Alex Horsman’s Post

PR News recently highlighted key shifts in PR and media relations over the past decade. One point that stood out to us – when it comes to successful content, "Less is More." With smaller newsrooms, shorter articles and dwindling attention spans, concise content is more likely to be picked up by media and viewed by readers. At AKA, we prioritize video content in every media strategy. It captures attention quickly and engages viewers longer. Read the full article at the link below and let's connect to explore how we can help you incorporate video into your media strategy. https://lnkd.in/g8FQ-Cac

As digital PR professionals, we are all too familiar with the challenges that come with keeping up in an ever-evolving landscape. Jo O'Reilly's piece on Moz perfectly captures the sentiment of the industry. One key takeaway from the article is the importance of understanding the media landscape. Jo notes that knowing how to effectively and tastefully slot your client into a story takes years of experience and consistent consumption of news content. As Jo puts it, "There is no quick fix to level up your media literacy." It's up to us to stay on top of what journalists want to see and what types of stories and content are resonating with their audiences. This is a duty we should take seriously as digital PR professionals. To feel some validation on this Thursday, I recommend checking out Jo's article!

Stop trying to spam journalists... build a consistent message instead. Brands that maintain a consistent narrative through their PR efforts can boost their credibility by up to 80%. After working with over 200 startups for over a decade, we've realized chasing media was a waste of time. Sending out generic press releases without a plan is like shouting into the void. There are far better ways to get noticed: In our PR strategy, we care more about storytelling than just getting mentions. You need a compelling narrative that resonates. That starts with understanding your audience. Getting featured wasn't our secret sauce. Consistency and authenticity were. We care way more about building trust than quick wins. Give me a startup that engages genuinely over one that wants headlines any day. We want to build lasting credibility, not fleeting fame. We want founders who are passionate, transparent, and ready to share their journey. People with: • A unique story • Genuine passion • Persistence and adaptability Getting media coverage is 1000x easier with a story that stands out and a team that believes in it. We also want founders who are brave enough to think they can change the world...yet humble enough to learn from feedback and adapt. One of our favorite PR strategies: "Create a media kit that tells your story visually and succinctly." Make it easy for journalists to cover you. A well-prepared media kit with high-quality visuals and key information can make all the difference. You want to foster an environment where your team is always ready to share their insights. We tell startups: "Be available, be responsive, but stay true to your mission." And for consistent media engagement, follow-up is critical. See how well your team maintains relationships, provides timely updates, and pitches new angles. Can they empathize with a journalist's needs? The ability to understand and communicate effectively unlocks media opportunities. And for consistent media engagement, follow-up is critical. See how well your team maintains relationships, provides timely updates, and pitches new angles. Can they empathize with a journalist's needs? The ability to understand and communicate effectively unlocks media opportunities. As Richard Branson said: "Publicity is absolutely critical. A good PR story is infinitely more effective than a front-page ad." Focus on the right type of publicity.

The odds are not in your favor 👎 A recent article on PR Daily stated that a study found that only 3.15% of PR pitches get a response from journalists. The best outreach to journalists is short and to the point - they recommend no more than 250 words with a one to five word subject line! Here are some of the things I'd recommend to break through the noise: 1. Personalize your pitch 2. Pitch your idea to the right person - quality over quantity! 3. Connect with media professionals on social media 4. Make it easy to say yes - make the pitch tailored to their writing style and have everything they may need ready to go in case you get a response! 🗒 I may be biased - but using a tool like Meltwater ensures you can find the right journalists, tailor your pitch for that person based on their recent articles and social media posts, follow them on their social channels with one click, and ensure your content is simple and easy to follow using our #AIwritingassistant

