Agency Client Relations Can Learn a Thing or Two from Southwest Airlines
September 7, 2010 | Great PR | 0 Comments
As many of you know, last week I traveled to San Jose for the 2010 Global Technology Conference put on by GlobalFoundries. When I arrived in San Jose and when I arrived back in Albany, I said something both times I never thought I’d say, “Wow, that was a great airline travel experience.”
Courtesy of Southwest Airlines, we’ve all heard their customer service is top notch. While they have a streamlined approach to most things and affordable pricing, PLUS screaming deals every so often, it’s always my first choice for travel despite the fact they are pretty bare bones once you’re on board.
I walked away with a few takeaways on customer service I thought we could all apply in our business/agency lives which I hope will add value to the continued conversation on customer service:
1. If it’s not going to end the world, help the customer. On my flight from ALB to Vegas, I got in early enough to see that next door was a 4:10 flight to San Jose versus me waiting until the 6:10. The counter women kindly changed my ticket and sent me on my way. Despite the fact Southwest has signs everywhere that switching could result in increased fees, and yes I had a full priced ticket, I was greeted with the same kindness the next day in San Jose when I caught the 9:00 AM instead of the 11 AM. At the end of the day, this didn’t kill Southwest’s bottomline and while they can’t do it for everyone, it was clear they could make this happen for me. And they did. I know it might have been against policy and all, but to me it sealed my fate of being a Southwest groupie.
2. Friendly, approachable people mean friendly approachable clients. One of the big takeaways I had from my A&R Partners days was how to speak to a client. As a young PR person, I’d get heated and upset over the tiniest changes. Now that I’m responsible for business, you can’t be like that. Learning the art of being friendly at all times is tough. Southwest nails it. Come to think of it, I’ve never seen a bitchy Southwest person. Ever. Even in Albany, they are polite, informative, and helpful wherever they can be. Ever lose your luggage in ALB on Southwest? THEY feel bad! Lose your baggage on Delta and it’s like pulling teeth just to get an answer.
3. Business model that works. The airline industry is merging, collapsing and going bankrupt. Well that’s not my problem and Southwest doesn’t care either. Southwest is working and it’s working because they’re filling up planes with people and getting them to places. They’re not playing politics in the air and on the runway. They are on time and when they’re in trouble or grounded for a short time, the darn people apologize to you. And they get you help. A guy flying with me was grounded in Vegas because Hurricane Earl closed the airport in Norfolk. When we arrived, a Southwest gate agent met him at the door, had texted his cell phone and already made plans for him in Vegas while he waited. Impressive.
4. First class is for suckers, reward the hungry. I’ll be the first to admit that I’d love to go First Class or have double-platinum-I’ve-never-seen-my-kids status only to be the first on the plane, but in reality I don’t nor do I have to on Southwest. I set my alarm to get my tickets 24 hours in advance and I get an A-boarding card that guarantees me my seat of choice. Southwest turned the tables and makes the ownership on us to make our flight arrangements happier. I think it’s great. Southwest leveled the playing field and made it’s consumers accountable. Now, this might not mean much for agencies, but here’s a note to our clients – we work harder and harder for you as you give us more to work with. The world is your oyster to get in the headlines, we’ll make it happen with the right resources if you provide them. We’ll be the first to over service those clients who clearly want nothing more than to make PR successful and are getting tons and tons of content to us to pitch.
5. And finally, maybe the most simple: we’re all in this together. Whether you’re talking about your internal team or your day-to-day contact at the client, working as a team makes for better PR. Southwest understands this – you can see the dynamics in their flat organizational structure of flight attendants, in the friendly and respectable manner the pilots treat staff and guests. And most importantly, I never feel “served” in a Southwest flight, mostly because the attendants seem to like their jobs and helping out customers. I think secretly Southwest adapts a “we’re all in this together” approach and believes they’re holding up their end of the bargain by making us happy. Who really likes being on a plane? And when your competition has TVs, WiFi and outlets, you know technologically speaking you’re behind. But then there’s the fan like me who could careless. I’m happy with my $350 ticket cross country and walked away with a great experience.
