|
The Dreaded
Follow Up Call – Dos and Don'ts
 “Hi this is Janey from AcmePR. I was just wondering
if you received the press release on our new product.”
This type of phone call is the bane of every journalist, editor,
reporter and producer working in the media.
“I really hate the follow up call,” said a leading Australian
magazine editor.
“Ninety-nine times out of one hundred it is from a poor PR
lackey that has been told to ring you and ask you this banal
question and whether you are going to do a story on it.”
The follow up call that has no value, does nothing except
interrupt someone and ask him or her if they have received
something they are likely to have received.
Not all media releases go out to the media never to be heard of
again. They can be a valid source of news ideas. “If I see
something in a media release that I think has value, then I will
ring,” said one Fairfax reporter. “In fact, I have rung several
people today on the back of media releases.”
So how do you do a follow up call?
For the follow up call to be effective (instead of toxic) it all
comes back to content.
Every media outlet is looking for content, exclusives, new
information, and a fresh angle on a story.
“If you can do something for me, then I’m interested,” says a
senior sections editor of a major metropolitan newspaper.
“The best publicists at a basic level pitch something that is
appropriate to my publication, they know how to make themselves
useful,” says a senior editor.
Before you make the follow up call:
- Do your homework on the
journalist, the program, the publication or website. “Get familiar
with the work they do,” says a senior features
reporter.
- Find the right fit for the story
– is it a profile, a business lead story, a lifestyle feature. Be
realistic. Pitch something appropriate for the section/journalist.
Explain why the story has “legs”. If a small Melbourne business has
signed an exclusive distribution deal with Wal-Mart, that is a
company-making deal and makes an obvious news story for the
business section.
- Work out what they need. “The
ones that I have had the best relationships with it comes down to
their understanding of what I need,” says a senior Fairfax
journalist. If a publicist offers an exclusive interview with a
reclusive CEO, they need to follow through on the promise, lock in
the interview and photo sessions and make sure that everything is
done to ensure the story goes ahead.
- Make your pitch and make it
short – if you can’t say it within 45 seconds, it is too long. For
example: “We can give you the first pictures inside the new rugby
stadium on the Yarra and an interview with the design team.” Or
“Acme Enterprises has just signed a major deal with Nokia to
develop a mobile phone the size of a matchbox.” Or: “I can line up
for you to speak exclusively to the mayor about the fracas at the
council meeting last night.”
- Be ready to make things happen.
Supply relevant contact information, make it easy to line up
interviews, arrange photos/filming/taping and get the story
done.
- If you have given the story to
other media outlets, or even other reporters from that publication,
let the person know. “Thinking you can have multiple bites of the
cherry is possibly the most infuriating thing a publicist can do,”
says a senior arts editor.
- Get the timing right. If it is a
news story that needs to be produced that day, make the follow up
call within a couple of hours of the release. If the PR pitch has a
longer shelf life, wait a few days before following up.
- Be realistic about the value of
the story, the quality of the information you have and be wary of
too much spin. For example: ”Hi, I’m from Acme PR. I’m calling up
about Tim Rodger’s latest book "The Tough CEO". It’s really
amazing, I have read it myself and he just has the most fantastic
insights. Did you receive our press release?” That weak pitch is
never going to work, however a pitch that cuts through the PR spin
is going to be more effective. “Hi, I’m just following up on a
release I sent through about Tim Rodger’s book. What’s really
interesting is that Rodgers says Australians don’t have what it
takes to be effective CEO’s on a world stage and reveals for the
first time what Sol Trujillo really meant when he
said Australia was 'backward'”. Immediately, much stronger and more
specific angles.
Don’t
- Don’t waste a
journalist/presenter/reporter/producer’s time.
- Don’t be a stalker.
- “There is no need to woo me with
lunches, gifts and entertainment. Just get the information out,”
says a news editor, on a metropolitan daily
- Don’t fudge. Play with a
straight bat and go easy on the spin.
- Don’t try and write the story
for the journalist.
- Don’t tell the journalist that
you have a story that they will want to use – that is their job,
not yours, to decide
- Don’t promise things you can’t
deliver. i.e. exclusives or a 60-minute interview when the CEO who
only has 15 minutes for the interview AND portrait.
- Remember you are not best mate
of the person you are ringing, so stop acting like it with an over
familiar phone manner.
Feedback
We know this topic is often not quite so straightforward and
many media relations people will have further comments or
questions. Submit your feedback for your chance to win a bottle of
Seppelt’s Salinger bubbly to celebrate the festive season.
|