Planning reactive PR ahead of time can be beneficial in gaining great coverage. When you hear the term 'reactive', most of us would think that it's from something in the news we see that leads us to quickly turn around a press release in the same day offering an interesting angle to the story. That's the general way of creating reactive PR, but if you know of any big events or awareness days coming up in advance, then this means you can prepare and research a unique idea ahead of time. It's a real game changer when you already have a press release ready to go when the day arrives! There are some ways that have helped me come up with unique ideas and prepare press releases ahead of time... 👉 Creating a content calendar - Great for both PR and social. Some of us may already have a calendar listing all the upcoming awareness days, but do you regularly update new and unique days? If you know something is coming up that you definitely would like to work on then why wait! Give yourself the time to start having ideations and create it ahead of the day. 👉 Having the time to prepare a press release in advance, means you can always alter and edit the angle if something newsworthy comes in during that time. Always be ready to adapt and change your angles! 👉 Create a PR Matrix - Of course I thought of the film as soon as I heard the term Matrix duuuhh, but creating a document that has a mixture of key research / data you already have that could link to different topics is incredibly valuable. I recently used this for the genny lec and it worked wonders! 👉 By pulling together key data / statistics and even commentary you already have signed off from an expert speaker, means whenever something newsworthy comes up, you can quickly take the information you have from the doc and send over to journalists. It may benefit you when the journo requests come flying in for any big topical news story. This means you'll be ready with accurate data to share. #freelance #DigitalPR

As the debate over guaranteeing coverage, reignited by John Harrington's piece for PRWeek (link in comments), rumbles on, here are my own thoughts on the subject. This week, I will be appearing on the Embracing Marketing Mistakes podcast with Chris Norton and Will Ockenden of Prohibition PR, to discuss our mistake in guaranteeing coverage to clients without explaining why we make that pledge and address some of the inaccurate criticism levelled at us as a result. We guarantee earned media coverage, because we have the confidence in the quality of our work to do so, with one important caveat: if we fail to hit our KPIs, we refund our clients. Our ideas are crafted with publishers in mind and extensively media-tested with colleagues at our sister company SWNS, to check they are newsworthy and meet their exceptionally high editorial standards for content to be distributed on their newswire. We weave messaging into our ideas, but only messaging that is evidence based or that relies on properly conducted research from our OnePoll team. When budgets allow, we create assets to support our creative, using our extensive expertise on what works for publishers and then turn it all into page ready content, so when journalists see it on the wire it is eminently publishable, newsworthy and editorially robust content. We back up this process by pro-actively asking journalists to use our content. Should this process fail, we will flip an angle and try again. All this means we believe we will see a coverage return significant enough to guarantee base KPIs for our clients. If we fail, we refund. We have faced many questions over our processes. I fully accept our lack of transparency contributed to this. We have done, and continue to do, a great deal to rectify this as a result.  As part of that process, I commissioned industry expert Stuart Bruce to compile a report into our practices, giving him full, unfettered access into the business. He found us to be not only compliant with all industry codes, but super-compliant because of the due care and attention we give to every project.  In short, it is journalists who decide to use our content. There is no obligation. There is no payment. The stories we create must work on their own merits. Hopefully, the podcast will further clarify how we achieve our results - please do give it a listen and I would love to hear your thoughts afterwards. If you want to get in touch with me directly, you can do so here: [email protected]

In the crowded and competitive PR field, it's essential to craft concise, attention-grabbing pitches and prepare for quick action upon receiving a response. Key Takeaways from Propel's quarterly report: 📣 Response rate for PR pitches is only 3.15%, which translates to roughly 16,000 responses out of 500,000 pitches. 📣 Only 45.3% of pitches are opened by journalists, highlighting the significant challenge of just getting noticed. 📣 The most effective subject lines are very brief, with 1-5 words yielding the best response rates. 📣 Optimal pitch length is 81-100 words for the lead and an additional 51-150 words for the body, totaling no more than 250 words. 📣 Fast response: 48.6% of responded pitches receive a reply within the first hour of being sent. 📣 Publishing speed: 65.2% of stories are published within three days of a pitch response. By focusing on brevity and relevancy, PR professionals can improve their chances of not just being noticed but also creating successful collaborations that lead to timely published stories. https://lnkd.in/gEfweEe6 #pr #publicrelations #marketing