To my last point, PR is difficult. The results don’t happen over night and working together makes this a great industry. Most teams want to get you the headlines you’re looking for, but we know what the reporters want and so we fly in accordance with their needs. If you’re helping us, we’re helping them and they help you. That’s what I learned about Southwest, customer service and applying an agency model to airline travel 
The Case Study: Media Relations – Dialing is the Most Difficult Part
August 23, 2010 | Advice for local companies, Great PR | 3 Comments
It’s difficult to dispute that the advent of social networking has certainly changed the world of Public Relations, in many respects for the better. Yet, while PR agencies trip over each other to position themselves as the global leaders in new media, the importance (and effectiveness) of ‘anachronistic’ tools of the trade like the telephone are often overshadowed.
That’s why I wanted to take a moment to step back and discuss the importance of direct media relations for the second in a series I have cleverly re-titled ‘The Case Study,’ which will run once a month here on 101to87. The first ‘How to Launch an iPhone App,’ was published last month and can be found here.
It is my hope that these case studies outline the essentialness of incorporating direct phone pitching to a comprehensive PR strategy.
The Client: TheInfoPro
The Strategy: Utilize direct media relations to achieve comprehensive media coverage
The Result: Secured briefings with eight leading technology journalists at such prominent publications as Barron’s, IDG News Service, eWeek, TechTarget, CRN, Internet.com and The Register, which resulted in 23 organic and syndicated stories.
TheInfoPro has been a client for our agency, Portfolio PR Group, for the past 12 months. In addition to securing media coverage through direct pitching and social media we also aid in the independent research company’s business development through speaking opportunities and calls to action. However to publicize the release of their somewhat ‘controversial’ study of the server industry we utilized just one – direct media pitching.
While many people, including some PR pro’s try to shy away from ‘cold-calling,’ a reputable PR agency spends very little percentage of their actual time speaking with new contacts. This is because cultivating relationships with journalists takes time, and the foundation must be set long before a pitch is ever constructed.
Nevertheless, media overturn is inevitable and a PR pro must be willing to pick up the phone. While some fear a caustic response, you must remember that any PR practitioner can drastically reduce the number of disgruntled journalists encountered along the way by making sure to pitch only the right ones. This requires research.
Week One
We knew from the outset that TheInfoPro study had potential, for its unique research methodology (surveying end-users) had yielded results which bucked contemporary group-thought surrounding the industry landscape. However, we had to make sure we not only pitched the right reporters but that we also gave them adequate time to write the story. Three weeks prior to the release of the study, we went through each of our contacts to ensure the inclusion of every journalist with a focus on the IT industry, specifically servers. As I mentioned, there is so much overturn in the media nowadays that a reporter covering a specific topic as recently as a month ago could be focusing on an entirely different subject matter – or worse – laboring away at an entirely different publication, today. This is what makes up-to-date media lists essential. For us, this meant assigning a few members of our team to spend the entire week composing a comprehensive list of server journalists at every major publication and several targeted, highly trafficked blogs.
Week Two
Two weeks prior to the release of the study we began our outreach with an initial e-mail. As with any pitch, the initial response or lack thereof allowed us to course correct. After a day, we re-engaged our targets, this time on the phone. For many of our journalists, we knew from previous conversations which times were best to contact them. For those we didn’t, we made sure to call during the early afternoons to catch them right after lunch. This is important because most journalists have editorial meetings and other engagements in the morning. And, we NEVER left messages. As many PR people know, this is next to pointless. Trade reporters are pitched on new PR firms by the hundreds each day, and it’s highly likely they won’t even listen to the message, let alone return your call.
Throughout each day, we secured briefings under NDA for the following week. You always want to give a reporter an ample window to schedule a meeting. It is too easy for a busy journalist to blow off a pitch if it is time sensitive.
By the end of the week, we had scheduled eight briefings, with journalists from the who’s who of tech trades: eWeek, IDG News Service, TechTarget and even mainstream publications such as Barron’s.
The rest of the week was spent compiling background information on the study to make sure each reporter had enough material to devise questions beforehand. If a reporter spends time prepping, you’ve won half the battle.
Week Three
The week prior to the release of the study, we completed the press release and briefed our clients on each reporter, focusing our attention on recent coverage, personal background and anything else that can help the client understand the motives of the reporter and potential angles to push. A successful briefing is one without surprises.
Our agency acted as the host of each briefing – part referee, part supervisor. We wanted to make sure both parties stayed on topic during the call. The last thing you want is a reporter asking questions outside the scope of the client’s expertise or the client inadvertently inviting them to do so.
Following each briefing, we followed up with whatever additional information the reporter requested and once again confirmed the NDA. This is essential. Everyone, even a journalist, is fallible – even forgetful. A breach of the NDA prior to the study’s release could have voided all of our success and hard work: no reporter wants to write on a ‘dead story.’
