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Would you ask someone to handwrite a thank you note for you and sign their name? Would you stop a stranger on the street to call your client and deliver bad news?
I didn’t think so.
So why, then, would you tarnish your shiny-as-brand-new-penny relationship with a reporter or publication by paying someone to send out your messages via Twitter?
Well, a site called Muck Rack apparently thinks you will, as they become the latest in the string of money making ventures linked to new media platforms. When the service was launched recently, it was described accordingly as:
"...a site primarily known for aggregating tweets from journalists in real-time, has just pressed go on a new type of press release — the one line Twitter-style release."
Then, introduced a wonderful new offer for less-than-hip PR novices:
"Muck Rack's now monetizing by offering a new service for PR pros to publish one line press releases, up to 130 characters long, that can include links to other media and press kits, at a rate of $1 per character with a $50 minimum." (Grammar sic.)
The Muck Rack geniuses posted this information to their site, essentially eschewing their own service in favor of, ya know, a method that makes sense. Nice going, boys and girls.
I commend them for their ingenious creativity in trying to “connect” PR pros with media contacts but, really though, using Twitter as a paid vehicle is not the one you should be driving. If you are already tweeting your little heart out and have built a decent following, there is no advantage to paying a third party a buck per character to send out your tweet. At this moment, @muckrack has more than 3800 followers and yet a quick glance reveals that those F’s are mainly PR folks and hardly media. Muck Rack is counting on reporters to go to its site to see the list of announcements?! A mighty big ($1 dollar per character) assumption.
Mashable reported a few days after this revolutionary service was announced that only two original releases were shared via Muck Rack, "one courtesy of launch partner PepsiCo and a rather mundane update from HootSuite, a Twitter Web service."
Do those qualify as announcements?
There are no doubt worthwhile third party conduits that can assist with announcement promotion, such as BusinessWire, MarketWire and PR Newswire. These tools are far more powerful: customers target the distribution by industry, geography and topic to coincide with their overall PR outreach strategy. Having that other party tweet your announcement lumps you/company/client with everyone else in the same twitter stream. How will you stand out?
PR pros live and die by their relationships with media and the influential online types. As quickly as you’re seen as a star in your client’s eyes for getting them a much coveted placement, so too can you be burned for missing that one fine opportunity because you were unable to connect with the right reporter. Relying on the "other party" to send out your announcement among the masses is not sound strategy, nor will it strengthen your personal relationship with members of the media.
Muckrack.com is a cool place for PR folks to track tweets on Twitter written by journalists and to follow reporters that are covering topics and industries you care about. But just as you can’t force a reporter to follow you back, you can’t be sure that your release – as tweeted by Muck Rack – will be seen by those same journalists. If a journalist is working on a story and looks to Twitter for additional information, they will likely use Twitter’s search application, and you know what? Their search term will come up in Muck Rack just as easily as it will come up in your own fabulous Twitter stream.
When used correctly, Twitter is a communicator’s dream. As I’ve learned first-hand, you can connect with reporters on your own, or through a re-tweet of someone else. It provides another opportunity to get your message out – to be heard – and to strengthen you or your company’s brand. If you aren’t personally engaged with those who are following you, your efforts will be futile. You will be in the same place as you were before. Like Hollywood agents trying to lure newbies to the acting scene, don’t be swayed by third party vendors who say they can "make you famous" and all you need is their help. You’re smarter than that, right?
You know what needs to be done –connect on a personal level. You’ll be glad you did, and richer for it too.
Twitter via us at @laermer @badpitch @prblog and @susanejacobsen
Susan E. Jacobsen is head soot sweeper at LUV2XLPR, Inc.
4 comments:
This makes me want to punch people.
Then I think about charging people to do it myself.
I am curious to how many relationships Muckrack has? I mean would it make a difference? Just wondering.
I think if you build a relationship with a journalist via Twitter or Facebook. You have an easier time with getting your story across. I may be wrong because I am NOT a practicing PR person. I am a practicing networker though.
No matter who you are you are going to biz with who you know, like and trust. People need to remind themselves because nothing is really about THEM. No one cares about THEM they care about themselves so if you scratch someone else's back then it will go further.
That post made it in Ragan Communications newsletter I think.
Thank you for calling out this BS. I was wondering how many people bought into this sham. Good looking out.
This was a good laugh on a Monday morning. $1 a character? REALLY? They must have a master Tweet writer on staff, or do you submit the one-line release and you're just paying them $1 per character to post it??
Such silliness.
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