In PR, good and fast beats perfect and slow
- Jonathon Narvey
- 22 hours ago
- 2 min read
Success! A reporter loved your company’s PR pitch, but they have a few questions before they’ll run with the story.
The clock is ticking! But there’s a delay. The CEO (who is the usual source for these kinds of things) is in meetings.
My PR team faces this kind of situation at least a few times a week. It’s not like everyone at the company is just waiting with baited breath for the next media interview. They’ve all got jobs to do…
3 solutions to this common PR problem of getting back to a reporter fast:
Check the pitch. TBH, the answer might already be in there… The reporter is responding to your pitch, but… they’re human. They glance. They skim. Maybe they miss an important fact that already answers their question. Without being a jerk about it, just give them that answer.
Get your talking points prepared ahead of time. A pitch or press release is often just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to what your company’s experts know about a topic. A good PR pro should be ready with facts, figures and on-brand messaging to answer most reporters’ questions.
Have a backup expert source or two designated for these exact kinds of situations. Sure, a lot of the time, the reporter wants to talk to the owner, founder or CEO. But it’s not uncommon for the COO, a senior manager or someone else to pinch-hit in a jiffy. Get them involved and engaged from the start rather than springing this on an employee who may feel ambushed and unprepared.
However you solve this problem, once a reporter comes calling, don’t leave them in your ‘waiting room’ for days. Best practice: get back to them within 20 minutes. If that’s impossible, 2 or 3 hours is still viable.
Next day? You’ve probably lost them.
Remember, for almost any topic, a reporter can always go to someone else for expert commentary. They’re always on a tight deadline. If you can’t help, they’ll go to the next one… and even worse, if you leave them hanging, they won’t reach out to you next time, either.
When it comes to PR, feel the need for speed!
Want faster PR results for your startup or scale-up? Contact Mind Meld PR today.
