Perspectives
This year, Poston Communications celebrates its 20th anniversary as a public relations and communications agency, and with the support of our clients, trusted media partners and amazing team members, we have learned a few things along the way. To celebrate this milestone, we have put together a list of the 20 PR best practices we’ve developed over the last 20 years:
- When drafting pitches, know your audience. Ask yourself, “Who are the key audiences you want to share your message with? What do they need to know/hear?”
- The most successful outreach comes from identifying your client’s business development goals and aligning the PR strategy to meet those goals. What do your clients’ clients need to know? Talk about that.
- Your pitch should always answer the question: “Why should a journalist care?” When pitching a journalist, make sure the news you are pitching is actually news. Understand what journalists want to cover and be mindful of their time.
- When clients bring you a question or idea, always respond to them and make a recommendation that is in line with their goals.
- Double-check information in press releases and bylined articles, including spelling (especially of names) and links. Implement a multiple-person proofing process to set yourself up for success. At Poston Communications, we have a three-person proofing process to ensure quality and accurate content.
- When it comes to client service, go the extra mile whenever you can. Start by anticipating client needs and addressing them before being asked to do so.
- Keep up with evolving technology and use it appropriately. From artificial intelligence (AI) to other productivity tools, developing a culture of continuous improvement helps you and enhances your ability to provide top-tier client service.
- Understand your client’s brand and communicate it consistently. What do clients need you to do for them to be successful? Proactively identify opportunities for the client and understand your clients’ strategic goals to ensure they are a fit.
- After you finish writing a draft of something, if time allows, set the content aside to revisit later with fresh eyes. During the review process, it is also helpful to read the content out loud to catch mistakes your eyes may miss.
- Manage expectations from the start of every project so all parties are on the same page.
- Develop professional relationships with reporters and editors outside of your pitch communication. For example, connect on LinkedIn or follow them on other social media platforms. This will go a long way towards building those connections and ensuring that you and your clients are providing value to your media contacts.
- Try to repurpose content at least three times. For example, you can repurpose a blog into an interview opportunity, a client alert and a social media post.
- By providing media training to your clients before opportunities arise, you can better ensure clients are available and comfortable for interviews – especially for quick turnarounds like client wins, breaking news, etc. Proactively anticipate what could happen during media relations opportunities by discussing potential outcomes with the client in advance.
- Remember: Headlines and subject lines should grab readers’ attention. Consider what topics would make you want to pick up a publication or click on a link and write content that is accordingly engaging and eye-catching.
- Mark your calendar so you can stay on top of media monitoring. This can include checking media outlets for expected coverage, setting alerts for potential stories or tracking conversations on social media.
- When putting together a media list, double-check the publication and reporter/editor’s coverage to ensure you’re not pitching irrelevant information. Use a media database like Cision or Prowly to look for real-time coverage and appropriate contacts.
- Mistakes will happen. Own them and learn from them.
- Implement a “we over me” mentality to show clients they have a team working on their account.
- Know your team and their bandwidth. Identify your team’s individual skillsets and talents and leverage those.
- Remember: Nobody’s perfect, but always try your best.
