By Adam Lovinus, Associate Editor

What is a journalist looking for on Twitter?

News, of course!

A better question is, How is a journalist looking for news on Twitter? A savvy journalist uses Twitter to excavate story angles in a variety of ways. PR pros with a handle on how journalists are looking for news are in a better position to offer valuable, timely expertise and generate media exposure for their clients.

Here are five great ways to leverage your company’s Twitter profile.

FIND YOUR WRITERS: The number-one reason journalists use Twitter is that it is probably the fastest, easiest way to keep up with what news sources (you!) are up to. The first step is getting in touch with them. Acquaint yourself with the search tool in the Twitter platform, peruse contact pages of news organizations, and see who your industry peers are following to bolster your feed.

• PR Tip: There are online services offering journalist directories searchable by news organization, beat, and region. PressPass (www.presspass.me) and Seek or Shout (http://seekorshout.com) are two FREE online programs that can help get you in touch with relevant media entities.

LISTEN TO YOUR WRITERS: Journalists frequently pose questions to their followers to aid in the newsgathering process. Make sure to monitor this, and deliver exactly what they’re asking for whenever possible.

• PR Tip: Journalists looking for sources will post their requests @JournoRequest or #journorequest. Search those handles for potential media opportunities.

ENGAGE YOUR WRITERS: Relevance is the key to good sharing; every tweet should tie in to something else happening on Twitter. This is what is meant by “engaging” with social media. Random posting directed at no one in particular tends to be ineffective. Imagine Twitter as a giant conversation; when it’s your turn to speak, make sure to offer something that fits in with what others are saying.

• PR Tip: Use #hashtags to start conversations. For example, when tweeting at a trade show, always add in the tradeshow hashtag. That way, journalists covering the show will see your input.

PITCH YOUR WRITERS: Every journalist has a preferred method of getting pitches. Some use Twitter, some don’t. Check their profile; it’s often a good indicator. Journalists that prefer Twitter pitches do so because the 140-character limit ensures a quick, to-the-point pitch. Ultimately, it is up to the PR pro to feel out an editor’s preference. When in doubt, simply ask — “Hello @editor, I represent @company; I have #something you might dig; what’s the best way to reach out?”

• PR Tip: A good way to warm up to an editor is to retweet stories he or she posts.

GET IN FRONT OF BREAKING NEWS: Nothing is faster and more useful than a Twitter feed for a developing story. By searching tweets with #hashtags that denote a specific topic, a journalist is able to cultivate leads in real time. 99% of breaking news stories will not have any meaningful connection with your PR, but you never know when you can get in front of a breaking story and turn it into a nice chunk of earned media.

• PR Tip: Use Advanced Search to search by topic and location for happenings that present an opportunity for getting in on news coverage. For example, a tech manufacturer that supplies electrical components for a weather-tracking device could find itself in a position to provide timely information for news media covering a storm system. Refine your search to find news opportunities specific to your client.

How do you throw an event that will get the right media to attend and gain valuable coverage for your product or client? It takes a little more than just throwing a party, inviting everyone you know and hoping for the best.

In our webinar we looked at how public relations professionals can get journalists to call them. In this series, we’ll look at how the experts put together an event from deciding who to invite to following up after the event.

This week, we look at the preparation before an event.  (more…)

I had an awful customer service experience recently and while I won’t name the company, it certainly soured me on ever using their products again. It’s hard to believe that in the age of social media when reviews – good and bad – can be posted in seconds, some companies still haven’t invested in customer service.

I’m not the only one. Mark Evans points out how social media can affect a company. (Reposted from the Marketwire Small Business Blog). (more…)

Mitch Schneider, Senior Account Executive – Agencies knows a lot about gaining the media’s attention. It starts with the news release. That’s right, it only starts with the release. There’s so much more that needs to be done before a journalist takes interest. He reveals the tricks in our three-part series.

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Anyone who’s ever written a press release knows it’s all about the one-two punch:  You want people to read your release, and you want them to act on what they’ve read in some way.  Whether the goal is to solicit media attendance at the grand-opening of your new corporate headquarters, announce the launch of a new line of kids’ organic clothing to generate online sales, or notify the public of contaminated deli meats, the intent of any press release is the same.  Social media has become a driving force in the way we create and publish news, so making press releases more social media friendly is a smart communications tactic.  It’s not difficult, and it opens the door for having your content seen, shared and acted upon by more people.

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The traditional features release with its consumer-directed, ready-to-go content is ideal for exposing your messages to a diverse audience. But features releases can accomplish another goal. Because features stories now appear on media websites and search engines that reach millions of people online, with a little creativity and planning your features release can become a valuable tool for measuring the success of your PR and marketing activities. Not only can you reach new target audiences, but you can also drive them to your website where you’re able to track traffic patterns, garner new business leads and even generate revenue. In short, features releases can play an important role in gathering market intelligence and demonstrating measurable ROI.  

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The four-day Thanksgiving holiday weekend sees millions of Americans gather with friends and family over turkey dinner and an unprecedented number who follow their Thanksgiving feast with an early-morning trip to the mall for some bare-knuckled Black Friday shopping.  The four days of the holiday weekend are some of the busiest and most profitable in the U.S. travel and retail sectors:  About 42.5 million people are expected to travel by car or plane for Thanksgiving, according to travel tracker AAA, and an estimated 152 million people are expected to shop over Black Friday weekend, according to the National Retail Federation.   If you think Thanksgiving is just about turkey, you are mistaken.  Take a look at a few of our clients’ Thanksgiving-focused press releases and see how they are gearing their content toward travellers, shoppers and chefs.

