HARO has helped thousands upon thousands of reporters push their need for content via social network. It even helped me receive some ink for Axiom, per Julio Ojeda-Zapata’s last-minute “Twitter bad for business” request. Still, in the midst of agencies’ desperation for hits to keep client retention high, PR people get a little desperate – resulting in more flacks than friends online.While Shankman does a really good job of disclaiming proper HARO etiquette here, discussions about PR spam on social networks continue. We’re now seeing posts about proper Twittiquette, a story angle most likely perpetuated by mishaps like these. Despite the attempts to curtail the flacks, peeps like Lois Whitman-Hess are among the many that have or are in the midst of infiltrating social networks. Reporters, journalists, and sound PR peeps-- time to put on your hard hats and dig hard.
If I were a reporter, I don’t think I would appreciate the many social media enthusiasts’ attention to detail in documenting myself and the many other media now part of Twitter. If you think pitching is bad on e-mail, wait for it—just wait for it on Twitter. Sure, you can choose to respond, but the quick update feed might send your head spinning.
A marketer like me, Jim Connolly is a perfect example of how pitches on a Twitter feed can be so daunting—enough to send you packing for FriendFeed. Suddenly e-mail seems tolerable again.
Don’t undermine flacks. They understand that the key to a reporter’s heart, in addition to successfully helping them out with a story deadline, is knowing their kids’ names and favorite pastimes, commenting on their latest family adventure with Garmin, or explaining to them what #followfriday is on Twitter. Following the “thanks” or the @ reply, the leftfield pitches and follow-ups soon commence, as proper correspondence does not lie within flacks’ vocabulary. Plus, being human is even more insanely hard. Flacks are anything but human, so it’s a wonder why transparency is so time-consuming. I repeat; it’s not in their make-up, but well within Facebooker and blogger confines.
So...the next time a blogger reprimands you for not properly using Twitter, or Peter Shankman sends out a mass HARO alert with another etiquette disclaimer at the tip top of his e-mail, take it very personal. The last thing you want attached to your e-mail pitch is “flack” and BULLSH…
Don’t undermine flacks. They understand that the key to a reporter’s heart, in addition to successfully helping them out with a story deadline, is knowing their kids’ names and favorite pastimes, commenting on their latest family adventure with Garmin, or explaining to them what #followfriday is on Twitter. Following the “thanks” or the @ reply, the leftfield pitches and follow-ups soon commence, as proper correspondence does not lie within flacks’ vocabulary. Plus, being human is even more insanely hard. Flacks are anything but human, so it’s a wonder why transparency is so time-consuming. I repeat; it’s not in their make-up, but well within Facebooker and blogger confines.
So...the next time a blogger reprimands you for not properly using Twitter, or Peter Shankman sends out a mass HARO alert with another etiquette disclaimer at the tip top of his e-mail, take it very personal. The last thing you want attached to your e-mail pitch is “flack” and BULLSH…
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So what do you think? How can PR professionals befriend reporters on HARO and other social networks? How have you been successful in your approach?
So what do you think? How can PR professionals befriend reporters on HARO and other social networks? How have you been successful in your approach?