A recap from #journchat (third session)

#journchat rules

1) introduce yourself ;
2) stay on topic, a new question will b asked every 30 min. or so;
3) play nice!;
4) NEW FEATURE! Last 5 minutes will open up for pitches (one per person.)

Want to know who participated in last night’s #journchat? Check out comments here and follow these peeps: http://tinyurl.com/6kkk6n

PITCHING TIPS

1. miketempleton: @jezebelcapture If you’re really good you can pitch your release in 140 characters http://is.gd/bbXz

2. nduhoski A good phone pitch should be about 15 seconds in length, (about 140 characters) right? Everything has not changed.

3. allanschoenberg: Best pitch is timely, personal, unique. Bad pitch is spam with no understanding of the reporter

4. mediaphyter Best pitch, can’t pick one, but lately 90% of the pitches I’ve turned into stories have originated from Twitter

5. brianjameskirk: The best pitch is face-to-face. Show you’re excited. If you freelance, call the editor and tell ‘em you’re in the neighborhood.

6. SternalPR Always a wonderful way to work with fave journos: pitch something that doesn’t relate to me at all!!

7. PieterBickford: best pitch last week: an author who does “online” book signings. reserve a time - he’ll sign book via webcam and ship to you.

8. urbanreporter: I never like it when a PR type tells what’s relevant. Just give me a quick summary and send release.

9. justwemoms Best pitch: I have read your blog and I think you’d be interested in ____ because _____. And it’s relevant

10. wiredprworks: best pitch - asked a reporter “what does it take to get a story like [mentioned feature I liked] what are you looking for?”

11. michsineath: A bad pitch starts with a wrong name

12. ariherzog A bad pitch is probably written by the same people who crafted the corporate mission statement.

13. LizzHarmon: bad pitch — anachronyms specific to one industry

14. SternalPR: Try pitching a story that doesn’t benefit you AT ALL. You can hear the reporter actually fall out of his/her chair lol.

15. JudySL: I was pitched by a flight instruction company and offered a free flight lesson in a Cessna jet - I did that one!

16. jamiefloer: seriously PR pros - we have to find a hook to pitch well and @sfcedon I HATE “unique”

17. wiredprworks: bad pitch - not knowing the reporter’s name or their beat, no contact information, no online companion pieces

18. nduhoski: Bad Pitch = Not relevant, not researched, not timely, not personalized.

19. MaiaKG: bad pitch = when you fail to ID the takeaway/ask for readers

20. pitchengine: “This is my Search Engine Optimized Headline and I am Spamming it to you and 800 other journalists the same way”

21. etanowitz: it’s a lazy pitch because I know they just have google alerts for their competitors and just copy and paste an e-mail to me.

22. justwemoms: I hate it when people pitch ideas that aren’t consistent with our focus. One company wanted me to sell their computer products!

23. juliebonnheath: Bad pitch: Not researching enough about the company and market. You look stupid. Seriously.

24. JudySL: bad pitch = self serving, non-informative TRIPE…

25. jamiefloer: I think pitches with a generic opening are doomed

26. etanowitz i hate this pitch “hi, i saw you wrote about our competitor and thought you might want some info to write about us”

27. LizzHarmon: Bad pitch: using sales copy, lots of adjectives, and changing persons throughout release.

28. Harvatin: Bad headline, no point, no benefit to audience

GENERAL GOOD TIPS, COMMENTS, & ADVICE

1. DalydeGagne: New media is double edge sword - easy 4 us to be sucked into other ppl’s agendas, ie be disempowered.

2. beatonl: and if you’re relying on a press release to tell a story you are already full of fail

3. erincubert: everyone is a reporter now we need aggregators and editors to create meaningful contexts and narratives

4. dwplanit: the best PR people counsel for transparency and openness.

5. Harvatin: I know spin exists and there are profs that do it. I just wish people were more transparent for the sake of the field

6. ariherzog: Timely (from @chrisbrogan): journalist @AnitaBruzzese writes about what bloggers can learn from journalists - http://is.gd/bTpC

7. ariherzog: A bad pitch is anything in a stereotypical piece of junk mail. Generic language. Impersonal. Wrong salutation for gender.

8. karahleigh: I hate pitches from friends who think you should write about them just because they think they are special.

9. luckychica: That we are all still navigating the waters of SM.Talking it out helps us all get a better grip on changing landscape.

10. stoncray: I used to focus on reaching the masses thru media. Now I focus on reaching the media thru the masses.