The Day of the Release
By the day of the launch, a PR pro’s work is nearly done. All that is left now is to track and follow-up. For us, the coverage rolled in quickly, with over 15 organic columns published the ensuing week after the release went over the wire. Some places that weren’t briefed, such as ars technica, quoted the study within more broad topical coverage. Other pieces, like Agam Shah’s of IDG News Service, were syndicated at NetworkWorld, PCWorld, ComputerWorld and other prominent publications.
The coverage didn’t slow down for quite sometime. Some reporters, like eWeek’s Jeff Burt mentioned the study in no less than three columns over the next few weeks. Other publications picked up on the story and either requested information or cited statistics taken directly from our press release.
It was, dare I say, a successful launch of the study and one which should serve as an example of the type of coverage possible with a little elbow grease.
If this case study proves anything, it is that media relations shouldn’t be an afterthought. Yes, social media has opened up new avenues for disseminating information and for many Facebook and Twitter are important tools in the toolkit. Yet, we shouldn’t forget that sometimes, simply having the determination to pick up the phone is all you have to do to secure your client the coverage they need and your firm the all-important PR win.
Mike Lesczinski is a Public Relations Manager at Portfolio PR Group in Saratoga Springs, NY which specializes in securing national media coverage for technology clients throughout New York’s ‘Tech Valley.’
How to Launch an iPhone App
July 6, 2010 | Advice for local companies, Great PR | 0 Comments
The App: ScanBizCards
The Challenge: To increase user downloads and sales of the premium version ($5.99) of the app while overcoming an oversaturated iPhone application market and direct competition from two well-known competitors.
The Strategy: Raise brand awareness and strengthen the client’s reputation through a comprehensive PR campaign composed of targeted media coverage, social media, calls to action, and promotional giveaways.
The Result: Within 21 days, ScanBizCards had jumped just over 40 spots, standing as the 15th most downloaded business app on iTunes (today, it stands at #3). The app has also generated rave reviews from well-known iPhone app reviewers at Tech Crunch and AppCraver, and was named as “one of the best tools for digitalizing your life” by Lifehacker.
Launching an iPhone app may sound like an easy proposition, especially for an agency that specializes in pitching the smartest industry technologists in the world on cloud middleware products, organizational dynamics storage breakthroughs, and geospational information systems. But pitching a mainstream consumer product, especially one in an oversaturated of a market as iPhone Apps is, requires a different approach – one based on numbers, targeted research, and outside-the-box strategery.
Week One – Set the foundation, test your pitch
As with any PR launch, the first few days are the most important: this is your opportunity to set the foundation for the rest of your campaign. For us, this was our chance to build a targeted list of the top app reviewers and influential tech and iPhone bloggers. To develop a facebook fan page, revamp the ScanBizCards twitter profile and to follow app reviewers, potential customers and iPhone fans with a considerable twitter audience. Google Alerts for targeted phrases were created to track potential leads.
We wrote specific pitches for each type of outlet, whether that be high trafficked tech blogs such as Tech Crunch or Gizmodo, mainstream news outlets like USA Today, AppCraver and other niche review sites, or even personal blogs.
Two days later, our pitch-krieg (get it?) commenced. Immediate responses – or the lack thereof – helped us to gauge the effectiveness of our approach, and provided the necessary feedback to re-tailor our pitches – and reengage our targets. Two days later, we had scheduled three reviews with smaller niche app sites. A day after that, our first major reviewer bit on our pitch: TechCrunch.
Week Two – Ramp up the pitch, engage the social media community
“I’m intrigued” responded TechCrunch blogger Scott Merrill, one of the best phrases a PR practitioner ever hears. We set up a demo for the next morning and by that afternoon the review appeared – syndications, downloads and site visits soared over the ensuing days. Over the course of the week, four additional blog reviewers joined the party, hosting ScanBizCards giveaway contests for their readers.
Week two also marked the ratcheting up of our social media campaign: publishing the best reviews, giving away promo codes to fans, and engaging the facebook community without selling them on the product – showing our “fans” that their was a living, breathing human being behind the brand.
On Twitter, we attempted to establish ScanBizCards founder Patrick Questembert as a leading thought-leader in the iPhone industry – not by hard-selling, but by becoming a resource for the twitter community by sharing information on all things iPhone, apps, and networking.
