Saturday, May 10, 2008

Brass tack #16. Offer incentives



Any relationship counsellor will tell you that one secret to a successful love-match is to offer the occasional surprise in the form of a gift. As a PR person you would certainly want to offer incentives to journalists but the big question is, what’s the difference between an incentive and a bribe? This is taking us into ethical territory.

Some gifts may be symbolic – the gift of friendship, of always being there when needed. So friendly gestures can provide good incentives for the journalist to keep calling you. Always welcome calls and emails from journalists as they follow up your story, reward them with your smile (even when talking to them on the phone) and make them realise that nothing is too much trouble – at least within reason.

Gestures like – ‘I’ve got some more background information for you. Why don’t I drop it round your office on my way home – I’ll buy you a coffee/beer/sandwich (delete as appropriate) if you’ve got a few minutes’ - these can go a long way if handled carefully and don’t appear too pushy.

Is a coffee a bribe? No – not compared with VIP tickets to Wimbledon or an invitation to a reception on your yacht on the Med with a private jet on standby to get him/her there.

On a professional level the best incentive is your availability and reliability as a source of news. If you can answer questions quickly, provide usable quotes and recognise the pressure of their deadline, your name will soon be the most thumbed page of the journalist's contacts book. And if you and the journalist get on and enjoy each other’s company, it makes their job and yours so much more pleasant.

Isn’t that really the essence of good PR?

Filed under:
media relations       press release      journalists    incentives   
ethics

6 comments:

The Poet Laura-eate said...

Good idea - a blueberry muffin never goes amiss!

Might even go a long way!

The Poet Laura-eate said...

An award never goes amiss either.

Click on my blog posting The Honours List to see yours!

Unknown said...

Cinematographer in jaipur
Thank you so much for share amazing post.

COMPRAR SEGUIDORES said...

If he clicks on the message here or there, he lands on a page that contains all his nudibranchs. https://socialfollowerspro.uk/buy-facebook-followers/
Now you can backup, ignore the message or click it away without stumbling back. In this case, however, the way is clear edits for the other to stump again. You can find out how to prevent this here: Can I turn off Facebook nudigising? Not everyone likes this Facebook nudigo.

Social Links said...

Instagram images will usually appear for about 4 hours on someone else's refresh page, so you should avoid posting photos late at night or else your followers won't be able to see them.You can learn about the best time to post a photo through a site like IconoSquare.Post photos with a level of stability on a regular basis.
https://buymorefollower.com/
Do not post all photos at once. If you want to share multiple photos, you should share them for a few days. If you post too many photos at once, the following will be easier to ignore. On the other hand, if you don't post photos regularly, it will be difficult for you to keep followers and attract new people. advertisement

COMPRAR SEGUIDORES said...

This ones a bit more
time-consuming, but it's a potent tactic when approaching ways to get comments in Instagram.Label people, brands, places
Reciprocate EngagementPost Content That Evokes ResponsesWish to 2.5x your Instagram enjoys & comments?buy instagram comments uk Perfect your hashtag plan
for this free guide. Get it now!Want to shoot for more fancy answers? You may always inquire more open-ended queries, like"what's
your favourite exercise we do in class and why?"In this informative article, we are going to discuss all the various methods on
how best to get more Instagram comments without coming across as sleazy.