5 good reasons to use Twitter for media relations

Tweet by Vancouver Sun tech reporter Gillian Shaw, sent out today:

Who was asking the best way to deliver a press release? This gets an A++. Plus it came in a tweet, even better. http://com.motionpoll.ca/

In fact, unless I’m mistaken, it was me. Wednesday. I jumped into a Twitter conversation Gillian was having about PR pitches gone bad and asked her for her preference in press release delivery methods.

A couple of lessons to retain:

1. Reporters, particularly tech reporters, can be found on Twitter.

2. Connecting to journalists on Twitter lets you engage them in conversation, track their preferences and understand their needs. Gillian Shaw, for example, feels like she’s drowning in email, prefers a 140 character or less pitch and seems to appreciate a PR Squared-inspired social media release with multimedia components. Now I know. Do you think she’ll be getting an email pitch from me from this point forward? Not likely.

3. Twitter profiles show you who journalists are following. It’s always good to get to know an influencer’s influencers. Chances are they’re interesting.

4. Twitter is generally a great source of information, providing links to reports like com.motion’s study which shows that Canadian businesses are investing in social media. (« 2nd Annual com.motion-Pollara Social Media Barometer reveals 82% will spend as much or more on social media despite economic downturn »)

5. Twitter lets you listen in on conversations, keep your ear to the ground and follow journalists (and experts) in the fields which interest you.

So, all of this begs the question. Why aren’t you on Twitter?

You can join me at http://twitter.com/msullivan


3 réponses à “5 good reasons to use Twitter for media relations”
  1. Avatar de Oza Meilleur

    I’m amazed at how « in » Twitter has become. Will we end up with « Access Twitter » or « Twittertainment Tonight » internet shows? — Could very well happen in the near future. 😉

  2. Avatar de Rebecca

    Great commentary and use for Twitter. I wrote about Twitter for business and it seems to be ever-changing. It’s encouraging to see so many industries embracing this medium that is quick, free, easy-to-use, and so very effective as you’ve pointed out.

  3. Avatar de Ruth Seeley

    Not just journalists and PR folks! I loved this fascinating Twitter experiment conducted by Andrew Maynard: http://2020science.org/2008/12/13/emerging-science-and-technology-at-700-characters-per-day-–-how-was-it-for-you/.

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