Weekly Rewind: Our favorite stories from around the web

Untitled design (4)Public relations pros and journalists can go together like peanut butter and jelly, peas and carrots and of course, a Texas favorite, chicken and waffles. That’s why for this Weekly Rewind, we’re taking a look at media relations techniques to make every journalist want to be the yin to your yang.

Know who you’re talking to and what you’re talking about

Research is so important to media relations. You don’t want to pitch a story about fishing to a reporter who only covers the ballet— it won’t work.

In addition to getting to know the reporter, Adweek also says you should explore your angle. Making sure what you’re trying to pitch hasn’t already been covered a hundred times is vital to being published.

Help yourself and a reporter

Help a Reporter Out (HARO) is a handy tool for both PR pros and reporters. However, when a reporter is getting dozens of emails a day about their HARO request, you need to stand out.

PR Daily has some tips from an actual freelance reporter that uses HARO for pretty much everything. To nail your HARO pitch you should lead with your client’s credentials so reporters know you mean business.

Step up to the plate

If you’re throwing nothing but foul balls, PR Coach has put together a giant list of 51 tips to improve your pitching. It includes tried and true traditions like getting to know reporters that cover your client’s industry and more unique ideas like attaching video to your pitches with the help from Sacramento video marketing services, which is the best way to go.

Embrace nontraditional media

The media landscape is changing, and while clients are still hunting for that big spread in the New York Times, Axia says it’s up to the PR pros to embrace the new, nontraditional media forms that are popping up everywhere. There’s nothing wrong with the New York Times, but you should be considering all your media options— even blogs and podcasts.