When my colleague Greg Ehm and I began formulating this two-part series on bridging the gap and improving communication among public relations professionals and print and online editors, I knew I didn’t have a lot of experience in the PR world yet (I’ve been at Two Rivers Marketing for three months). But, I was a trade magazine editor for four years and a newspaper editor for three years, and I worked with many PR representatives for hundreds of companies. In that time, I had good, bad, and ugly experiences working with agencies to get information on new products, interviews with manufacturer spokespeople, supplemental photography for articles, and much more.
I know a bit about which PR agency approaches work well and which ones might not, so I’m taking the former editor position here. If you regularly e-mailed or called me with pertinent information about your client’s news, products and events, you were typically on my radar when I needed a photo or an expert article source. If you worked efficiently and enthusiastically on your client’s behalf, I could tell that — even over the phone. A positive attitude and familiarity with my magazine’s editorial calendar went a long way in my book. I know I wasn’t alone because I’ve heard similar sentiments from many trade magazine editors in various industries. If you are this type of agency professional, keep up the great work!
In today’s fast-paced, technology-driven world, staying connected is easy — maybe a little too easy. The days of picking up the phone and calling a colleague have been replaced by e-mail. Special thanks to smart phones for making this task even faster and sometimes less efficient. Here’s the problem with e-mail: It’s easy to make a mistake, over- or under-analyze tone, and often creates more work to forward, cc, bcc, etc. Take care when you do choose e-mail instead of a phone call (I realize this is often a necessary choice). Check your spelling, punctuation, and tone. Remember: If it’s an extremely important, timely or touchy subject, pick up the phone. You’ll be glad you did.
You know what else helps? Taking a personal interest in the editors you work with. I learned this by watching the sales reps I traveled with as part of the magazine team. Watch and/or listen to someone’s attitude or body language when you ask about their family, pet, favorite pastime, sports team, etc. It’s a little extra work, and it may be something you have to consciously think about at first, but soon enough it will be second nature. Make personal notes in your e-mail contact entries about each person. From taking this approach with my agency contacts, I created stronger relationships and made many friends outside of a professional setting. Take the time to truly “know” your media contacts, and the work relationship will transition to a friendship and a mutual respect for one another and the respective jobs you do.
Communication fostering has to go both ways, though. Editors should make time to respond to e-mails in a timely manner, return phone calls, and do what they can to get the best information for their readers. They should want a relationship with agency partners because it keeps their publications top-of-mind for exclusive previews, releases, and articles that ultimately benefit the magazine’s readers and your client’s customers. The best editors find a way to balance these segments of their job, and they do it well.
Luckily, I recently became part of the public relations team at Two Rivers Marketing: a company I was very familiar with that employed people I considered friends. I knew they worked hard for their clients because I had been on the receiving end of their press releases, media alerts and friendly e-mails and phone calls. When we saw each other at trade shows, it was like we had known each other for years (even if we hadn’t) and no time had passed since our last in-person meeting. Those are things I remembered when I got back to my office and made follow-up contact for future articles and coverage.
Remember: Editors are busy people, too. Now, more than ever, they have job responsibilities outside of the office requiring them to travel, write, shoot photos and video, attend trade shows, and meet with readers and customers — sometimes all in a week’s time. If you send a press release via e-mail and don’t receive an immediate response, relax. Give it a few days or a week before you make a follow-up call. There’s nothing worse than being on deadline, getting an important e-mail, flagging it for follow-up, and then immediately receiving a phone call about said e-mail.
The bottom line is: You never want to be the public relations rep whose calls always get rolled to voicemail. That counteracts the relationship-building opportunities I mentioned earlier, and you want those relationships.
Tags: public relations, strategy, trade media