Week Three - Expand the outreach, but keep the pressure on
During week three, we launched the second phase of our outreach – securing promotional partnerships to raise brand awareness and increase the number of consumers taking ScanBizCards for a spin. One member of our team identified 14 fatherhood, parenting, and marriage-focused bloggers for a Father’s Day promotion. A second team member focused on compiling a list of networking conferences in the region, with the intention of convincing each to offer a free premium version of the ScanBizCards app to their attendees on the day of the event. Another member began scouring the net and HARO for gift bag opportunities.
Our first week of promo pitching yielded Father’s Day giveaways with two significant websites and two conference partnerships, one with the possibility of a long-term relationship depending on attendee feedback. I would call that a success.
However, don’t think that we stopping pitching for new reviews. On the contrary, we expanded our targets but with a new angle: the release of a new feature, ‘cloudsync.’ This was actually a really cool feature that allows users to upload their contacts to the web. Coupled with the hype surrounding this type of “cloud” technology, we had created a hard news story angle – the job of every PR practitioner.
Finally, we kept up to date on trending news and looked for “calls to action” – the chance to pitch Patrick, as an industry expert, to media outlets. The release of the iPhone offered just such an opportunity, and we sprang into action (sprang is probably the wrong word for this particular situations since the release of the iPhone wasn’t a surprise announcement, but it does convey the type of action normally required). The outreach garnered interview opportunities with two review sites and secured a review commitment from another popular blog: Crazy Mike’s Apps ; though, as of this writing, we’re still waiting for the review to be published.
Measure your results, adapt, repeat
To recap, within the first 21 days of the PR campaign we secured seven reviews, four of which were published; eight syndicated stories; two Father’s Day giveaway partnerships and two conference promotions. ScanBizCards Twitter following increased by 60 percent. The initial feedback provided insight into effective pitching strategies, the types of gift bags that yielded positive results (and which, were a waste of money), and established the media relationships we need for continued long-term success.
Over the next three weeks we landed another positive review with AppCraver and numerous gift bag opportunities, from a Mommy Bloggers summit in NYC to a fashion week in Hot-lanta. None of that would have been possible however without setting a foundation for success from the outset. If you are planning on using a launch campaign for transitioning into a long-term PR-client relationship, then I suggest you follow suit.
Mike Lesczinski is a Senior Account Executive & Social Media Manager at a public relations firm located in Saratoga Springs, NY specializing in securing national media coverage for technology clients throughout New York’s ‘Tech Valley.’
Biz Review: Local PR Execs on GlobalFoundries
May 28, 2010 | Advice for local companies, Great PR | 0 Comments
Courtesy of The Business Review
An article today in the The Albany Business Review explores how the public relations community locally will be affected by the impact of GlobalFoundries. Sounds like all of the PR practitioners in the area agree on one thing – technology is the key growth factor for the Capital Region. But do our technology brands understand how to get there?
Couple of quick hints on jump starting your national awareness:
1. Pick an agency that can demonstrate recent, national clips. If you are a local provider only, consider your own executive visibility as a reason to further invest in national press.
2. Work on giving your agency a peek under the kimono. The more we know about your business, the more creative story ideas we can come up with. Sometimes even how you hire people can make you a national spokesperson.
3. Integrate social media where necessary – and hire an agency with social media clout. Research the team, each individual, request clips they’ve achieved and ask the tough questions in the board room. Never hire a team without meeting everyone who will be working to communicate the message – particularly important when social media is so real-time.
4. You should be meeting with 3-5 new reporters a month for an average PR retainer. If you aren’t, ask why. And listen. Most of the agency leaders locally would probably agree that story coverage is a two-way street. We need the info to sell your brand.
5. Stick to your gut. If you’ve requested new messaging and it’s not feeling right, or feeling comprehensive, resides on a graphic that makes no sense and it isn’t something you can easily send to a sales prospect at the drop of a hat – well, then this isn’t messaging.
When choosing a PR agency, be careful about the traps. Ask for the following, and you shall receive great representation: [and there are plenty of local team to choose from]
1. Current clients who are references. Ask for clients longer than +1 and speak to a variety of people internally in the company. Do your homework, it can be really worth your time.
2. Case studies that demonstrate the type of coverage you’re expecting. Make sure they are relevant, current and are not press release syndications.
3. Give deadlines. One thing I stress to executives is to try and make it worth with their PR agency. Be direct with what you want, put it in writing and set a deadline. If there are clear expectations that are obtainable, then you should feel comfortable at the end of the term with the communication about how they’re going about achieving these goals and the progress throughout the time frame.
