The Factors that Make PR Spam Worse
If I had to guess, I ‘d say 80% of what passes for media relations is scattergun, rather than customized. And even the customized stuff isn’t necessarily laser-focused.
You see examples of PR every day that push information out almost randomly, instead of finding just the right place to share information.
The factors involved:
- Easy access to lists of journalists
- Agencies are increasingly hired to perform functions (ie. write and distribute news releases), rather than achieve results
- Companies doing their own promotions without having time to build relationships
- Newswire services are paid per item
- Journalists’ e-mail addresses are widely posted in print, online and on the air
- News organizations sometimes use spammed info
- Reduced news staffing makes for fewer beat reporters and less opportunity to target pitches
- Globalization of business means companies are more likely to be trying to reach media outside the company’s home turf
- Everyone includes the big media outlets in their distribution of releases/pitches
- New news outlets are either ultra-niche, or ultra-general
- Greater awareness of PR means more middle-managers demanding activity
- Employee churn decreases continuity, relationship building and knowledge
It’s too damn easy to send a news release to an extra thousand people.
It’s too easy to say yes when a district manager demands a news release for a non-story.
It’s too easy to increase the signal-to-noise ratio.
There are times when a wide-spectrum news release is the perfect tool for the job. Just don’t act like it’s the only tool in your kit.
Tags: spam, public relations, business, journalists, media, tools
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Jun 23, 2007 at 2:46 pm
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