad and the ugly. There are many who lash out online, tweeting up a firestorm about how offended they are about a certain PR pitch. To be honest I think that is as unprofessional as the bad PR pitch. Neither is productive, effective or professional. PR types need to know who they are pitching, why they are pitching to them and what both sides should get out of the relationship. Blogger types need to remember it is business and they should act that way; be professional, be clear and direct about who you are, what you do and what kind of professional relationship you expect. Lashing out in any way benefits no one, especially not you!
I think it is important to remember you never know when a great story or product will come along. Sometimes those opportunities come to you hidden, a gem buried under a pile of crap. The pro looks past the imperfections to see the jewel hidden underneath.
One rule I ALWAYS use in my career is never burn bridges, and that applies to PR peeps as well as work peeps. You never know what will come in the future and when someone will have a great gig for you, or a great product or service, or when that person moves on to a great PR agency, or company.
Be professional and that will come back to you two fold!
Interesting you should mention this. I never trash publicly, although I do commend. I did however receive a pitch last week that was so not suited to me it was a little offensive, but mostly funny. I joked about it on my personal Facebook page where I thought I was in safe company. Apparently not, because the next day I got a letter from the company apologizing if they'd caused me offense. So, I learned my personal Facebook page needs to get a little tighter because I think we should all have a place we can talk with friends and that even though I was joking around about it it was taken seriously. Lesson learned.
ReplyDeletethanks Candace. I agree. That is why I chat in person with my coworkers/colleagues about funny, strange or awkward pitches. It is harder when we live in an online world. I just think that we have to remember we are all human, all guilty of mistakes and with that in mind it is better to say professional. I may be naive but I don't companies mean to offend often times it is all about lack of awareness or knowledge.
DeleteThanks for the comment!
Well-said Christy. Love this.
ReplyDeleteThanks Natalie. It is something we all need to talk more about. It only helps us all to talk about how we can all do a better job.
DeleteChristy, your post is refreshing and a good reminder about the importance of building relationships between media/bloggers and PR folks. I just wish others would see things the same way you do.
ReplyDeleteThanks Jodi. I agree, I wish more people would keep that in mind. It is important to build relationships and to work together.
DeleteI don't agree with lashing out or berating any company publicly. But I do think the conversation needs to continue and often the only way is by writing about it, but without naming names.
ReplyDeleteThanks for commenting... I agree the conversation needs to continue but find the platform many choose to express their feelings difficult sometimes. I think there are often better ways to do it. Both sides of the relationship need to be clearer about what they need and what they expect without point a finger at the other side. I think direct communication when there is a problem or issue a better way to change things...it is more direct, often clearer and more effective and efficient.
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