4. Most important – read your corporate pitches. If an agency tells you they won’t show you the pitch, it means they’re not confident in how they are selling your brand. Be weary of someone out there contacting reporters without you understanding the words they are using.
I love this business and we’ve having a blast serving Tech Valley. Adding PR to your marketing portfolio can be the perfect way to express your capabilities to the impending growth. Benefit from headlines, not bullshit. Ask great questions and be responsible to your agency – a lifetime partnership with an agency who can sell your story on a dime is worth every penny.
How we tell a PR person from a paper pusher
May 10, 2010 | Great PR | 0 Comments
One of the greatest challenges we have is finding experienced technology PR professionals. Our team is growing fast and we’re adapting to this shortage by training PR people who haven’t been in tech but have well rounded backgrounds.
While playing the dutiful wife last week at the SEDC 2010 Annual Dinner, I was approached a few times from PR or marketing people looking for a job. When I was on my way out, a young woman stopped me and gave me an impromptu 30-second resume pitch on the spot. I loved it!
She started with, “I haven’t done technology PR before but I have a lot of relevant experience including recent national media hits and writing samples.”
Great – you’ve caught my attention. My interaction with her inspired me to educate our audience on what technology PR practitioners look like and how to demonstrate that you’re a candidate even when you’ve never been in tech.
To fit our business model you have to have certain credentials, otherwise you’ll sink here:
- Examples of top tier and trade press secured for a past client (within the past few months) – this helps me know you can build relationships, write a pitch and provide proactive story development to a client.
- Relevant writing samples – includes pitches, press releases, bylined articles.
- Significant influence in social media – if you’re not on Twitter, don’t know what HARO is and aren’t on DM or Facebook messaging basis with national reporters, you’re probably not a fit.
I ran through this with a local colleague of mine the other day and she said – “Wow you’re asking for a lot.” I almost fell backwards.
The crux of PR is building awareness and whether it’s traditionally with headlines or through social media influence, if you apply for a job where we request 3-5 years of experience, then we assume you have clips and a Twitter following in the very least. Our tech brands don’t hire us to get local press around Albany. You have to be able to sell them on you and demonstrate you can sell a reporter on them.
So here are a few things that make you seem more relevant to our growing agency:
- Be lighthearted and confident – I want to see a cover letter that makes me want to meet you. If you send me something that starts with “To Whom It May Concern” then you not only show me you haven’t done your homework, but it also shows me you haven’t read our blog, seen our site or really even read through the whole job description.
- Send me links to your writing and recently achieved clips. We’ll consider you if you can at least demonstrate local media, we will absolutely meet you if you have national trade or business press. I throw any and all resumes away that don’t have this.
- Give me an idea – let me know how you think. Or demonstrate how you’ve creatively applied thought in a past position.
- Don’t tell me what you do everyday in your job, tell me what you achieve.
- I want to see personality and job loyalty. If you’ve been to every agency under the sun in Albany in the past five years, I’m probably not going to be your next.
Now there are exceptions to consider before you take Portfolio off your radar. If you are any of the following, read my response:
- “I’m an excellent writer, I manage the whole web and all the content for my current company.” Great, if you show me examples, I might be able to figure out how your value can be applied here.
- “At XXX agency, they don’t let account executives pitch, so I don’t have press examples.” In today’s day and age, with bloggers and the changing media landscape, I don’t believe this. But if you can show me who you worked for and what you did do on your accounts, I will definitely take a strong look.
- “I come from a strong marketing background and managed the PR agency from the internal side, so I understand the process.” Not ideal, but doable. If you really understand what PR is and were pushing your agency to drive awareness, then you are probably a fit.
Things that are preferred but not deal breakers, just an added bonus which demonstrates you’re caught up with the times:
- A Twitter following that has +500 people
- You blog personally on your own and it’s a public site
- At one point and time you’ve secured a lead or client for your current agency
- You have a client as a reference
- You have a reporter as a reference
An education when you land at Albany Airport
March 18, 2010 | Great PR | 0 Comments
www.braytongraphics.com
Our friends at Brayton Graphics completed a messaging project at the Albany Airport commissioned by CEG I’m assuming. You can look at the photo gallery here.
You know I always love seeing things that promote our area and continue to educate us on the wealth here.
Here are a few of the new, updated facts:
The Capital Region’s population has been increasing at almost twice the rate New York’s state population.
