I’ve been a publicist now for more than 25 years. I’m always on the other side of the table, working with reporters, preparing clients for interviews and staffing press conferences.
Since my book was launched this August, I’m now on the other side of the fence. I’m the one that reporters and editors want to interview and when they call, I need to jump!
Yesterday, I had two placements. The first was on a Milwaukee television station talking about new products for 2010. In the segment, the reporters discussed good gifts for kids and parents and on the table, “Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Social Media but were afraid to ask…” By the time the reporter got to the book, they ran out of time and just said, and then there’s this book on social media… OUCH!
The second placement appeared in the Investor Daily Newspaper. The reporter interviewed me for almost an hour and the one takeaway he got, one short quote. I’m not complaining at all. I’m happy to be part of the piece for sure! There have been many times when I’ve spoken to reporters for hours and then I get cut out completely from the story.
One time, the reporter called me twice at the worst possible times and yet, I stopped what I was doing to talk with him. When the piece finally came out, I was cut from the story. It was frustrating to me because I spent hours with him educating him and then I was cut like a block of wood and tossed to the side.
It’s frustrating sometimes to work in PR. We don’t have control over what reporters or editors or even bloggers say about our clients. We don’t even have control over what runs and what doesn’t run. Our biggest challenge is to convince the reporter, editor, producer or blogger that our story is worthy of their look. And thankfully through the years, we have had some amazing placements.
What I tell my clients, and what I need to remind myself about, is that no matter if you have a small quote in a publication or are quickly shown on a television interview, it’s all exposure. And, all exposure is good exposure!