11. gurnage: Twitter is like email was when it was new. it can be addicting and a lifeline outside the office. Now I check every hour or two. #journchat

12. kathywinter I try to find ways to see how content can be re-purposed (not rehashed) for different media platforms.

13. telluridenow: Yes, it hasn’t really had a choice. PR adapts to where the message will be recieved wherever that is

14. telluridenow: vlogging and webcasts because I believe that on demand is the next wave of broacasting and vid content

TWEETS ABOUT JOURNS/REPORTING

1. seamuscondron: Good reporting will ever die. I think we’re adding a whole new excitng layer.

2. cyberprvideo: Another good point. Blogs are editorials by their very nature. Not necessarily “reporting.”

3. SternalPR: Reporters uncover facts and (mostly) report fair and balanced. A lot of bloggers are really basing entries on an opinion.

4. ariherzog: Which is why quote-unquote news reporters who have blogs, and interact with commenters, are more authentic

5. carriekerpen: advertorials = most inauthentic form of advertising. Advertising that pretends not to be advertising = BADvertising.

6. aeropolowoman: Someone asked about what in e-mail gets my attention? No longer the 1st graph, it’s the 1st line. Move fast, gotta be grabbed.

7. #journchat everyone is a reporter now we need aggregators and editors to create meaningful contexts and narratives

8. SternalPR: The news reporter has always been, and will always be the conduit for the story.

9. BethMansfield: Agree PR pros shouldn’t leave out facts but a good reporter can catch that & make gr8 story. PR should=integrity.

WHAT DID YOU LEARN?

1. Harvatin: I learned that most journalists want introductions through email cyberprvideo: I’ve learned that the Pubs here are working to understand & educate clients about SM. Good times!

2. deegospel: I learned to read the entire ? before responding. lol

3. mscathybrowne: I learn every week how many people there are out there who love their professions

4. telluridenow: I learned that being on time for #journchat is detrimental to getting everything out of it

5. fsutoby: That there are many people with many different opinions, and all of them deserve to be heard!

HOW MUCH TIME DO YOU SPEND ON TWITTER?

1. justwemoms: As a blogger, many of my readers follow me on Twitter. I spend at least an hour after DD is in bed. Readers like to connect.

2. frecklesthemom: i actually spend a lot of time on twitter when I am on…but I don’t get on everyday. I usually check in in the evenings only

3. lynnhayespr: I spend roughly a few hours on twitter between myself and my clients. I do it on the go from my palm mostly!

4. LizzHarmon: My time spent on Twitter varies by the day. I’m typically in and out a lot. On most nites and wknds.

5. juliebonnheath: @journchat I spend 3-6 hours a week on Twitter.

6. susanforshner: @journchat I tend to do random, five minute check ins, except for right now…

7. connectingwomen: Depending on the topic and my schedule, sometimes 5 min check-ins, sometimes 1 hour.

8. @MaiaKG Probably an hour for my personal account and a little more for the account we monitor for one of our clients.

9. SternalPR: Spend total of 2 hrs on Twitter each day. Wan that to grow, but it’s tough to balance work, life and Twitter.

TWEETS ABOUT SOCIAL MEDIA

1. fsutoby: Great point, but clients need to be aware Social Media TAKES TIME to grow an audience! It’s rarely an overnight thing.

2. woodylewis: #journchat social media is a form of communication, not a piece of vaporware, so the comparison to dot-com bombs is not valid.

3. gurnage Soc media helps me realize we are all people behind the brands (corp or media) and we have many reasons to connect.

4. dan_nelson: My experience in dailies suggests that those that embrace new tech (SM, blogs, etc.) thrive. If not, they die.

5. urbaneimagery: @journchat B/C of social media, I have to factor in a learning curve for clients. They place lots of value in traditional media.

6. cyberprvideo: B/c I focus on SM, I find that I’ve seriously had to change pitching techniques

7. dan_nelson: SM has made Journalism more volatile and interesting, too.

8. carriekerpen: agree, most PR agencies just add bloggers to their list of people to pitch and then say they do “social media”

9.

PR

1. urbaneimagery: @ariherzog PR = “relating” to “publics.” Public definitive by the audience/stakeholder/consumer. Relating definitive by strategy #journchat

2. pitchengine: @fsutoby #journchat - not true - soon, PR will begin to be less about journalists and more about direct communication to consumers via sm

3. urbaneimagery: ex: An actor said, “All PRs lie. PRs and agents, theyre snakes, cant be trusted.” I was compelled to challenge him. Total myth!

4. vedo #journchat MYTH - PR people hide the truth. TRUTH - Sometimes by law we just can’t tell you everything…