Eighteen colleges and universities. 105,000 students. 750 degree programs.
Over 15 billion dollars was invested in the last ten years.
Great job Braydon Graphics and Elizabeth Delos and team.
If there’s any indication of growth for Tech Valley, this is it.
November 20, 2009 | Great PR, Today's Headlines, Venture Capital and All That Jazz | 3 Comments
This week’s edition of The Business Review has two front page headlines regarding venture capital coming to the Albany area.¬† DeltaPoint Capital Management LLC has closed on a $50 million fund targeted for companies in New York. The Rochester venture capital firm has already invested $25 million in two Capital Region companies and is eyeing at least two more potential candidates here. This article highlighted more activity in the space using companies like Apprenda as an example for their recent $5 million second round funding from High Peaks Venture Partners in Troy.
Like the latter article mentions, VCs are more likely to further invest in their existing companies amongst their portfolio than take a large risk with a unknown entity or first round funding.  The good news is that the three local venture firms mentioned by The Business Review seem to have deeper pockets than one would expect.
To get a larger second round, often you’ll find that venture companies will double or triple up, as was the case with Apprenda and Baltimore-based New Enterprise Associates.¬† Diversity in your company’s funding has its pros and cons — but most entrepreneurs will say that the added voices to your board are really worth the added capital to see your vision come to fruition.
This is a great feature for The Business Review and a reminder to all of us Capital Region tech geeks that smaller companies will also support the economy here in the short term and our entire Tech Valley existence doesn’t rely on just the IBM, GlobalFoundries and other brick and mortar shops here locally. A flourishing start-up environment means plenty more High Peak Ventures and DeltaPoint’s coming to our area and in turn that means jobs, innovation and a global presence for our area.
Courtesy of The Business Review
Quick info
Located: Office in Glens Falls; headquartered in New Orleans
Founded: 1992
Capital raised: $1 billion total; $88 million targeted for NYS companies
Some investments:
Golden Goal Youth Soccer & Lacrosse Tournament Park, Ft. Ann; Monarch Machine Tool Co., Cortland; iCardiac Technologies, Rochester; Kionix, Ithaca; Chapman Instruments Inc., RochesterHigh Peaks Venture Partners
Located: Troy
Founded: 2004
Capital raised: $46 million
Some investments: Apprenda Inc., Clifton Park;
Auterra Inc. (formerly Applied NanoWorks Inc.), Malta; ReQuest Inc., Ballston Spa; SmartPill Corp., Buffalo; Flat World Knowledge Inc., NyackLocated: Albany
Founded: 2000
Capital raised: $100 million
Some investments: Auterra Inc., (formerly Applied NanoWorks Inc.), Malta;
Autotask Inc., East Greenbush; Mechanical Technology Inc. (OTC: MKTY), Colonie; Plug Power Inc. (Nasdaq: PLUG), Latham; CoreSense, Saratoga SpringsThe Holy Grail of PR: A Cover Story
October 27, 2009 | Great PR, Tech Worth Talking About, Today's Headlines | 0 Comments
A few weeks ago, Barron’s featured my client TheInfoPro as the leading source in a story about M&A activity in 2010. The reporter Mark Veverka is a really great guy to work with. I imagine TheInfoPro got the most ink because we were flexible in terms of going out on a limb, utilizing our resources and making valid statements about potential tech targets in 2010 that could become M&A targets.
I love to lead by example so when this once in every so often opportunity occurs it’s important to reflect on what made it so great.
Here’s the article:
By Mark Veverka, 10/26/09
Nearly a month later, I’m still getting questions from local tech companies about how to achieve such a PR win.¬† It’s really basic: be timely, be smart and build relationships.
The story occurred because we routinely communicate valuable data to reporters and act as a resource for their reporting. True to form, even if you’re not a data house like TheInfoPro, be a thought leader in your space.¬† If you’re a SaaS company providing app platforms to the cloud, don’t just rely on your homepage, rely on building a network.¬† One local company is doing just that — see Apprenda.com and SaaSblogs.com.
Also remember Capital Region to think outside the four publications in your backyard. A successful launch isn’t limited to the newspapers in a 100 mile radius.¬† Write press releases and news pitches that are robust and resourceful, offer specifics that you can provide to the reporter and think long and hard before trying the SPAM approach. Pitching is NOT a numbers game no matter what PR people tell you.¬† Read, read, read and then react.¬† Reporters will respect you, and more important, use you time and time again.