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Because bloggers are often considered the journalists of the Internet, it’s no wonder many professional communicators are turning to them to pitch ideas, events or products. Depending on the blogger, he or she can leave either a positive or a negative impression about your pitch to his or her many faithful subscribers. Let’s not forget that influential bloggers also receive many pitches – sometimes up to 100 a day – from organizations promoting their products, services or the organizations themselves.  So how do you successfully pitch a blogger?

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“Because of the people.” It’s one of the oldest workplace clichés and invariably, one that is almost always true. People don’t just work at a company — they define it and shape its personality. At Marketwire, one of the things that continues to set us apart year after year is our personality. From our editorial and product teams, to sales and customer service, we enjoy what we do and it shows. Our people are second-to-none, and proof positive that “work” and “play” can co-exist and make for a totally awesome place to be.

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Perhaps more often than anything else, I am asked about press releases and their continued role and relevancy as communications vehicles. “Has social media made traditional media irrelevant?”  “Can the process of distributing a press release simply be replaced with a tweet?”  “Have companies abandoned releases as a means to share their news with stakeholders?”  My answer to all of these questions is quite simply, “No.” 

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We’re inundated with stories about the failure of mainstream media to rise up to the challenge and expectation of social media stakeholders and digital consumers, and with accounts of iconic enterprises scrambling to find a way to deal with steadily declining paid subscribers and advertisers.  There are, however, nimble adapters – even media icons – that are not only learning to survive in the new media era—they’re thriving in it.  Some even lead the charge when it comes to breaking ground in innovative uses of social media techniques to gather, report, publish and distribute the news.

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Crisis management in the face of social media requires a masterful and agile skillset.  Today’s crises (and their responses) play out in real-time, as do breaking news and opinion about the situation at hand.  Add to that the viral nature of social networks and the ability for a story to get around the world in mere minutes, and you’ve got a virtual powder keg of bad publicity threatening to explode in the hands of the organization at the center of the crisis.  Gone are the days when you can bury a story or get by with a simple “no comment.”  How your company reacts (or doesn’t) to a bad situation can sometimes make or break its future.

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As you might know, Marketwire + Sysomos has a vested interest in the world of journalism – primarily because our clients are the ones who look to us as a way to interact with the media. To gain a better understanding of the state of journalism today, the Marketwire + Sysomos marketing department went on a field trip to check out Page One: Inside The New York Times, a behind-the-scenes documentary that provided a year-in-the-life glimpse into a publication that is experiencing insurmountable challenges and unforeseen changes, rocking a 160-year-old institution to its core. (more…)

When Barack Obama campaigned and won the US presidential election in 2008, one of the driving and deciding factors in his road to the White House was his use of social media. Obama’s campaign is one that has gone down in history for its innovation. He still had to uphold American campaigning traditions – kissing babies, shaking hands, attending rallies, holding fundraising dinners. But he also used social media and web-based technologies to reach a younger, “wired” generation – a strategic approach that John McCain, his Republican opponent, failed to take full advantage of. (more…)

Social media has affected and influenced journalism to the point that, in some circles, it’s has become its own form of journalism. (But that’s an argument for another time.) Because of social media’s unique capabilities and functionalities, journalists need to keep a close ear to the groundswell that social media has become – not only as a source for stories, but also as a way to connect with your audiences. (more…)

Earlier this year, PR guru Richard Edelman addressed a crowded luncheon of businesspeople in Toronto.  Buried among the many points he made that day was the growing influence of online advertising.  It’s not only a question of convenience and ease of access, but it’s also a question of trust in the online space.  Increasingly, people are turning to search engines for news, whereas not too long ago, one would have to phone a friend, consult an encyclopedia or head to the local library to obtain the same information that we all now have at our fingertips. (more…)

For media professionals, communication is what it’s all about — clear, concise and sometimes clever messaging is essential. But, if you’ve ever flipped through a technical journal on immunological bioinformatics or a dissertation on electrophoretic systems (both of which are actual disciplines), you probably didn’t understand, much less were able to pronounce, many words even though these documents are (seemingly) written in English. That’s because they were written for an audience that has the vocabulary to understand those concepts. They’re “all Greek” to people within the general population. (more…)

At the recent Ink+Beyond 2011 conference, the Canadian Newspaper Association’s annual convention in Vancouver, Geoff Tan, SVP of Business Development at Singapore Press Holdings (SPH), delivered a presentation that surprised the crowd of 200 media execs, based on what he and his team have been able to accomplish. (more…)

Anyone who has recently traveled internationally will no doubt have noticed a well-placed McDonald’s restaurant, no matter the country. Iconic US brands are expanding rapidly around the world, some experiencing more success abroad than at home. To ensure the success of these expansion efforts, US-based marketing and PR teams need to work with their local counterparts as much as possible to tap into their expertise, knowledge and familiarity with that particular environment.

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On a rainy Tuesday in April, I had the rare pleasure of a guided tour through the Manhattan office of Bloomberg, one of the largest organizations in the world that provides business and financial news, data and analytics. In spite of the calming river carp swimming throughout the office walls, I haven’t seen any organization more obsessed with speed since my trip to NASCAR’s Charlotte Speedway. (more…)