Press releases are a vital part of Digital PR 👀 Getting them spot on can make or break your campaign! Luckily, Chrissie's latest blog is here to help... 👇 Whether they accompany a long-form blog post or are stand-alone, press releases make key findings easily digestible for journalists ✅ However, if poorly written, it won't be picked up by journalists... ...which will waste all the time and effort you've put into the campaign ❌ Making this piece a must-read for anyone in Digital PR! Click here for the full article - https://lnkd.in/gsSNXH3c #pressrelease #digitalpr #publicrelations #digitalmarketing

CHRISTMAS IN JULY | why PR pros plan ahead and how you should too The road to PR coverage is paved with a good strategy... While the holiday season may seem far away, it's just around the corner for journalists, who are already beginning to plan their content, especially for print. Don't panic—we're sharing a few tips on how to get a jump start. 1) Nail down your strategy now. Start pulling together your assets and information, such as imagery, press releases, pricing, and key messaging points that will paint a full picture for journalists. The more you can provide in an organized manner, the better! 2) Create top-notch assets. Make sure you present journalists with high-resolution imagery. And, imagery that helps storytell for your brand. Make their lives easier by not having to chase you down for other options, and don't lose out on opportunities because you're sharing low-res, iPhone level imagery! 3) Schedule DeskSides with relevant media. Relationship building takes time. Introduce your brand to media now, so that when the time comes (ex. holiday season) when your brand is a perfect fit for an editorial opportunity, they remember to include you! 4) Follow up appropriately. While we don't suggest stalking journalists, we do suggest periodically checking in and seeing what they're working on, keeping your brand top of mind. Sign up or log in to DeskSides below to get started: https://desksides.com/

The Closure of Several Print Media in South Africa Isn't a Crisis for PR but for PR Measurement ADAM HUNTER’s article, "Decline of Print Media Represents an Adapt or Die Moment for PR and Marketing," raises valid concerns about whether the professional press should be left to the free market. He suggests that PR needs to explore new communication channels, focus on high-quality engagement, and build stronger relationships with existing media. However, I disagree with the idea that when opportunities to pitch and place stories are reduced, the chance to showcase the value of PR also declines. I understand why he argues this. PR has over relied on inadequate metrics like AVE (Advertising Value Equivalency) and reach in earned media to show its value. These metrics prioritise immediate outcomes, such as earning press mentions, rather than the ultimate impact of our communication on our audience and, most importantly, the organisation. This sells PR short. While I agree with Hunter's point about the need for adaptation, like moving from clay tablets to papyrus or handwritten scripts to the printing press, we shouldn’t focus on the 'communication means' but rather on the 'communication end'. Why Does This Matter? We now live in a world where companies serve all stakeholders, not just shareholders. This means that a company's true value isn’t measured by its sales, profit, market share, or share price but by its contribution to society measured by its reputation**. This is the goal. PR professionals add value by advocating for these stakeholders - the public- at the company level and guiding management in showing leadership. They are also at the forefront of designing campaigns that speak to these prospective audiences, using *appropriate* communication channels and creating measurement criteria provided by AMEC Measurement and Evaluation that assess the impact on their organisation’s reputation. This is not measured by mentions, but by *asking people* what they think of us. PR's contribution is now more valuable than ever, and we must improve how we measure it and report on our success. Thank you, @Adam Hunter, for highlighting this important issue. I’m devastated by the news of over 400 families facing uncertainty with the closure of several print publications in South Africa. PR’s mission isn't only to adapt but to lead in helping professional, independent media remain a cornerstone of our democracy. ** Thank you to Jurgen Banda-Hansmann for pointing out that reputation isn't of value but is the company's contribution. #SaynotoAVEs #PR