PR professionals listen up! It’s a new era and utilizing social media tools, especially Twitter, is one of the best ways to get to know journalists and pitch them. The panel consisted of journalists across all mediums including: Bobby Tanzilo, Managing Editor of OnMilwaukee.com; Mark Kass, Editor of the Business Journal; Susan Kim, Anchor on WTMJ 4; and Alysha Schertz of Biz Times.
Find them, follow them and get to know them. Susan Kim admits that she loves getting immediate feedback from her viewers on Twitter and will often reveal personal information that would give PR professionals a clue as to the best way to pitch her. Alysha Schertz even challenged the audience to create a 140-character pitch on Twitter – that would definitely catch her attention. They do recognize the challenges with social media and the rise of citizen journalism; however, they maintain that people will still rely on credible news organizations such as theirs to get the whole story in context.
Overall their message was the same as its always been, the best way to help journalists do their job and gain coverage for your client– keep it short and keep it relevant.
The four panelists had other insightful comments captured on video that you can view here:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cljIVklq0Yo]
