[Infographic] That (Annoying PR) Thing You Do

If you’re a public relations or media professional you’re probably acutely aware of the love-hate but symbiotic relationship between the two camps. You know, that “Can’t live with you, can’t live without you” feeling. Well, the newly released Brands and Media Engagement Survey Report 2013 sheds more light on this sometimes tenuous relationship.

Conducted by PR and brand engagement platform Mynewsdesk and boutique PR firm PRecious Communications, the report looked at finding out the preferences of reporters and bloggers across Southeast Asia: what they like or dislike about media releases, what they think should be improved in terms of the support from the PR person, and what would help them to develop a good story. What it found out wasn’t too surprising for those of us in the industry, but if you’re a small business new to public relations, some of the tips in the report would be really useful for you when you next pitch to journalists.

Here are some key findings:

• Interesting Angles. 100% of participants emphasized that having an interesting angle is more important than the information provided. They are more interested in how the story can capture their readers’ interest rather than being force-fed overloaded information without sufficient context;
• Headlines. 90% want press release headlines to get to the point within 10-15 words;
• Contacts. 88% think it is important to leave email addresses and phone numbers on the releases;
• Online Presence. It is in a brand’s interest to have sufficient online presence as 74% of the surveyed reporters habitually Google the brand or business featured on press releases upon receiving them; and
• Engaging Visuals. 73% think press releases should contain more than just text. Images should also be made easily accessible to the media, with links that do not expire over time.

“While some of the findings might be harder to implement, I find it surprising that some brands still make it purposely hard to get connected – and through that missing out on opportunities,” says Lars Voedisch, managing director of PRecious Communications.

“Journalists want press releases to be short, sharp and get straight to the point, but at the same time provide all the key facts and related assets – such as images, video, documents and contacts. The best way to achieve this is to use modern digital/social news releases and an online newsroom. That way you make it as easy as possible for journalists to get everything they need and maximise your chances of them covering your story,” added Adam Cranfield, Chief Marketing Officer of Mynewsdesk.

The report itself is chockful of great tips, but if you don’t have the time to look at it – but you really should – here’s an infographic outlining seven tips that will make reporters and bloggers happy, as well as seven things to avoid that will surely frustrate the life out of them: